Career opportunites for a beauty therapist

The Beauty Therapy industry offers an endless number of exciting opportunities. A career in beauty therapy could be your passport to success and the opportunities are endless. Beauty jobs include:

A beauty therapist providing all beauty treatments, massage and spa therapies in a salon. The salon may be situated on the high street, in a department store or hotel or may be part of another complementary business such as a hair salon. There is also a recent trend for dentists to provide cosmetic treatments such as teeth whitening, botox and dermal fillers and they also employ beauty therapists to provide other treatments that work well alongside their own.

A spa therapist providing, manual facials, exfoliation, body wraps, massage, heat and water therapies along side the other beauty treatments. Many spas are residential but they can also be day spas that clients can visit and spend as little as one hour or as much as the whole day being pampered. The treatments are mainly relaxing and juvenating but involve water in some form or products derived from the sea. 

A massage therapist providing Swedish massage, no hands massage, aromatherapy, stone massage and Indian head massage. This is an ideal career for the therapist who prefers hands on treatment, providing total relaxation or improving the wellbeing of the client. Providing massage treatments only on a regular basis can be tough on the wrists so some therapists will use mechanical methods such as G5 massage and audiosonic.  For those salons and spas that specialise in massage therapies they often put a limit on the number of treatments that a therapist is allowed to perform in a day to avoid the chance of repetitive strain injury or back problems. 

A specialist in advanced treatments such as peel treatments, laser therapy, IPL and advanced epilation removing unsightly thread veins, skin tags etc. This can be a highly specialised area that some therapists are keen to work in. Laser therapy and IPL treatments are often carried out by specialists in a clinic setting and epilation is offered in salons, clinics and some hospitals.

A semi-permanent makeup specialist providing a service that tattoos permanent organic pigments into the skin. The most popular areas for treatment are, eyeliner, lip liner, beauty spots and eyebrows. However there are opportunities to work on clients who have had reconstructive surgery and create a new areola or camouflage scars.   

A makeup specialist  including, bridal, fashion, evening, camouflage, editorial and with extra training film, theatre and television. It is always advisable to gain a qualification in hairdressing, as this will be most useful in all areas but particularly, TV, theatre and film and it is helpful if you have an artistic flair 

A nail technician specializing in all nail techniques. This is a booming industry and it has become a specialised area providing, manicure, pedicure, nail art and nail extensions. There are also opportunities in editorials and films to provide flamboyant and artistic nail enhancements.

A company trainer with a thorough knowledge of a particular treatment or range of treatments provided by one company. Excellent communication skills and a willingness to travel are necessary for this type of work as you will be required to vists salons and spas to provide the training in products and procedures to new therapists and salons. Sometimes however, the training will take place at the company headquarters or training establishment.

A sales consultant working for a cosmetic house in a department store or similar establishment. This is ideal for those who like to work in a retail environment, enjoy interacting with the general public and enjoy selling. Once established the next step up is an area manager's role looking after a team of sales consultants 

A college lecturer passing on knowledge to others can be a very rewarding career. It will help to have gained five or more years working in the beauty industry and added new skills and experiences to the initial beauty therapy training. This ensures a wide bredth of knowledge that can be passed on to future therapists. Although it is not essential it does help if you  have worked in different areas of the industry, such as; massage therapies, retail, facial therapies, product development etc. as this will allow you to teach different levels and across all skill areas. 

Working on cruise liners is ideal if you enjoy travelling and meeting new people on a daily basis. You need a great deal of stamina, excellent communication skills, to manage your time well and confidence in public speaking. You will not only be providing treatments but you will also be required to give talks to passengers, sell retail products and services and work long hours providing the therapies to clients. This provides an ideal opportunity to work with other therapits from around the world.

Providing all forms of therapy in a health farm gives the therapist an excellent opportunity to continue with professional development as many of the health farms use several different product and treatment lines that you must become profficient in using and have an extensive knowledge of to be able to sell and promote effectively. This job often requires you to 'live in' with the majority of the therapists employed in the business. This could mean sharing a house or flat nearby as well as living on the premises. This does encourage teamwork and forges friendships that last for a great many years to come.

Managing a salon or spa is an option for a therapist who leaves college with a level 4 qualification but many level 3 therapists can rise to this position very quickly with dedication and hard work. It is important to develop the leadership and communication skills necessary for managing a team of people. You also need to be prepared to step back from providing treatments as the managing of a larger salon or spa will take up the majority of the working week.

Owning a salon or spa is the dream of many therapists when they embark on a course in beauty therapy. Experience working for someone else first is essential to understand the workings of a business and the pitfalls that may occur and create problems for you. It provides insight into; systems and procedures, health and safety issues, financial issues, marketing and promotion, dealing with suppliers, staff and customer complaints. Always seek professional advice, know your market, employ the right staff and don't aim too high too quickly if you want to succeed as many small salons fail within the first year of trading. You may become a franchisee setting up in business but using a business model that is tried and tested and therefore more likely to succeed.

A mobile therapist providing treatments in the client's own home. This will allow you to work the hours that suit you and you can be flexible with your clients visiting them in the evening and at weekends, particularly if they work full time. The main drawback is the time it takes to travel between appointments and then setting up for the treatment when you arrive. It is ideal for clients who have small children or are housebound for any reason and often a group of friends will get together at one house and share the therapist's time. 

Demonstrating and selling cosmetics usually through mail order or party planning. You will be responsible for building a client base by cold calling and selling cosmetics to individuals or arranging parties. The parties will provide the opportunity to demonstrate the products, make sales and recruit new salespeople.

Research and development working within a large cosmetic organisation as a product tester or evaluator, an interesting job for those who enjoy science and would be interested in product development

Beauty journalism would provide those who enjoy writing and researching and have an interest in the world of beauty and fashion with a job that would be enjoyable. It would require creativity, good time management and the ability to work under pressure and to specific deadlines.