Life After Beauty School: More on the State Board Exam

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Life After Beauty School: More on the State Board Exam

Published: February 24, 2008
by Rosanne Ullman

The first thing you’ll do after you graduate from cosmetology school is take the test to get your state license so you can do more than fold towels at the salon! Nadene Bruders, who coaches people preparing for the California exam, says, “Cosmetologists are artistic more than they’re book learners,” so more people pass the practical than the written section. Still, most beauty school graduates pass both. Hairdressers are typically fully licensed cosmetologists who pass the hair, skin and nails sections, while barbers may have to pass only the hair exam and estheticians and nail techs just take their appropriate sections.

For the practical part, some states use a mannequin head while others, including California, require a live model. Some What you need to know for your State Cosmetology Board Exam

What you need to know for your State Cosmetology Board Exam

requirements, like the finger wave set, may seem outdated, but Bruders finds it valuable. “That shows whether you know how to work with your fingers and a comb,” she explains. “That’s what our business is—dressing hair by working with what we know how to do.”

Remember the cosmetology school science classes I mentioned? Well, you’ll need them for the written part of the exam. “People would be amazed at what hairdressers have to study and know,” says Bruders, who co-authored A Shear Pass, which lays out all the skills Californians need plus sample questions. Fully licensed cosmetologists “have to know the biology, chemistry, diseases, disorders and complete breakdown for hair, skin and nails,” says Bruders. “People think all we do is cut hair. That’s a laugh!”

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1 Comments

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Toni Heywood, August 05, 2008 04:37

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Thats a really interesting post. I think it as struggle once you qualify. Its a very strong market in the UK as well.
I did my training at The London School of Beauty on one of their Fast track Beauty Courses