Cosmetician with school certificate: What does your everyday working life look like?

Beauticians care for and beautify the body, especially the face, hands and feet of their customers. At the beginning of a treatment, they clarify the customer's wishes, assess the condition of their skin and suggest appropriate treatments.

A facial treatment includes cleansing of the face, neck and décolleté, exfoliation and removal of blackheads and impurities. Finally, the skin is nourished and relaxed with a face mask and a gentle massage. A cosmetic treatment includes plucking the eyebrows and possibly tinting the eyebrows and eyelashes.
Hand and foot care can be completed with nail polish. The beauticians also offer various methods for removing body hair and treating cellulite. Before each treatment, they prepare the workplace and then clean, disinfect and sterilize the tools used.

In the final sales meeting, they advise the customer on suitable home care and sell them the appropriate products.
Administrative tasks include constantly updating the customer file, checking product stocks and ordering and checking products.

Target group and skills: Who is cosmetics training suitable for? What qualities and skills are required?

The beautician training with the school's own certificate is aimed at the following target group:

People who want to become self-employed in a cosmetic profession or who want to expand their existing skills to include the care and design of the face, skin, hands and feet. For example:

• Hairdressers / Hairdressers
• Re-entrants in the beauty and cosmetics sector
• People who enjoy beauty and interacting with other people

The following skills and characteristics are required for a successful career as a beautician:

• Interest in cosmetics and beauty
• Craftsmanship
• Good eyes and good color sense
• Sensitivity and precision
• Enjoy interacting with people
• Good manners
• Sense of order and cleanliness
• Service orientation
• Sufficient start-up capital to start your own business

Requirements for admission to beautician training:

The following requirements are generally stated for admission to the beautician course:

• Minimum age 18 years
• Enjoy dealing with people and have a well-groomed appearance

Subject matter and content of the training

Schools that offer beautician training leading to a "school certificate" compile their learning content independently. The course content can therefore differ from provider to provider.

The course offered also plays a role here. For example, is it a basic course for beginners/returners/intermediates or a course for advanced learners or professionals?

The following topics are often covered in a basic beautician course:

• Anatomy
• Dermatology (skin structure, functions, etc.)
• Hygiene
• Facial treatment (skin cleansing, peelings, masks etc.)
• Special treatments, e.g. for acne
• Chemistry / Physics
• Make-up
• Hair removal
• Manicure
• Pedicure
• Massage techniques

Tip: In the yes-answer you will receive suitable help on the question: How do I find the right school and course?

Costs and financing of further training

The costs for training as a beautician are determined independently by the schools. They therefore differ from school to school and from offer to offer (e.g. basic course and intensive course).

Calculate the following costs for a part-time basic training course lasting six months:

• Course feesBetween CHF 5,370 and CHF 9,000, which usually includes the examination fee.
• Some providers requireExtra costsfor teaching materials, training documents, etc.

Please contact the provider of your choice directly for information on possible extra costs.

Duration of study, training options, teaching format and learning effort

• Cosmetician training is generally designed to be part-time.
• The duration of training courses to become a beautician (certified) varies greatly and depends on the provider and the course offered: As a rule, courses last between 3 and 6 months.
• The beautician courses are available at different levels and in different formats: for beginners and advanced as well as the classic and intensive formats.
• The timetables are put together independently by the schools. This means that there can also be differences from school to school. Lessons often take place on one or two weekdays per week or on two evenings per week. Depending on the school, they may also take place on selected Saturdays.
• The course generally takes place as face-to-face teaching. Depending on the situation, theory lessons can be offered in an online format (e.g. online lessons or hybrid lessons).
• Thanks to the extra-occupational concept of the course, you can apply and deepen the learning material in practice straight away. Nevertheless, you should allow sufficient time for preparation and follow-up of the lessons and for self-study - how much depends on your prior knowledge, working style and learning speed. We recommend that you allow at least 4-6 hours per week as a precaution.

Degree, diploma and title

If you fulfill the conditions of the respective provider for taking the exam (usually at least 80% of the lessons attended), then you may take the final exam.

At most schools, it consists of a theoretical part and a practical part. In the practical part, for example, you have to carry out a facial treatment on a person and/or apply make-up to a person. The experts not only pay attention to correct execution, but also to points such as time, accuracy, creativity and customer service.

Diploma and title

Successful graduates receive a school-specific certificate / diploma from the respective school: "Cosmetician [name of school] (cert.)"