Skincare training is formally called esthetician training, and more and more massage schools are offering massage therapy and esthetician training as a package deal. This is great, because many clients want beauty treatments and massages, and you will be able to offer both. See it as a smart career choice—massage therapists are more valuable when they hold an esthetics license as well.
Benefits To Receiving Skincare Training
The biggest benefit to receiving esthetics training alongside massage training is that you will be fully qualified to work for a number of places and in a number of different job positions. Massage therapists with an esthetics license can work in beauty salons, spas, resorts, cruise ships, and, of course, massage therapy facilities.
If you get the proper massage and skincare training, then you may choose to take your career path in a different direction. For example, you could work in cosmetology marketing as a beauty consultant, or you could be involved in the medical field as a paramedical esthetician (which is a plastic surgery or dermatology esthetician). Attending a school where you can receive training in both massage therapy and skincare really opens up your career options.
Esthetics and massage therapy training programs will teach you the following:
- how to read and understand chemical labels on skincare products
- how to massage clients who have skin-related issues
- the various benefits of natural skincare products
- techniques used in healing skin problems, such as eczema and burns
- how to identify and handle various types of skin and how to work past skincare challenges
- how to identify which products to avoid
- how aging affects the skin
- merging massage therapy and skincare
Over the past few years, the desire to hire candidates with both a massage therapy license and an esthetics license has increased a lot. High-end spas often offer skincare treatments with their massage therapy offerings, so employees who can do both are valuable. The Salt Cave Spa in Santa Barbara, California, for example, offers Himalayan crystalline salt treatments with its therapeutic massage, and the massage therapist must know how to properly use the salt on the skin. By earning a dual license in both esthetics and massage therapy, you will be qualified to work at places just like the Salt Cave.
Learn Your Trade Quickly
Depending on the school program and if you are a full time student, you can be done with training and ready to take your state exams in approximately eight to 12 months. Then, with your dual license, you can get to work nearly anywhere!
