The area of personal grooming covers a wide range and includes hairstyling, make-up, image consultancy, and beauty and other treatments. Popular careers in the area include being hairstylists, make-up artists, beauty therapists and image consultants.

Hairstylists

Hair salons today offer a range of services such as shampooing, blow-drying, styling, cutting, trimming, colouring, highlighting, straightening, perming, hair treatments and hair extensions. Hairstylists, depending on their qualifications, skills and expertise, will be able to provide some if not all of these services. Some people train as apprentices with professional hairstylists in order to learn the skills. Others go on hairdressing or hairstyling courses that also include apprenticeship and training in a salon. There are short intensive courses as well as longer certificate or diploma courses that in addition to the skills mentioned earlier, will also give students skills in operating and managing a salon. 

Make-up artists

Make-up artists apply cosmetics to enhance or change the look of their clients. Some make-up artists work as cosmetic or fashion artists who find themselves working on brides and grooms for the big day, or on models for magazine covers and advertisements. More creative make-up artists may find themselves working in a make-up design team for television, film, or theatre productions where make-up artists are in demand to create looks that are needed from artificial cuts and bruises, to creatures from outer space! Others may find themselves teaching and supervising future make-up artists in academies, and some may even own beauty schools. A make-up artist can choose to work on their own or work in a design team. Either way, the job scope for a make-up artist is wide. Students interested in this form of art can register for a certificate, diploma, or short course.

Beauty therapists

Beauty therapists analyse clients’ skin and offer recommendations for treatment such as what skin products to use, what sort of facial treatments to get, and what sort food to avoid. Beauty therapists also perform facial and body massages, facial hair removal, eyebrow shaping, and eyelash colouring. Besides skin analysis, beauty therapists may also concern themselves with the client’s body care by recommending exercise and diet programmes for a healthy lifestyle. Short courses, diploma courses, certificate courses, and training programmes are available for those who have a passion for improving a person’s outer and inner beauty and well-being.

Image consultants

Image consultants provide recommendations on how to project the image that their clients want personally or professionally. They give advice on hair, make-up, clothes and accessories. A good image consultant has a good understanding and knowledge of fashion, hair, grooming and make-up. In addition, you also need excellent communication skills. Image consultants work for large or boutique image consulting firms or are self-employed. There are now various courses offered where students can study and train to be professional image consultants.