I just wanted to point out the latest edition of the Beauty Smarts Blog Carnival!! This month, Sheena from SpaBoutique hosted a fabulous collection of beauty blog posts on her blog, Spa Girl Beauty Tips. From skin bleaching to staying young to a summer challenge, the blog topics are definitely diverse. Be sure to visit the post and see all the lovely bloggers Sheena included.

And don’t forget to contribute to the next Beauty Smarts carnival: Submit here.

Happy Friday!!

-Amanda Fornecker

Beauty school is more than just sitting in a classroom. While there are certainly opportunities for practice throughout your time at beauty school, it’s through events and networking that you can really enhance your beauty school experience. This is what some students at Empire Beauty Schools recently did.

The 5^th annual tradeshow and competition, known as the Future Professionals Expo, was held in Hershey, PA, on June 7-8. Here, almost 2,000 beauty school students from Empire Beauty Schools gathered together and participated in beauty workshops, enjoyed networking opportunities, sampled beauty products, and even had a career fair experience and completed interviews with potential salon employers.

Competition was fierce, as beauty school students competed in categories, such as long hair evening design, nail art display, and others. Top industry professionals from Goldwell, OPI, HAI, and Odyssey Nail Systems were judges for these competitions. Winners received top awards with professional tools and products, workshops, and job opportunities in major cities like Las Vegas and New York.

The event was certainly a good way to branch out from the typical beauty school education. Empire Beauty Schools, which boasts 88 schools in 19 states, has provided beauty school education to students for over 75 years and plans to continue this annual competition for its students.

-Amanda Fornecker

Photo: The event in action, courtesy of Empire.edu

I’m certainly not made of money so getting a facial (although I love them and my esthetician) can sometimes be hard to do on a regular basis. In between, however, I can be sure to take care of my face in just the right way to help the maintenance of what the facial has already improved. I can definitely vouch for Bliss products, as I use them quite often and have seen a definite difference in the quality of my skin.

While I doubt I’ll ever get over the oily characteristic of my complexion completely, I do think these products have helped me zap zits, get rid of any dry patches (I know, who would even think I have those?!), and keep my face clear and clean in general. My fave products include the Steep Clean Deep Pore Cleanser and the Steep Clean Pore Purifying Mask.

I’m pretty certain that most Bliss products work well – I have no complaints as of yet. See below for some tips and recommendations by the Bliss Spa professionals!

-Amanda Fornecker

Summer weather—being high on heat, humidity, and UV rays—puts skin at risk for clogging, breakouts, and pigmentation. A regular routine of removal (getting rid of keratinized dead cell layers and pore-clogging lipids) and UV-defense (to keep the melanocytes from over-reacting and overproducing pigment) are key to keeping clear skin.

Bliss Spa clients keep their complexions under control by exfoliating twice as often, using a cleanser that promotes emulsification, and diligently applying sunscreen to prevent UV radiation.

Keep summertime sebaceous levels on the lower side of the ‘dermo-meter’ with:

bliss steep clean pore purifying mask which exfoliates dead skin cells, brightens skin’s surface, refines pores, and just might put our facial tables out of business.  The next best thing to ‘being there’ this 15-minute facial in a tube will transform t-zones into a scene of extreme clean.

laboratoire remède matte therapy cleansing gelée a water-activated gel-to-cream cleanser that ditches the day’s debris while taking a swipe at sebum, for skin that’s beautifully balanced and remarkably matte.

bliss best of skintentions our mission-driven moisturizer that protects skin with SPF 15 for UVB (burning) protection plus a UVA (aging) rating PA++.

-Bliss Spa

The economy may be quickly shrinking, but that doesn’t mean that all businesses are suffering. In fact, beauty schools are doing a pretty good job of staying afloat during this tough economic crisis, as more and more beauty-obsessed individuals ditch the cubicle for the beauty salon classroom in a variety of beauty school concentrations.

I’ve always had a love of makeup. And I think this economy has kick-started those who have felt the same way — into a new career where they can pursue their passion and make a different life for themselves. While they may be changing their paycheck just a bit (cosmetologists average between $30,000 and $48,000 before tips, according to the American Association of Cosmetology Schools, AACS), they are pursuing something that can have a large payout in the long run, especially if they own their own salon or spa.

Take this recent NY Times article, for instance. It’s interesting to see all the beauty school professionals talking about beauty school popularity. Lynelle Lynch of Bellus Academy says in the article, “The industry is much more sophisticated than it once was.” This is definitely true as I believe the industry has moved away from the negative stigma that once was associated with the beauty industry. It takes a quite skilled, creative, and dedicated individual to pursue a beauty career. And an even more daring person to change careers entirely.

Beauty school isn’t just about the particular trade you’re about to study. It’s also about getting a well-rounded education that will give you the skills to really go out and conduct business. Classes in ethics and business practices are generally included in a curriculum that also emphasizes the history and chemistry of your desired profession. It’s quite a diverse field and students work hard to learn both on paper in the classroom and on mannequins (and eventually people) in the salon.

The NYT article also brings to light the fact that beauty schools are increasing in locations and enrollment:

At this time in 2008, Bellus Academy had 180 students; today it has 240. The number of students at Empire Beauty Schools, which has 89 locations, was up 17 percent from April 2008 to April 2009; enrollment at Paul Mitchell Schools, with 91 locations, increased 14 percent from May 2008 to May 2009.

Additionally, the AACS suggests that this is a wide open field. In fact, in January 2007, there were practically 1.7 million individuals employed in the beauty industry. And it continues to grow. “Salon owners reported 484,660 job openings were filled during 2006,” says the AACS. “This represents an average of 1.3 openings per salon. Nearly 40 percent of all new positions were filled by inexperienced workers.”

This all just goes to show how many opportunities exist within the beauty industry. There is lots of potential to get the job you desire. If you’ve always had a passion for beauty careers then maybe it’s time to consider the career change. Schedules are flexible so continuing to work and taking night classes is certainly possible. You just need to find the right school for you. Let us help you begin your search and even do some research about some of these accredited programs.

-Amanda Fornecker