Mirror, mirror on the wall, whos the fairest of them all? These days theres no need to ask this rhetorical question as the ones who are not ‘fair dont have to despair as the fast-growth Rs.100 crore beauty industry can make everyone look good. Good grooming is an essential aspect of an attractive personality which in the contemporary world is imperative not only to land good grooms or brides, but also to bag the best jobs. With a growing number of people becoming increasingly conscious of the way they are turned out, the beauty business is thriving. And with huge multinational cosmetics companies and international beauty salons queuing up to enter the Indian market, a beauticians career has become a very attractive and lucrative proposition.
Today, beauty/grooming specialists are a much sought after breed of professionals commanding high fees for their specialised services. This is also a profession with great scope for entrepreneurship. Beauticians may develop skills in skin care, hair care, hairdressing, cosmetology etc all at the same time, or specialise in any of these areas. Eventually they can evolve their own formulations for skin care, hair care etc and market them to clients and the general public.
Most polytechnics offer diploma courses in beauty culture and hairdressing to students who have completed their Plus Two or equivalent examination successfully. These courses vary in duration from six months to two years. Established beauticians of national and international repute also conduct training programmes which are well-recognised in the profession.
Some of the better known institutes for training are:
South Delhi Polytechnic for Women, New Delhi
Womens Polytechnic, Maharani Bagh, New Delhi
Shahnaz Husain Training Instituteestablishments in major cities
Akbar Peerbhoy Girls Polytechnic, Fort, Mumbai
Schnell Hans International School of Beauty, Hairdressing and Cosmetology, Mumbai
Christine Valmy International School of Esthetics, Mumbai
Dr.Dharmabal Government PolytechnicCollege for Women, Chennai
B blunt – Salons and Academies, Mumbai
VLCC Institute of Beauty, Health and Management, New Delhi
Emeralde International Institute of Hair and Beauty, Mumbai
Lady Amritbai Daga College for Women of Arts, Commerce and Science (affiliated to Nagpur University)
LAD College for Women of Arts, Commerce and Science , Nagpur, offers B.Tech and M.Tech programmes in cosmetic technology after Plus Two with physics, chemistry, and biology/maths.
After qualifying, a beautician usually begins work in a salon or a beauty parlour, after which not a few set up shop on their own. A qualified beautician can also work for a cosmetics manufacturer or become a consultant or a writer offering grooming advice. A new entrant into the profession can very quickly take home Rs.10,000–12,000 per month with the remuneration package rising to Rs.20,000–100,000 in a multinational cosmetics company. For those owning big salons six figure monthly incomes are the rule rather than the exception.
Lucrative profession. Careers in beauty, hairdressing, and cosmetology offer a variety of rewarding as well as lucrative professional options for those with thorough training and sound fundamentals. The possibilities of making a successful career out of the beauty and grooming business are unlimited. And with beauticians having the choice of running their own salons, working as beauty consultants, trichologists, hair specialists, or onychologists (specialists in nail treatment), you could also specialise in model make-up or even become a specialist in bridal dressing,” says Sunita Motwani-Makhija, director of the Schnell Hans International Beauty School and chain of salons, whos been in the beauty business for the past 23 years.
The Schnell Hans beauty schools offer a variety of courses including beginners diploma, advanced diploma for practising beauticians, personality transformation programmes, and a certificate course in cosmetology. The duration of these courses is between a few weeks to six months. Schnell Hans is an autonomous institution affiliated to the UK School of Onychology, London. In 1998 Schnell Hans became the first and only company in India to be designated an authorised training centre for the beauty therapy and hairdressing programmes of the reputed City & Guilds International, UK, which has been conducting vocational examinations in over 100 countries around the world for the past 120 years.
Motwani-Makhija, whos been training women students at her salon founded by her beautician mother, has herself been trained abroad in various schools in London and New York including Vidal Sasoon, Moris Masterclass, Complections International, and the UK School of Onychology. She has also been awarded a diploma by the World Federation of Supreme Hairdressers.
According to Motwani-Makhija, a beauticians career is versatile and flexible and is often taken as an add-on by college students, teachers, dress designers, skin specialists etc. You can work on your own terms, keep your own timings, and the money is good. If you start out on your own, you can even do so without capital if you operate from the house or as a visiting beautician. A lot of people are quitting their office jobs to become beauticians
With foreign cosmetics companies targeting India in right earnest, international cosmetics brands becoming readily available, and everybody from 14 to 80 years wanting to look well-groomed, the beauty industry is experiencing explosive growth.