Career profile for Esthetician

What does an Esthetician do?

Estheticians provide skincare treatments to face and body to enhance an individual's appearance.

In addition, Estheticians includes electrologists and laser hair removal specialists.

What kind of tasks does an Esthetician perform regularly?

Estheticians are often responsible for overseeing or executing some or all of the following tasks:

Sterilize equipment and clean work areas.
Examine clients' skin, using magnifying lamps or visors when necessary, to evaluate skin condition and appearance.
Cleanse clients' skin with water, creams, or lotions.
Demonstrate how to clean and care for skin properly and recommend skin-care regimens.
Select and apply cosmetic products, such as creams, lotions, and tonics.
Perform simple extractions to remove blackheads.
Stay abreast of latest industry trends, products, research, and treatments.
Determine which products or colors will improve clients' skin quality and appearance.
Treat the facial skin to maintain and improve its appearance, using specialized techniques and products, such as peels and masks.
Refer clients to medical personnel for treatment of serious skin problems.
Remove body and facial hair by applying wax.
Provide facial and body massages.
Keep records of client needs and preferences and the services provided.
Apply chemical peels to reduce fine lines and age spots.
Advise clients about colors and types of makeup and instruct them in makeup application techniques.

The above responsibilities are specific to Estheticians. More generally, Estheticians are involved in several broader types of activities:

Activities	Importance	Details
Performing for or Working Directly with the Public		Performing for people or dealing directly with the public. This includes serving customers in restaurants and stores, and receiving clients or guests.
Assisting and Caring for Others		Providing personal assistance, medical attention, emotional support, or other personal care to others such as coworkers, customers, or patients.
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships		Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.
Thinking Creatively		Developing, designing, or creating new applications, ideas, relationships, systems, or products, including artistic contributions.
Selling or Influencing Others		Convincing others to buy merchandise/goods or to otherwise change their minds or actions.

Performing for or Working Directly with the Public

Performing for people or dealing directly with the public. This includes serving customers in restaurants and stores, and receiving clients or guests.

Assisting and Caring for Others

Providing personal assistance, medical attention, emotional support, or other personal care to others such as coworkers, customers, or patients.

Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships

Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.

Thinking Creatively

Developing, designing, or creating new applications, ideas, relationships, systems, or products, including artistic contributions.

Selling or Influencing Others

Convincing others to buy merchandise/goods or to otherwise change their minds or actions.

What is an Esthetician salary?

The median salary for an Esthetician is $36,510, and the average salary is $41,230. Both the median and average roughly describe the middle of the Esthetician salary range, but the average is more easily affected by extremely high or low salaries.

Many Estheticians earn significantly more or less than the average, due to several factors. About 10% of Estheticians earn less than $22,850 per year, 25% earn less than $27,590, 75% earn less than $48,710, and 90% earn less than $64,610.

Between the years of 2020 and 2030, the number of Estheticians is expected to change by 28.7%, and there should be roughly 10,100 open positions for Estheticians every year.

Median annual salary: $36,510
Typical salary range: $22,850 - $64,610
Projected growth (2020 - 2030): 28.7%

What personality traits are common among Estheticians?

Interests

Career interests describe a person's preferences for different types of working environments and activities. When a person's interest match the demands of an occupation, people are usually more engaged and satisfied in that role.

Compared to most occupations, those who work as an Esthetician are usually higher in their Enterprising, Realistic, and Social interests.

Estheticians typically have very strong Enterprising interests. Enterprising occupations frequently involve starting up and carrying out projects. These occupations can involve leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business.

Also, Estheticians typically have moderate Realistic interests. Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.

Lastly, Estheticians typically have moderate Social interests. Social occupations frequently involve working with, communicating with, and teaching people. These occupations often involve helping or providing service to others.

Values

People differ in their values, or what is most important to them for building job satisfaction and fulfillment.

Compared to most people, those working as an Esthetician tend to value Relationships, Independence, and Achievement.

Most importantly, Estheticians strongly value Relationships. Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to provide service to others and work with co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment.

Second, Estheticians strongly value Independence. Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to work on their own and make decisions.

Lastly, Estheticians moderately value Achievement. Occupations that satisfy this work value are results oriented and allow employees to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment.

Psychological Demands

Each occupation brings its own set of psychological demands, which describe the characteristics necessary to perform the job well.

In order to perform their job successfully, people who work as Estheticians must consistently demonstrate qualities such as dependability, attention to detail, and concern for others.

Below, you'll find a list of qualities typically required of Estheticians, ranked by importance:

Demands	Importance	Details
Dependability		Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
Attention to Detail		Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.
Concern for Others		Job requires being sensitive to others' needs and feelings and being understanding and helpful on the job.
Self-Control		Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.
Integrity		Job requires being honest and ethical.

Dependability

Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.

Attention to Detail

Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.

Concern for Others

Job requires being sensitive to others' needs and feelings and being understanding and helpful on the job.

Self-Control

Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.

Integrity

Job requires being honest and ethical.

What education and training do Estheticians need?

Estheticians often have training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.

Estheticians usually need one or two years of training involving both on-the-job experience and informal training with experienced workers. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with this occupation.

Educational degrees among Estheticians

2.9% did not complete high school or secondary school
23.1% completed high school or secondary school
36.3% completed some college coursework
15.6% earned a Associate's degree
18.6% earned a Bachelor's degree
2.9% earned a Master's degree
0.5% earned a doctorate or professional degree

Knowledge and expertise required by Estheticians

Estheticians may benefit from understanding of specialized subject areas, such as customer and personal service, sales and marketing, or chemistry knowledge.

The list below shows several areas in which most Estheticians might want to build proficiency, ranked by importance.

Knowledge areas	Importance	Details
Customer and Personal Service		Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Sales and Marketing		Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
Chemistry		Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
Education and Training		Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
Public Safety and Security		Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.

Customer and Personal Service

Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

Sales and Marketing

Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.

Chemistry

Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.

Education and Training

Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

Public Safety and Security

Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.

Important Abilities needed by Estheticians

Estheticians must develop a particular set of abilities to perform their job well. Abilities are individual capacities that influence a person's information processing, sensory perception, motor coordination, and physical strength or endurance. Individuals may naturally have certain abilities without explicit training, but most abilities can be sharpened somewhat through practice.

For example, Estheticians need abilities such as oral comprehension, oral expression, and near vision in order to perform their job at a high level. The list below shows several important abilities for Estheticians, ranked by their relative importance.

Abilities	Importance	Details
Oral Comprehension		The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Oral Expression		The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
Near Vision		The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
Speech Recognition		The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
Speech Clarity		The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.

Oral Comprehension

The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.

Oral Expression

The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.

Near Vision

The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).

Speech Recognition

The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.

Speech Clarity

The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.

Critical Skills needed by Estheticians

Skills are developed capacities that enable people to function effectively in real-world settings. Unlike abilities, skills are typically easier to build through practice and experience. Skills influence effectiveness in areas such as learning, working with others, design, troubleshooting, and more.

Estheticians frequently use skills like speaking, active listening, and service orientation to perform their job effectively. The list below shows several critical skills for Estheticians, ranked by their relative importance.

Skills	Importance	Details
Speaking		Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Active Listening		Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Service Orientation		Actively looking for ways to help people.
Reading Comprehension		Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
Active Learning		Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.

Speaking

Talking to others to convey information effectively.

Active Listening

Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.

Service Orientation

Actively looking for ways to help people.

Reading Comprehension

Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.

Active Learning

Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.

What is the source of this information?

The information provided on this page is adapted from data and descriptions published by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration under the CC BY 4.0 license. TraitLab has modified some information for ease of use and reading, and the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment, and Training Administration has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.

If you have any questions or suggestions about this information, please send a message.

Career profile Esthetician

Esthetician

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