How to Choose the Best Beauty College near Blue Island Illinois
Once you have made a decision to become a cosmetologist and enroll in a beauty school near Blue Island IL, the process starts to search for and enroll in the ideal school. It’s essential that the school you pick not only furnishes the appropriate training for the specialty you have selected, but also readies you for passing the licensing exam. When you start your initial search, you might be rather unclear about the distinction between beauty schools and cosmetology schools. Well don’t be, because the names are essentially interchangeable and both relate to the same kind of school. We’ll discuss a bit more about that in the following section. If you plan on commuting to classes you will need to find a school that is within driving distance of your Blue Island home. Tuition will also be an important consideration when reviewing prospective schools. Just bear in mind that because a school is the nearest or the least expensive it’s not necessarily the right option. There are many other qualifications that you should evaluate when comparing schools, such as their reputation and accreditation. We will review what questions you should ask regarding the cosmetology schools you are considering later within this article. Before we do, let’s talk a bit about what cosmetology is, and what types of courses are offered.
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What is Cosmetology
Cosmetology is a profession that is all about making the human body look more beautiful with the application of cosmetics. So of course it makes sense that many cosmetology schools are referred to as beauty schools. Many of us think of makeup when we hear the word cosmetics, but basically a cosmetic may be anything that improves the appearance of a person’s skin, hair or nails. In order to work as a cosmetologist, the majority of states mandate that you go through some kind of specialized training and then become licensed. Once licensed, the work environments include not only Blue Island IL beauty salons and barber shops, but also such places as spas, hotels and resorts. Many cosmetologists, once they have gained experience and a client base, open their own shops or salons. Others will begin seeing customers either in their own homes or will go to the client’s home, or both. Cosmetology college graduates have many professional names and are employed in a wide variety of specializations including:
- Hairdressers
- Hairstylists
- Beauticians
- Barbers
- Manicurists
- Nail Technicians
- Makeup Artists
- Hair Coloring Specialists
- Estheticians
- Electrolysis Technicians
As already stated, in the majority of states working cosmetologists have to be licensed. In certain states there is an exception. Only those performing more skilled services, such as hairstylists, are required to be licensed. Other people working in cosmetology and less skilled, including shampooers, are not required to get licensed in those states.
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Cosmetology Degrees and Certificates
There are primarily two pathways available to obtain cosmetology training and a credential after completion. You can enroll in a certificate (or diploma) program, or you can pursue an Associate’s degree. Certificate programs normally take 12 to 18 months to complete, while an Associate’s degree ordinarily takes about 2 years. If you enroll in a certificate program you will be trained in each of the main areas of cosmetology. Shorter programs are offered if you prefer to specialize in just one area, such as hair coloring. A degree program will also most likely feature management and marketing training in order that graduates are better prepared to run a parlor or other Blue Island IL business. More advanced degrees are not typical, but Bachelor and Master’s degree programs are offered in such areas as salon or spa management. Whatever type of program you opt for, it’s imperative to make certain that it’s certified by the Illinois Board of Cosmetology. A number of states only certify schools that are accredited by certain respected organizations, including the American Association of Cosmetology Schools (AACS). We will examine the benefits of accreditation for the school you decide on in the upcoming section.
Online Cosmetology Courses
Online beauty programs are advantageous for Blue Island IL students who are working full-time and have family obligations that make it difficult to attend a more traditional school. There are a large number of web-based beauty school programs available that can be accessed by means of a home computer or laptop at the student’s convenience. More conventional beauty schools are frequently fast paced since many courses are as brief as 6 or 8 months. This means that a considerable amount of time is spent in the classroom. With internet courses, you are dealing with the same amount of material, but you are not spending numerous hours away from your home or commuting back and forth from classes. On the other hand, it’s essential that the program you choose can provide internship training in area salons and parlors to ensure that you also obtain the hands-on training required for a complete education. Without the internship part of the training, it’s impossible to gain the skills needed to work in any facet of the cosmetology profession. So be sure if you choose to enroll in an online school to confirm that internship training is provided in your area.
What to Ask Cosmetology Programs
Following is a list of questions that you will want to investigate for any beauty training program you are contemplating. As we have previously covered, the location of the school in relation to your Blue Island IL home, in addition to the expense of tuition, will probably be your first qualifiers. Whether you wish to pursue a certificate, diploma or a degree will no doubt be next on your list. But once you have narrowed your school choices based on those preliminary qualifications, there are even more factors that you must research and take into consideration before enrolling in a cosmetology program. Following we have put together some of those supplemental questions that you should ask each school before making a final decision.
Is the Program Accredited? It’s necessary to make sure that the cosmetology training program you enroll in is accredited. The accreditation should be by a U.S. Department of Education acknowledged local or national agency, such as the National Accrediting Commission for Cosmetology Arts & Sciences (NACCAS). Programs accredited by the NACCAS must meet their high standards ensuring a quality curriculum and education. Accreditation can also be important for acquiring student loans or financial aid, which frequently are not available in 60406 for non- accredited schools. It’s also a prerequisite for licensing in some states that the training be accredited. And as a concluding benefit, many Blue Island IL employers will not recruit recent graduates of non-accredited schools, or may look more favorably upon those with accredited training.
Does the School have a Good Reputation? Every cosmetology institute that you are seriously evaluating should have a good to excellent reputation within the industry. Being accredited is an excellent beginning. Next, ask the schools for references from their network of businesses where they have placed their students. Confirm that the schools have high job placement rates, attesting that their students are highly sought after. Visit rating services for reviews together with the school’s accrediting organizations. If you have any contacts with Blue Island IL salon owners or managers, or any person working in the trade, ask them if they are familiar with the schools you are considering. They may even be able to suggest others that you had not considered. And last, check with the Illinois school licensing authority to find out if there have been any grievances filed or if the schools are in total compliance.
What’s the School’s Specialty? Some beauty schools offer programs that are comprehensive in nature, concentrating on all areas of cosmetology. Others are more focused, offering training in a particular specialty, for instance hairstyling, manicuring or electrolysis. Schools that offer degree programs commonly expand into a management and marketing curriculum. So it’s important that you enroll in a school that focuses on your area of interest. If your intention is to be trained as an esthetician, make sure that the school you enroll in is accredited and respected for that program. If your vision is to open a hair salon in Blue Island IL, then you need to enroll in a degree program that will teach you how to be an owner/operator. Picking a highly rated school with a weak program in the specialty you are seeking will not provide the training you need.
Is Plenty of Hands-On Training Provided? Learning and refining cosmetology skills and techniques involves lots of practice on people. Check how much live, hands-on training is furnished in the beauty classes you will be attending. Some schools have salons on site that enable students to practice their growing skills on real people. If a beauty program provides little or no scheduled live training, but rather relies mainly on using mannequins, it may not be the most effective alternative for acquiring your skills. Therefore look for other schools that offer this type of training.
Does the School Provide Job Assistance? When a student graduates from a beauty academy, it’s imperative that he or she receives support in finding that very first job. Job placement programs are an integral part of that process. Schools that provide help maintain relationships with Blue Island IL businesses that are seeking qualified graduates available for hiring. Confirm that the programs you are considering have job placement programs and ask which salons and businesses they refer students to. In addition, ask what their job placement rates are. High rates not only verify that they have broad networks of employers, but that their programs are highly respected as well.
Is Financial Aid Available? Many cosmetology schools provide financial aid or student loan assistance for their students. Check if the schools you are reviewing have a financial aid department. Talk to a counselor and learn what student loans or grants you may get approved for. If the school belongs to the American Association of Cosmetology Schools (AACS), it will have scholarships accessible to students too. If a school meets each of your other qualifications with the exception of cost, do not eliminate it as an alternative before you determine what financial help may be offered.
Beauty Salon Schools Blue Island Illinois
Selecting and enrolling in the ideal cosmetologist program is essential to receive the appropriate training to become a licensed cosmetology practitioner. You originally came to this website because you have an interest in Beauty Salon Schools and learning more about the topic Beauty School Tuition. So make sure to ask all the questions that you need to in order to feel positive about your decision. Make sure to organize all of the responses you receive from the beauty school admissions departments, prioritize what matters the most to you, and then use that information to contrast schools. A sensible start in your due diligence process is to make certain that the school and program you pick are accredited and have exceptional reputations within the profession. If you begin with that base, and address the additional questions supplied in this article, you will be able to reduce your list of schools so that you can make the proper choice. Once you graduate and pass your licensing test, you will be confident that you are qualified to begin your new career as a professional cosmetologist in Blue Island IL.
Other Beautiful Illinois Locations
Blue Island, Illinois
Blue Island is a city in Cook County, Illinois, located approximately 16 miles (26 km) south of Chicago's Loop.[3] Blue Island is adjacent to the city of Chicago and shares its northern boundary with that city's Morgan Park neighborhood. The population was 23,706 at the 2010 United States Census.
Blue Island was established in the 1830s as a way station for settlers traveling on the Vincennes Trace,[4] and the settlement prospered because it was conveniently situated a day's journey outside of Chicago. The late-nineteenth-century historian and publisher Alfred T. Andreas made the following observation regarding the appearance of the young community in History of Cook County Illinois (1884), "The location of Blue Island Village is a beautiful one. Nowhere about Chicago is there to be found a more pleasant and desirable resident locality."[5]
Since its founding, the city has been an important commercial center in the south Cook County region, although its position in that respect has been eclipsed in recent years as other significant population centers developed around it and the region's commercial resources became spread over a wider area. In addition to its broad long-standing industrial base, the city enjoyed notable growth in the 1840s during the construction of the feeder canal (now the Calumet Sag Channel) for the Illinois and Michigan Canal and as the center of a large brick-making industry beginning in the 1850s, which eventually gave Blue Island the status of brick-making capitol of the world.[6] Beginning in 1883, Blue Island was also host to the car shops of the Rock Island Railroad.[7] Blue Island was home to several breweries, who used the east side of the hill to store their product before the advent of refrigeration, until the Eighteenth Amendment made these breweries illegal in 1919. A large regional hospital and two major clinics are also located in the city.
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