Beauty Therapy for Men?

[mikey-moo]

Good evening fellow geeks! (well, I suppose that depends when you are reading doesn't it??)

I'm a hair messer and a nail tech, and my partner David is also a hair messer, and has done very basic Beauty Therapy as part of his hairdressing course (He was at college 1995-1997).

He's just asked me if I know of anywhere he can do a full beauty therapy course, but I haven't got a clue! We live in Scarborough (North Yorkshire), and the local colleges around here say then cannot accept males on the course due to it's personal nature, and the nature of some of the treatments. I know there are many male beauty therapists out there in the world, but where do they go to learn??

Any suggestions or help would be much appreciated!!

Thanks in advance

 

[Ruth Mills]

Doesn't that count as sex discrimination though? Or can colleges do what they like and fly in the face of equal opportunities legislation?

 

[chantell simone]

I am sorry but i don't understand!

what do they mean they cannot accept males on a beauty therapy course, due its personal nature?

there are plenty of male gynaecologists and you don't get more personal than that!

i just finished a makeup course and we had a very nice man in our class, a true gentleman

 

[loubylou]

We have quite a few male geeks on here who are beauty therapists so hopefully they will be able to help,
the other way around it is to take each course that interests him separately through a private training provider,
i can help with private courses, i don't mind what sex my students are,
if you want any info send me a PM :hug:

 

[fozzyo]

then cannot accept males on the course due to it's personal nature, and the nature of some of the treatments.

This is a perfect example of what makes me blood boil with this industry!! Though it doesn't surprise me ... I too have been the victim of such discrimination.

I wanted to do my basic waxing training and called all the major well known training academies. Cases went from refusing to allow me on their courses to saying I could go but that I would have to be screened off from the rest of the group and that I would have to provide all my own models so I couldn't practice on others or be practised on.

In the end I found a local trainer who provided me with one to one training.

Though something I could suggest that may make it a lot easier ... don't pay for the training! If you contact your local Business Link the government has rather handily extended the Train to Gain programme to all businesses (even us one man bands). So after a short chat with one of their advisors they will contact a local training provider for NVQ training and pay the full course cost! And you will have the full weight of Business Link behind you in finding a course ... and they will also be hot on the case with any discrimination issues.

Good luck!!
Mat

 

[greyparrot]

Good grief that is shocking! I can't help, but wanted to wish your partner all the very best with the training he finally gets! x

 

[Martin Duffy]

I did my beauty training in the mid 90's & did it at the local college - in my case that was Chichester College. I enrolled on the National Diploma for a year, but as I already had A-levels I fast-tracked onto the HND. There was never any issue with my sex, they said I was the first they'd had, but only because of lack of interest from males.

I've been on countless training courses since then in tanning, training with many different skincare houses, massage techniques, body treatments etc etc & never once has my sex been an issue there either.

Surely if other colleges & training centres have allowed males onto the course then they haven't got a leg to stand on re. sex discrimination. I'm quite happy to provide proof that my local college accepted me onto the course, and write them a letter regarding acceptance of males onto beauty courses if it helps! The issue regarding privacy & maintaining modesty remains the same regardless of the therapist's sex.

 

[Rivone]

I'm currently on Maternity leave but my main job is within a local college where I live within the hair & beauty department and we have accepted males onto beauty courses (even a trans gender in the past).

We currently have 2 male beauty therapist students on our NVQ2 course this year and the only thing we have to do as a college is inform all external clients that we have a male therapist and do they have a problem him treating them - alot of the time we don't have a problem but on the odd occasion he has to become salon manager or go onto reception if a client refuses him, which he needs to do as part of his course anyway so even that isn't a waste of time.

When practising on each other the other (girl) students are normally quite good and don't shy away from them and often goad them (little buggers) but its harmless and in actual fact the one male student is student rep for his course and he brings alot to the meetings.

Waxing is normally the most difficult time to get models or to be worked on but we strive to work with the girls and the few guys to be as 'professional' as possible and that one day they may come across the opposite sex in industry (especially now men seem to visit the salon more these days than before) and so to treat them as the same as they would pay part to their wage in the future.

I can let you know which college I work at but its a bit far from you if you live in Yorkshire.

Other than that our Sports Massage courses are normally 50/50 split and a lot of men do this course obviously because they want to go on and do physio work or something like.

 

[user 28883]

Hi have you tried York college or Leeds thomas danby in Leeds, I know its a little further out but they may accept him.

When I was a York college doing Hairdressing I didnt notice any males on the beauty courses but it may have been that no males had applied for the years I was there. I am at Leeds Thomas Danby now but only 1 night a week so have not noticed any males in the beauty courses as they are not there when I am. Its worth a try, and they will be taking places now for September.

There is also a beauty school in harrogate as well so may also be worth a try and I think there is another in leeds. I hope somewhere will accept him as that is very unfair to discriminate against him because he is male. Tut Tut.

 

[mikey-moo]

Hey peeps, thanks so much for all your replies. Yeah, I did think it was a bit unfair myself, as NSI & CND had no problems teaching me! I know it's not quite the same, but suppose up until recently it wasn't really considered a man's job to be a nail technician. I thought all these social barriers had been broken down and there was no bearing on gender when it came to doing courses and different jobs, but apparently not.

He just made me giggle, he said after watching 'Auf Wiedersehen Pet' as a kid he wanted to be a bricklayer! Just a slightly different career choice now then? :wink2: lol

Thanks for all your help anyhoo, plenty for us to be having a look at there!!