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Nervous But Hopeful, Cosmetology School Grad Tackles Boards’ Theory Portion

Published: December 28, 2008
by Rosanne Ullman

With her mother waiting in the car, cosmetology school grad Krissy Simmons walked into the room where the theory portion

of the Michigan State Cosmetology Boards was being administered, along with tests for other licensing. Two monitors “didn’t say a whole lot other than what was on their script,” Krissy reports, “but they were much more friendly than the people at my practical exam.” Krissy was required to leave her driver’s license with them while she took the test. They also took Krissy’s picture and had her sign electronically, so that if she passed her license would be all ready for her to take with her when she left.

As she sat down at her assigned a computer, Krissy felt her heart begin to race. “I’m a pretty religious person,” she says, “so before I touched the keyboard I just prayed for God to help me to get through the test, whether the result turned out to be good or bad. I felt a little bit better after that.”

The test started out with a few sample questions that didn’t count. Krissy’s heart was racing; she didn’t know what to expect. “I’ve heard that there are nine different tests that they give you at random, all focusing on something different,” she says. Would this one test on facts she’d learned in cosmetology school? Krissy calmed herself down and began. In only 15 to 20 minutes, she’d be finished and either be a licensed cosmetologist or not. Check back for details!

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Winter Break Is Less Bleak With Bright Future in Beauty School

Published: December 24, 2008
by Rosanne Ullman

Beauty school may be the last thing you want to think about right now. If you’re in high school or college, you probably just finished finals and are happy to be on winter break. Perhaps you’re traveling to somewhere warm where you

can sit on a beach. You might be heading in the opposite direction—up a mountain to do some skiing, since there seems to be no shortage of snow this year! Maybe you’re going home to Mom’s good cooking and gifts waiting for you under the tree. Far from your mind are thoughts of books, studying and any school—even a fun program like cosmetology school.

Okay, I’ll give you a few days to decompress. Once your head clears, winter break can be a great time to take stock and look into the crystal ball to see what’s coming next. Soon it will be 2009, a whole new year. What will it hold for you? The immediate job outlook isn’t so great, so biding time in school can be a great idea. By the time you complete your program, the employment picture may look a lot prettier.

If, like me, you’re staring out your window at bare trees and frigid temperatures, you might want to cozy up with a blanket and a laptop and explore your options for what comes next in your life. Right here at BeautySchoolAdvisor, you’ll find a lot of information that can give you direction toward cosmetology school and a rewarding career in beauty.

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Cosmetology School: An Investment in Yourself That Doesn’t Depreciate

Published: December 20, 2008
by Rosanne Ullman

Paying tuition to a cosmetology school is truly making an investment in yourself. In this recession, is there a better place for your money? If you, or

maybe your parents, have been watching a stock portfolio dwindle, the interest rate on your savings CD slide or the price of your house plummet, you may have lost confidence in stocks, banks and real estate. None of the traditional nesting places for money has turned out to be a sure thing. But you— you’re something you can count on, something you control. Your future career—whether you achieve it through beauty school or other training—is what’s most likely to earn you money that you’ll live on all your life.

A lot of people believe in the get-rich-quick idea: put your money into some high-return investment, and you’ll have free cash forever. Yet, as we've seen in recent news, some of these “investments” are no more than schemes that implode after a while. Other high-risk endeavors are launched amid favorable market conditions but eventually tumble even more quickly than they climbed.

Absolutely, the stock market has had some very profitable years, and people have made money. But ultimately private individuals have no control over the rise and fall of the housing, financial and commodities markets. When you have skills that address needs in the marketplace, though, you’ll always have paying clients. My advice is to invest in yourself, and going online to check out cosmetology schools is a great place to start.

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Check Out This Cosmetology School Scholarship Opportunity!

Published: December 16, 2008
by Rosanne Ullman

Every little bit helps when you’re putting together tuition for cosmetology school, and I will always tell you when I track down any source of cash to help you pursue this rewarding career. While you should check your state’s cosmetology board

website for any leads on financial help that your state provides, I’d like to make you aware of a source that does not depend upon the location of the beauty school you attend.

The Joe Francis Hair Care Scholarship Foundation is named for the founder of The Barbers, a hair care chain that merged with The Regis Corporation about ten years ago. Along with his wife Florence, the late Joe Francis employed about 8,000 hair designers and pioneered the franchise concept. Florence Francis oversees the foundation that honors the couple’s passion for beauty education and commitment to the future of the salon industry.

To qualify for a scholarship from the foundation, you must be either enrolled in or accepted to a cosmetology school program as of August 2009. You can download an application from the website, and you must submit it between January 1 and June 1. According to the information there, applicants are judged on “their potential to successfully complete school, their financial need and their commitment to a long-term career in cosmetology.” In 2008, 18 cosmetology students each received a $1,000 Joe Francis Hair Care Scholarship award to put toward their beauty school tuition. Perhaps next year you will be among the recipients of this nice gesture!

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Krissy’s Next Hurdle: The Theory Portion of her State Cosmetology Boards

Published: December 12, 2008
by Rosanne Ullman

With the practical portion of her Michigan State Cosmetology Boards successfully completed, our correspondent, recent beauty school graduate Krissy Simmons, prepared to take the written test or “theory” portion. As much as Krissy was eager to

become a professional cosmetologist, she was not looking forward to this exam. She was all signed up, thanks to PSIExams.com, and turned to former classmates who’d already taken the test for advice on how to prepare.

“I found a huge difference of opinion!” Krissy exclaims. “One friend had studied quite vigorously and still didn’t feel confident walking into the testing center, while another didn’t even look over any study material and ended up finishing the test in seven minutes with the confidence that she’d passed. I decided to take my cue from my friend Marie, who had reviewed a mini-study guide that was included in the kits we received when we started school. Marie said that it helped her out.”

Krissy’s best intentions, though, didn’t serve up much in the way of results. She continues, “For a week, I took the guide with me everywhere I went. But I would start looking at it and just fall asleep! Needless to say, I didn’t get much studying accomplished and, therefore, I wasn’t as confident as I could have been going into my theory exam.” So, relying almost entirely on her memory of what she’d learned in beauty school, Krissy entered the testing room, where next time we’ll pick up on her adventures.

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Some Rewards of Beauty School Pay Off Immediately

Published: December 08, 2008
by Rosanne Ullman

Since you’re considering going to beauty school, a book you may want to pick up is Passionate Salon Professionals by Dr. Lewis Losoncy and Joe Santy (link to amazon here). A section at the end of the book, “100 Thoughts to

Bring Out Your Passion for Your Profession and Life,” starts out with “20 Passion-Generating Reminders to Myself.” Any one of these 20 “reminders” could serve as an inspiration that would drive the right person to enroll in cosmetology school and join this wonderful industry. But I’d like to draw your attention to two of the 20 reminders.

Number 10 reminds the cosmetologist to keep a before-and-after mental image of every client. You picture how these people looked when they walked in and then how dramatically improved their appearance is as they walk out. It’s a motivator! Number 19 takes a different twist on that, saying: “I am able to see the results of my work as soon as it’s done, unlike in most other professions.”

So many cosmetologists, hairdressers in particular, have mentioned “instant gratification” to me as one of the best perks of their career. Doctors, lawyers, teachers, even home decorators all have to wait to see how their efforts turn out. Hairstylists, make-up artists and massage therapists see the changes they’ve made in someone’s life within an hour or two. Client by client, they all walk out amazingly better off than when they walked in. Are you impatient for reward? Beauty school will serve you well!

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This Economy Attracts Clients to Beauty Schools

Published: December 04, 2008
by Rosanne Ullman

Several of the various bloggers and websites that offer advice about saving money during these challenging economic times have come up with

a great suggestion: get your hair done at your local beauty school or get skin care services at an esthetics school, because services are affordable and professional.

Typical of this hot tip is this blurb from internetbasedmoms.com: “Every salon superstar has to start somewhere, and that somewhere is cosmetology school. They offer great rates and unless you’re asking for something super complicated like turning your jet black hair platinum blonde, then chances are they can accomplish it quite successfully. If you’re still shaking your head and thinking, ‘NO WAY,’ it might help to know that the students are under tremendous pressure to do a good job, they want to do a good job—their grade and their future depend on it—and the instructors are never far away. Still unsure, send your sister there first! Kidding, try a manicure or just go in for a trim to see how they handle it.”

The same article promotes esthetics schools for massages: “The warm and skilled hands of massage students are just waiting for your stiff neck and sore back. Yep, massage students [also] need people to practice on. They can knead out all of those knots and sore muscles for a quarter of the cost of a [licensed massage therapist].” Enroll in beauty school during this recession, and you can take advantage of a larger pool of clients than ever!

Photo credit: I took this photo during my visit to Empire School in Arlington Heights, IL.

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