Surprising Things You Can Learn in Cosmetology School (UPDATED 2021)

In cosmetology school, you can learn all the essentials about hair, makeup, skincare, and more. However, there is so much more you can learn beyond just how to do braids and balayages. Cosmetologists need a variety of skills to find true success in the beauty industry. You might be surprised by some of the things cosmetology school students are required to learn.

Which topic would you be most interested in learning while in cosmetology school?

What Can I Learn In Cosmetology School?

Anatomy

It’s not just for medical students! Cosmetology school students learn in-depth about the anatomy and physiology of the skin, hair, and nails. These parts of the human body are complex and protect the rest of the body from irritants and damage. Because cosmetologists come in contact with these parts of the body, they must understand its construction and can spot potential issues like infections or rashes and know when to not perform services.

Understanding physiology is important to understanding how different products and services can affect how your hair, skin, and nails. Anatomy is used as a frame of reference for where to apply products, direction of massage, building acrylics and determine appropriateness of haircuts/hairstyles and makeup applications.

Chemistry

 

You thought your last chemistry class was in high school? Not the case for budding cosmetologists! You won’t be required to put on a lab coat or work with test tubes. However, hair color, hair relaxers, perms, shampoos, conditioners, and other products all contain chemicals. These chemicals can change the color, structure, and texture of the hair.

Cosmetologists need to know the chemical reactions those products may create so they don’t damage a client’s hair or scalp and can also perform services like color corrections for people who have previously used box-dye or received a hair color service that wasn’t what they wanted.

Social Media Marketing

Once you enter the beauty industry, social media will become one of your best friends. As a cosmetologist, it will be important to grow your client list and one of the best ways to do that is through social media. Social media marketing is a must for any cosmetologist so you can spread awareness about your business and create loyalty among your clients. Learning how to market your services over social media will be one of the most useful tools you can learn.

Business and Retail Sales

Most cosmetologists are responsible for building their clientele. A good cosmetology school will teach you how to market your services and attract new clients to your chair. Most salons will also require you to retail products to increase the salon’s revenue, so you’ll need to know some basic sales skills, too.

This skill will particularly come in handy if you plan on starting your salon, or if you work on commission-based pay. Being able to sell a $30 product on top of your salon service just boosted your commission and the overall salon revenue.

Communication Skills

Getting the client in the chair is the first step, but being a good stylist is more than just giving a good cut and color. You need to be able to communicate effectively with your clients to truly make them happy. That starts by listening closely to what your client wants during their consultation and being able to suggest alternative approaches thoughtfully.

And if you didn’t know this before, many people find it easy to open up to their stylists. So much so, that they are sometimes referred to as “hairipists”! While cosmetologists don’t have any formal training in offering therapy they do have the opportunity to listen to their clients and their lives and offer friendly advice and encouragement as part of their jobs every day!

By the time you graduate you should feel confident with interacting with your clients and building long-lasting relationships because of your time gaining skills in the student salon getting hands-on training.

How Capable You Are

Arguably, one of the most important things you’ll learn is how incredibly talented you are on your beauty school journey. You’ll learn how skillful, creative, and capable you are. Like most experiences, you may face some challenges, but with your instructors and fellow students’ help, you can get through them. Your creativity and talent will shine in beauty school and continue to shine throughout your career.

Get Started With Salon Success Academy

A good cosmetology school will give its students a well-rounded education in all of these areas, combined with extensive hands-on training on the latest hairstyles and techniques. Fill out the form on our website or call 1-877-987-HAIR (4247) to learn more about training for a career in cosmetology.