Where to start?

SalonGeek

Help Support SalonGeek:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

HannahH1987

New Member
Joined
Apr 27, 2021
Messages
3
Reaction score
1
Location
London
Hello all,

I’m 33 and finally after never having the confidence to pursue beauty I’ve realised enough is enough and it’s now or never!

I would like to offer dermaplaning and facials, perhaps adding nails, microblading etc on as I go.

I have read a few threads on here that say without the L2 NVQ - you won’t get insurance, however the local providers to me that do the courses in the areas I’m interested in state they are partnered with insurance providers and guarantee it to those who take courses with them.

I don’t want to cut any corners and want to provide quality, so my plan was to do the dermaplaning and facial courses alongside an anatomy and physiology course too. Then add on nails, microblading etc down the line as my confidence grows.

However am I better off doing the L2 NVQ and then adding on dermaplaning and facials?

Any advice welcome - thanks so much!
 
Hi. If you re going to set up in business you need to think long term. The beauty industry in the U.K. isn’t regulated which keeps pay, standards and customer satisfaction low. The government is starting to wake up to the fact that beauty services are a £7Billlion industry and a significant sector of the economy. The government is interested in collecting tax and regulation of an unregulated sector is one way to raise taxes and also clamp down on people claiming benefits whilst working; reduce modern day slavery and immigration offences, and increase demand for commercial rentals when the high street is struggling. It’s kind of a no brainier really.

Can you imagine being in business, earning great money and then having a visit from a Council Officer who asks to see your qualifications and you’re told you’re not adequately qualified to provide services to the public and prosecuted? It happened to a nail salon near me. All the staff display their one day qualifications on the wall in frames. The Council successfully argued that it wasnt reasonable to set up in business without an adequate training that even a 16 year old school leaver would receive for free..

Can you imagine your local Council deciding that some services require a license and suddenly you’re told “sorry love” you don’t hold a qualification mapped to the QCF (qualification credit framework) so we don’t accept this? You’ll have to retrain and you can’t offer services until you do. Meanwhile someone less experienced than you, who holds the all important “levels” will “steal” your clients.

All established businesses are fed up with people investing less than £1000 in their knowledge and then setting up as an expert in their bedroom. There is increasing demand from consumers for proper regulation and consumer protection which doesn’t seem unreasonable. The industry is starting to introduce barriers to exclude those who haven’t reached a universally validated standard of training, Some of them are sneaky but not unreasonable. For instance my local Council has introduced licensing for micro blading. In order to get a license for your premises you need to have a private room with a sink in and a hygenic, washable flooring. This makes it harder to trade from your becroom.

it won’t happen overnight, but it will happen eventually.

So training is a bit of a minefield but you need to hold both a level 2 and a level 3 beauty diploma qualification from a provider whose training is mapped to the QCF. Lots of trainers claim to have accredited training but sometimes it’s accredited with a body who is not the QCF.

Not every qualification is mapped - so sometimes there’s no choice but to take a private course from someone who has been recommended by others currently working in the industry as offering great training. After you have your level 2 and 3 QCF validated beauty diploma qualification you then venture into the world of private colleges and academy’s which will usually have a tie in with an insurer. Before you train, you check whether your existing insurance will accept this qualification and if they say no, you check whether the beauty school scheme will cover everything else that you do. You don’t want 3,4 or 5 policies and you can’t double insure. Most policies cover a range of activities. There will be an argument between insurance companies if you have overlapping covers and in this situation both policies become invalid and you get your insurance premium refunded and your claim refused.

As you are interested in derma planing which is a more advanced treatment you will be best advised to plan on training to level 4. Regulation is coming in for the more advanced treatments first.

The short courses that you’ve seen are intended for those who are already qualified in a related field so that they can cross train. For instance a nurse, qualified to do Botox or a massage therapist might wish to do a facials course so that she knows the practical side of facials (other genders can also train). A beauty diploma has a 400+ page manual covering hygiene, ethics, business, anatomy, customer service etc, it’s a foundation to prepare you for more in depth training in your area of interest, post qualification.

to answer your question, yes you can train via the route you’ve suggested, There’s nothing to stop you. You are however, unlikely to be technically competent or sufficiently knowledgeable to be able to navigate all the complexities of self employment and you will be unemployable by any reputable employer who won’t accept your qualifications. You will also be uninsurable on any normal salon policy - only a little scheme intended for mobile and at home therapists working solo.

in contrast I went to a private college and did a CIBTAC qualification which is mapped to the QCF as a level 2 beauty diploma with level 3 facial electrics. It took me 8 months at 3 days a week and cost about £4K I think. I started to do manicure and pedicure treatments whilst I was training (as many of us did). By the time I’d qualified I was earning over £200 a day.
 
Hi. If you re going to set up in business you need to think long term. The beauty industry in the U.K. isn’t regulated which keeps pay, standards and customer satisfaction low. The government is starting to wake up to the fact that beauty services are a £7Billlion industry and a significant sector of the economy. The government is interested in collecting tax and regulation of an unregulated sector is one way to raise taxes and also clamp down on people claiming benefits whilst working; reduce modern day slavery and immigration offences, and increase demand for commercial rentals when the high street is struggling. It’s kind of a no brainier really.

Can you imagine being in business, earning great money and then having a visit from a Council Officer who asks to see your qualifications and you’re told you’re not adequately qualified to provide services to the public and prosecuted? It happened to a nail salon near me. All the staff display their one day qualifications on the wall in frames. The Council successfully argued that it wasnt reasonable to set up in business without an adequate training that even a 16 year old school leaver would receive for free..

Can you imagine your local Council deciding that some services require a license and suddenly you’re told “sorry love” you don’t hold a qualification mapped to the QCF (qualification credit framework) so we don’t accept this? You’ll have to retrain and you can’t offer services until you do. Meanwhile someone less experienced than you, who holds the all important “levels” will “steal” your clients.

All established businesses are fed up with people investing less than £1000 in their knowledge and then setting up as an expert in their bedroom. There is increasing demand from consumers for proper regulation and consumer protection which doesn’t seem unreasonable. The industry is starting to introduce barriers to exclude those who haven’t reached a universally validated standard of training, Some of them are sneaky but not unreasonable. For instance my local Council has introduced licensing for micro blading. In order to get a license for your premises you need to have a private room with a sink in and a hygenic, washable flooring. This makes it harder to trade from your becroom.

it won’t happen overnight, but it will happen eventually.

So training is a bit of a minefield but you need to hold both a level 2 and a level 3 beauty diploma qualification from a provider whose training is mapped to the QCF. Lots of trainers claim to have accredited training but sometimes it’s accredited with a body who is not the QCF.

Not every qualification is mapped - so sometimes there’s no choice but to take a private course from someone who has been recommended by others currently working in the industry as offering great training. After you have your level 2 and 3 QCF validated beauty diploma qualification you then venture into the world of private colleges and academy’s which will usually have a tie in with an insurer. Before you train, you check whether your existing insurance will accept this qualification and if they say no, you check whether the beauty school scheme will cover everything else that you do. You don’t want 3,4 or 5 policies and you can’t double insure. Most policies cover a range of activities. There will be an argument between insurance companies if you have overlapping covers and in this situation both policies become invalid and you get your insurance premium refunded and your claim refused.

As you are interested in derma planing which is a more advanced treatment you will be best advised to plan on training to level 4. Regulation is coming in for the more advanced treatments first.

The short courses that you’ve seen are intended for those who are already qualified in a related field so that they can cross train. For instance a nurse, qualified to do Botox or a massage therapist might wish to do a facials course so that she knows the practical side of facials (other genders can also train). A beauty diploma has a 400+ page manual covering hygiene, ethics, business, anatomy, customer service etc, it’s a foundation to prepare you for more in depth training in your area of interest, post qualification.

to answer your question, yes you can train via the route you’ve suggested, There’s nothing to stop you. You are however, unlikely to be technically competent or sufficiently knowledgeable to be able to navigate all the complexities of self employment and you will be unemployable by any reputable employer who won’t accept your qualifications. You will also be uninsurable on any normal salon policy - only a little scheme intended for mobile and at home therapists working solo.

in contrast I went to a private college and did a CIBTAC qualification which is mapped to the QCF as a level 2 beauty diploma with level 3 facial electrics. It took me 8 months at 3 days a week and cost about £4K I think. I started to do manicure and pedicure treatments whilst I was training (as many of us did). By the time I’d qualified I was earning over £200 a day.

Hello! Thank you so much for this in-depth reply - this is exactly what I was after and the reason I asked the question, I don't want to cut corners or be caught out later down the line!

I'll investigate the CIBTAC qualification - thank you again!
 
Hey Hannah,

Firstly, @TheDuchess, another very insightful and well communicated position. Bravo!

Just my quick two pennies, to add on to TheDuchess, I personally have found it very difficult navigating this very unregulated industry. This sadly kept me from updating my training since relocating here in 2015, I must have pushed it off for 2 years as I was completely stuck on where to start.

I commend you for not only finding this platform but being interested enough to ask these important questions.

Personally, my struggle was having a qualification that was achieved foreignly (Esthetics License, CA, USA). To gain employment in the spa system here, I did update/add-on some training to satisfy employers. These were both certificates (not diplomas).

I did a Level 2 Beauty Specialist Certificate (VCTC) as I was told by other professionals that this would be at minimum to perform basic beauty services here. I have to admit, this was purely to satisfy an employer. If I had no training background I would adamantly suggest a perusal of a diploma. Simply for the fact that you have more time to train.

The Level 2 Beauty Specialist Certificate costed around £2,300 exc VAT. For the sake of building on a strong foundation, I would personally spend double to take on a diploma.

The services you outlined (nails, dermaplaning, facials, micro blading) actually sound very symbiotic and could create a great service menu offering and sounds like a great goal to work towards! I could definitely see someone with a level 2 diploma in beauty therapy taking on accredited courses to work up to dermaplaning and micro blading.

A more traditional beauty salon in my town does body and facial waxing, manicures and pedicures (unsure of the specifics as I am ignorant when it comes to nails), lash lifts, eyebrow lamination, eyelash/eyebrow tinting and spray tanning. I feel that these services really bounce off of one another and create a lot of value for guests who are beauty service interested and very loyal if the services are done well .

I personally love skin and massage therapy, I personally don't offer dermaplaning as I don't find it to be the best option for physical exfoliation (only my opinion), and would see it mostly beneficial for the temporary hair removal benefits, which I think are perfectly appropriate and make sense in a setting that assists with hair growth management (waxing, threading, sugaring).

It would be great to hear from those who work in nails to offer insights of the pathway to expand on that as a service.

Wishing you all the best on your endeavour!
 
Hi Hannah
I, like yourself, decided in my thirties to take beauty therapy training. I took VTCT levels 2 & 3 simultaneously at a private school, every Saturday for 2 years. A few years ago I wanted to do semi-permanent makeup so took a level 4 VTCT at a private school. If you are looking at Microblading, you should consider level 4. I took a 2 day microblading course, before my level 4 VTCT, which was wholly inadequate and not recognised by Ofqual - waste of a lot of money! My council will only accept level 4 for licensing purposes. I’ve taken add-on courses but because I have the proper quals to back them up my insurer will insure me for everything, rather than having to get cover from each school’s affiliated insurance provider. Hope this helps and good luck.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top