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The appropriate length and breadth of a skin care program depends centrally on a school’s goals and objectives, as well as on the requirements set by your state for esthetician licensure. Because many states specify a requirement of 600 hours for esthetician licensure, this has emerged as the most common program length.

ASCP endorses the Basic 600-Hour Job Task Analysis and the Advanced 600-Hour Job Task Analysis as set forth by National Coalition of Estheticians, Manufacturers/Distributors & Associations (NCEA). NCEA is a group comprised of skin care educators, leaders in skin care product manufacturing and distributing, medical/day spa professionals, individual esthetician members, and skin care associations, including ASCP. For more information on NCEA, visit their website at www.ncea.tv.

ASCP believes the exact number of hours dedicated to each subject in order to accomplish these tasks varies based on each school’s philosophy and expertise. Consequently, the tasks listed for each curriculum do not denote hours, which allows administrators the autonomy to allocate extended hours to certain subjects as they see fit, and/or include topics the state requires or that the school believes will benefit students. In addition, many institutions integrate a portion of each of these subjects into every class.

The NCEA Basic-600 Hour Job Task Analysis represents the practical and theoretical knowledge that an esthetician needs to work in today’s skin care industry. These tasks, if implemented in your state, will work towards national endorsement, the ability for a licensed esthetician in one state, to move to another and be able to commence working. It is the NCEA’s position that national endorsement will improve the level of training and allow licensed estheticians to move and work more easily across the country.

All state boards, schools, and estheticians are urged to review and incorporate these tasks. States should update rules and regulations; schools should update their curriculum, and for those estheticians already licensed, seek the necessary training and education to meet these basic job tasks.

1. GENERAL CONCEPTS
Client Care
Professional Ethics and Appearance
Business Management

2. SAFETY/INFECTION CONTROL
OSHA--Bloodborne Pathogen Standard
Hazard Communication Standard
Disinfection
Sterilization

3. APPLIED ANATOMY
Anatomy and Physiology--Skin, Other Systems
Cosmetic Chemistry
Dermatology--Skin Diseases and Disorders
Plastic Surgery--Common Plastic Surgical Procedures
Nutrition

4. SKIN TREATMENTS
Facial Massage
Chemical Exfoliation
Manual Lymph Drainage & Mechanical Lymph Drainage

5. BODY TREATMENTS
Chemical Exfoliation
Hydrotherapy
Body Masks
Body Wraps

6. MECHANICAL ELECTRICAL DEVICES
Basic Physical Electrical Therapy
Galvanic, Iontophoresis, Disincrustation
High Frequency
Microdermabrasion--Basic Theoretical Knowledge
Ultrasound--Basic Theoretical Knowledge
Lasers/Light Therapies--Basic Theoretical Knowledge

7. HAIR REMOVAL
Waxing
Tweezing
Electrolysis--Basic Theoretical Knowledge
Laser Hair Removal--Basic Theoretical Knowledge

8. MAKEUP
Purpose and Effects
Supplies and Instruments
Preparation
Procedures
Safety Measures
Infection Controls

PRACTICAL EXAMINATION DESCRIPTION
Safety and Infection Control
Client Care and Set-up
Cleansing the Skin
Steaming the Skin
Massaging the Skin
Application of the Mask
Eyebrow Arch (Tweezer)
Eyebrow Arch (Cold Mock Wax)

The NCEA Advanced 600 Hour Job Task Analysis is designed to be taken after completing the Basic 600 Hour course. There is currently one state, Utah, that offers a two-tier licensing system. It is the position of the NCEA that states evaluate their esthetician licensing programs, and consider a second-tier Master Esthetician license that should include the esthetician job tasks outlined below. These tasks are in the opinion of the NCEA, what is required of an esthetician in today’s skin care industry.

1. GENERAL CONCEPTS
A. Microbiology
Infection Control
Cleansing, Disinfection, Sterilization, Material Disposal
Contagious Diseases
B. Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation Certification (CPR)
C. Client Protection
D. Salon Management
Insurance
Record Keeping
Salon Policies
Marketing and Retail
Industry Relations
State Regulations/Scope of Practice

2. APPLIED ANATOMY, PHYSIOLOGY, HISTOLOGY
A. Cellular Biology
Skin Structure
Glands of the Skin
Hormones
Immune System
Skin Penetration
Skin Cancer
Metabolism
Vitamins and Herbs

B. Medical Professional Interaction
Medically Treated Conditions
Prescription Drugs/Over-the-Counter (OTC’s)
Medical Treatments
Medical Terminology

3. SKIN TREATMENTS
Advanced Facial and Body Treatments
Manual and Mechanical Lymphatic Drainage
Microdermabrasion
Chemical Exfoliation
Extractions
Aromatherapy/Essential Oils Basic Theoretical Knowledge
Ayurveda Basic Theoretical Knowledge
Masks

4. ADVANCED MECHANICAL AND ELECTRICAL DEVICES
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Classification
Electrodessication Devices Basic Theoretical Knowledge
Light Therapy Basic Theoretical Knowledge

5. MAKEUP
Camouflage
Permanent Cosmetics Basic Theoretical Knowledge



Student clinics are an important part of student training. The school benefits from increasing their presence in the community and attracting potential students. Students benefit from experiencing face-to-face contact with the public, building professional relationships that may follow them after graduation, and by becoming comfortable recommending home care and retail products.

There are a variety of ways to set up and run a student clinic. The two most common methods are:

1. Run by school faculty. Some schools choose to take ownership of the clinic and have a regular flow of clients from the community that consider the school clinic their skin care establishment of choice. Typically, the school charges a minimal fee and utilizes these funds to keep the cost of tuition down. Students provide treatments under supervision of the instructors while the school faculty handles the administrative end of the student clinic. The goal is to ensure that a student graduates feeling comfortable working on clients and has solid knowledge of welcoming the clients, performing various treatments, establishing practitioner/client relationships, and recommending follow-up care and products.



2. Run by students. Other schools prefer to have the students take ownership of the clinic. Space at the school is provided while the students are responsible for the set-up, administration, advertisement, scheduling and provision of treatments. School faculty oversees the program, reviewing the planning and execution, supervising students during treatments, and addressing any problem areas. Students are given the opportunity to learn from their mistakes; however, they also are given the opportunity to learn by going through the process of setting up a practice, identifying problem areas, sharing ideas with one another, and utilizing valuable organizational skills. Typically, the school charges a minimal fee to offset the cost involved in running the clinic. When this type of clinical setting is applied, students are normally encouraged to take their clients with them when they graduate. The goal is to ensure the student can start and run a successful practice and graduate from school with an established client base.

However the school decides to run a student clinic, the exercise is very valuable to the students and invites the community to be involved at the school. The clients of the clinic should be encouraged to provide feedback via written comments. Most importantly, time should be allotted to discuss the exercise: what worked, what didn’t, and what did the clients think?



If your school has enough space, you may want to consider creating a retail store where students and clinic clients can purchase products and other merchandise. Before you begin, you’ll likely need to obtain a retail sales license and tax number. This process varies by city and state, so check with your state revenue department for details.

When conceptualizing a retail store, it’s important to clearly determine what you want to achieve with your store. Are you planning to only serve your students, or are you hoping to attract the public and bring them into your school? Will the store provide only class materials and skin care-related products, or will you incorporate gift items, clothing, and school memorabilia?

If the intention of the store is to serve students only, then it should be relatively easy to set it up to carry the supplies and products needed for classroom instruction and the necessary items for students to start their practice. If you want to attract the public or the clients that come to your student clinic, you may want to add some novelty items and gift items.

Some items you may want to consider, in addition to the product line(s) your school uses for skin care, are appointment books, bath salts, compact discs with spa-type music, cuticle care products, essential oils, eye masks, herbal tea, incense, journals, juice and bottled water, neck pillows, pumice stones, and wind chimes. If your school carries only one product line, you may consider adding another line to your store to expand the students’ knowledge base and experience with other products and ingredients.

In addition to the initial set-up of the store, another consideration is the ongoing maintenance of the store. A student(s) or staff member(s) should be put in charge of keeping the store clean and orderly, and tracking inventory/sales. You will want to make sure you keep the most popular items well stocked, and keep track of those that are not selling.