Can someone help me please? I did a facial course last week, it was a 2 day course and the Essex and Herts Academy. However the other day i was thinking that i hadn't benn taught anything about spots or squeezing them!
Surely you have to do these when you are giving a facial?

Any help would be great.

Extraction is part of a facial although its something I really can`t be doing, lol.
Its usually done after steaming but I have no idea what depth of training you had in two days so maybe you didn`t do steaming. There is an art to extraction too as its easy to make a spot worse, you do need to have training on it to be doing it. Why don`t you ring them back up and ask them?

Thanks for your reply Deb i am going to call them tomorrow i did learn the steaming. Just worried about wether the course i did was good enough, i know it was only a 2 day course but becuase i currently do shift work i can't do any long courses!

Thanks again

As a client, I was told recently that extractions are quite old fashioned and the new way of thinking is they aren't good for the skin and shouldn't be done. I'll be interested to hear what they say. xxx

Im confused with this too. I was taught to extract comedones if possible but not big spots. But..... then my friend had microdermabrasion and the therapist said you have to squeeze all spots to get bacteria out???????
Yup it confused me!

Just to tell you my experiences! I started NVQ level 2 beauty in September we did facials EVERY WEEK (till i got sick of em but good at them!!!) until Christmas!!

I go one night a week for 3 hours btw.

As well as learning them inside out for all that time we have had to do an assignment/ 'project' on masks, different skin types, structure of the skin, muscles of the face, bones of the skull, health and safety to name but a few things

Then we have just sat an exam....for which you need 100% to pass (minimum 70% in the exam the rest in orally questioning)

Now we are doing practical assesments....at the end of it if you are compentant enough you pass.

Not sure how you fit that into 2 days!

Amb x

I went on a one day facial course today. It was one to one teaching, and from personal experience, I think it equates to several months worth of evening classes in a big group. You had to do a lot of reading and learning before the course so that you had a lot of the theory behind you. We covered extraction in theory, but didn't do it. Not bothered because I won't be doing it as they only come back again, you should have a good skincare regime with good products - same principle as cutting cuticles versus regular oiling.

Kimmi I agree that extraction is getting to be an outdated procedure, all these skin scanners can prove the damage that "squeezing" spots do to the skin.

Hi, when i am carying out facials the only extraction i do is following steaming only then do i extract comedones if they do not come out easily then i leave them until they are. I have found this may take a couple of facials....extracting the wrong way can damage the surronding tissue and can cause bleeding. i don't burst spots as i find this will spread into other follicles or cause infection. the best way if your client does have a pimple/spot whatever you want ot call it is to apply a clearing gel i use the one from Dermalogica and find it is very good along with a deep anti bacterial cleansing mask. There is no need to burst spots as the skin will absorb these lotions and inturn cleanse the pore.


HTH

Hello Sassy - do you mind me asking where your course was held as I am interested in weekend/sunday courses and what qualification/cetificate do you get - just wondered because I was going to to a full beauty therapy course and though it might be easier while working to do it in stages especially if that is on a sunday.

hi sassy

Firstly, i am really interested in your new facial range you will be stocking - let me know how it goes!

But secondly, could you learn a facial massage routine in a day? Can you leanr how to spot each different skin types charachtaristics (spelled wrong) i agreed i think i have learnt way over and above what would be required but (will i need to know what each and every facial muscle does?!?!?!)

But can you learn everything and be confident with the proceedure after a 1 DAY COURSE? JMHO

Amb xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I would say however good the skincare regime is, sometimes people get spots and they want rid, the safest way to do this is to go to someone trained because otherwise they`ll be squeezed wrong and then they`ll spread and thats when damage is caused.
It may well be getting outdated but I don`t agree that it can damage the skin if done correctly. My training was long and extensive and I am confident in doing extractions correctly without any damage!
I don`t feel anyone can learn all thats needed in a couple of days, even a 1 day intensive, as you say Sassy, you didn`t do extractions so how is learning something but not doing it enough training?
There is so much to learn no-one can possibly be proficient to practice in that short time.

I think you have to know what is best for you. I am doing cosmetic makeup and beauty consultancy level 2 at my local college and it ain't working for me, 2 terms later and I have absolutely no confidence in my ability and we have been told that as it's a part time course we will have to do a lot of research ourselves anyway - great huh! It's driving me potty and I would never do a long term course again, I'm not saying they are bad or wrong they just don't work for me. I learn better when I have loads of info chucked at me in a short space of time in a small class.

Remember when I booked this course that she took on board my relevant experience and training, so if I had been a complete beginner then yup one day would not have been enough, but 2 would. It really doesn't take a genius to be able to diagnose a skintype, cleanse, tone, apply a mask, facial massage and moisturise, plus prescribe any specialist products as well - remember I have done 2 days intense Nimue training too.

Yes I have the massage techniques, now it's just practising them as much as poss before I go back for my assessment. No I am not confident after a one day course, but it was training only, no certificate given, now it's up to me to practice until my assessment in 6 weeks time, and believe me if I'm not up to scratch she'll fail me! Just as you wouldn't be confident after a 3 day nail course, it's our old friend practice, practice, practice!

I did it at The Cottage Training Centre in Hythe, near Southampton see www.traininginbeauty.co.uk. Kim who taught me used to teach at Fareham College, and I will get the VTCT NVQ level 2 unit for facials. She doesn't normally do Sundays but she cocked my booking up and did it as a favour.

If I had really wanted to learn extractions then I would have got her to teach me, but I don't believe in them, just like I don't believe in cutting cuticles. Teach your client preventative techniques (which will hopefully result in a good retail potential too), rather than trying to cure (prevention is better than cure). Please I'm not saying what you do is wrong, I'd just rather not do it!!

not sure on that quote! not that i am a genius !!!!!! or even qualified yet! but the course is certainly a lot harder than i had anticipated it was going to be!

Amb xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Oops, thought that might be a controversial line . But to me they are on a par with manicures, and - wait for it - my original manicure training was 30 minutes (waaaah, I can hear the cries of horror lol), and yes that was too short - even for me lol! I do sometimes think these colleges make things harder than they really are though, a lot of what they teach is common sense, or based on life experience. So often I have been in a class or even an exam and been asked a question that I thought I didn't know the answer to and then it turned out that I did - if that makes any sense at all.

I'm sure you'll have a far greater knowledge than me Amb, but I'm a research queen and like to know my stuff so I'm catching up with you already lol.