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The beauty of it

Photo: Sampath Kumar G. P.

Style guru With everyone placing a premium on looks, beauticians are in great demand now

Every parent dreams that their children will do well in life. Earlier the preferred career option was medicine or engineering and the civil services. Now there are a host of exciting career options from jewellery design to DJing and most parents are willing to go with their children’s choices. But what happens to the youngster who tells the parents that she/he wants to become a beautician? Parents, after blowing a couple of fuses, will try and discourage the youngster with sage proclamations like being a beautician cannot even be considered a career option. Today is Beauticians’ Day and we check out how satisfying a career in beauty can be and what it takes to be a good beautician.

“We have the wrong notion about who beauticians are and what their work entails. Technically, we are cosmetologists. We’re trained to style people. It’s not just about haircuts and pedicures. Beauty professionals undergo training even for acne treatments,” says Kim, a beautician.

According to Rose, another beauty professional, “A good beautician has to have passion, talent, skill and dedication.” She adds, “More than treating it like a job, one should enjoy doing it.”

Also, it is necessary that beauty therapists are well groomed. When it comes to qualifications, some beauticians are professionally trained in institutes; others take it up as a career merely out of love for the art and for many, it is a family business that is passed on from one generation to the next.

Sara Susanne, an intern at a styling school says, “A beautician is required to be well organized. She also needs to be able to communicate well with her clients and pay attention to detail.”

Since not everyone is sure what hairstyle suits their face or what hair colour blends with their skin colour, beauticians need to emanate confidence and must be patient enough to clear any doubts the customer might have.

As far as whether it is a lucrative career, Kim points out, “Most beauticians are self-employed. Some work in big establishments that employ a dozen professionals. Now that everyone wants to look good and knows that there are trained people who can help them out, we are always in demand.”

Even star hotels, leisure centres and spas require beauty professionals. So as long as one finds the right place to work and is good at her job, she has a fairly smooth sailing career before her.

The current trend sees many young men signing up for training in courses like these. Vivek R., who works as a beauty therapist asserts, “It’s about time we got rid of the stereotypical notion about what is a career and what isn’t, what a woman can do and what a man mustn’t. I totally love my job and I’m glad I made the right decision about my career.”

The only drawback about being a beautician is that you always have to be on your feet. Also, when everyone else looks forward to putting their feet up for the weekend, beauticians especially those in metros, can look forward to more work, yet all of these professionals claim that the career is worth it all.

Passion, talent, skill and dedication

Be well organized

Communicate well with clients

Pay attention to detail

Exude confidence

Be patient to clear the client’s doubts

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