About the Institute

Personal grooming and looks carry a lot of weight in today's world. However, the amount of time needed to keep oneself perfectly groomed is a lot. Besides, as in every other area, this area too has seen many technological developments. So people turn to a trained beautician to enhance their appearance. The work of a beautician involves a tremendous amount of concentration, skill and hard work.

The amount of returns in this line of work has encouraged many people to try it out as a career option. Traditionally, beauty parlours were run by women and used by only women too. But now an increasing awareness of personal grooming has brought in the concept of beauty parlours run by men for men.

The concept of beauty care has changed tremendously in recent years. No longer is beauty care related to only looking good. It is also related to feeling good. So beauty care now means an overall condition of good health and well being. So this profession is now comprehensively referred to as beauty care and cosmetology. Beauty care does not mean providing services for just looking good. It, in fact, extends to providing overall care for maintenance of face, skin, nails and the whole body. So the beautician must be equipped both in terms of skills and equipment to provide these services. Each customer may choose services that he or she needs.

Hair care is a very important aspect of a beauticians job. Hair care involves not only styling and cutting of hair but also providing treatment for the hair and scalp. Consultancy on personal care is also undertaken by many beauticians for tackling skin, hair and make-up problems through specific beauty products. A lot of research is undertaken in this area and there are new products flooding the market every now and then. Customers who want to try out these products generally go in for this type of consultancy before trying out new products.

Other specialised services offered at beauty parlours are steam baths, saunas and fitness gyms among other things.

Specialisations

Specialisation in this area would involve catering to one particular type of need. This need could be makeup wherein the beautician could specialise in just one type of make up like bridal make up, theatre make up, make up for movie stars and so on. In the case of theatre make up and movie star make up, a beautician will need to have an extensive knowledge of the type of make up and styling products to be used, which will sustain under glaring spotlights. They have to be careful to use just enough to highlight a person and not make them look artificial.

Similarly, those in this field should know about hairstyles and dressing up styles of different regions/eras. This knowledge would be needed for movies/plays with a historical theme or focusing on a specific region.

Employment opportunities

If one has a leaning towards entrepreneurship, opening a beauty parlour would be a good option. In this field, it is how skilled a person is that matters. A skilled beautician can build a regular clientele very fast. In this field it is actual skill at work that counts rather than the institute the person has trained at. Employment opportunities are also available in established parlours. Most big hotels have an attached beauty parlour catering to both men and women. Such places employ people trained in different specialities as they cater to a segment of society with particular demands. Companies that manufacture cosmetics, specialised beauty products and treatment packages for skin and hair care also employ trained personnel for purposes of research and development and also for marketing their products to the right segment. Health clubs are another employment option in this field.