Is your face or body crying out for some extra loving care? Maybe you could do with some advice about your skin? Beauty therapists can offer you advice and provide treatments to meet your beauty requirements.

There are just over 1,100 beauty therapists working in Western Australia, the majority of whom work in the Perth metropolitan area, followed by a smaller number in each of the remaining regions.

Almost all of the State's beauty therapists are female, but as more males become interested in skin care, there's no reason for them not to consider this line of work.



Students are able to commence the Certificate III in Beauty Services throughout the year. It is possible to complete specific units to develop knowledge in a certain area of beauty therapy or enhance particular skills.

Let Yourself Be Pampered

While most would agree that beauty begins on the inside, beauty therapists offer services designed to remedy or alleviate skin disorders or generally help improve and beautify the skin.

Unique Skin Needs

The range of beauty therapy treatments on offer is extensive and literally can cater for people from head to toe.

Treatments include eyebrow or other facial or body waxing treatments, facials, body massage, eyelash tinting, cellulite wraps and manicures and pedicures. Aside from hand-applied treatments such as body scrubs, beauty therapists also often use electrotherapy equipment to treat skin and body conditions. Electrolysis equipment is commonly used for hair removal while some clients may enlist the help of a figure trimmer to give their unworked muscles a workout.


Often a first booking is scheduled so that beauty therapists can carry out a skin analysis. This determines a client's skin type so that they can recommend the most appropriate skincare regime. Cosmetic products and treatments that may help the client are also recommended by beauty therapists.

When not attending to their clients, beauty therapists undertake general receptionist duties such as making appointments and maintaining clients' records.



The Personal Touch

'I completed a beauty course so that I could learn how to look after my skin better. I've always been a people person and I was interested in doing something where I could help others. I've always wanted to teach, so I turned what I learned for myself into a teaching opportunity,' says beauty therapist, Corrine Brown.

According to Corrine, this is an excellent career choice for those interested in working closely with people. Because beauty therapists share such close contact with their clients and they may be required to treat what a client perceives as an embarrassing skin condition, good interpersonal and communication skills are high up on a beauty therapist's list of desired skills.





Males are increasingly enlisting the services provided by beauty therapists, which Corrine Brown largely attributes to a therapist's communication skills.

'More and more males are coming in for treatments such as facials and massage on a regular basis. After all, they have skincare needs too. But it comes down to the way in which beauty therapists communicate with them.'

With so many products available to consumers, offering sound product advice is integral to beauty therapists establishing a good relationship with their clients.

'If a client is using the wrong product I advise them about which products would better suit them and I educate them about how to use these correctly. Clients should be able to trust that their beauty therapist is giving them good advice and not just selling them something to make more money,' says Corrine.


Retail sales go hand in hand with the beauty industry, so beauty therapists need to be confident when doing the selling. This stems back to good product knowledge and understanding a client's needs.

There are some skin problems that beauty therapists are not trained to deal with, however they should be able to identify problems such as dermatitis and eczema and recommend if necessary, that a client consult a medical practitioner.


Rosy Future

According to Margot Ward, an employment consultant in the beauty industry and manager of Salon Connection, good employment opportunities currently exist in this occupation. Margot attributes this to a growing awareness about the benefits of good skincare habits among women and men, as well as in the younger age groups. The occupation has also traditionally experienced a high turnover rate. Varied positions, including casual, part time and full time exist in this occupation. Not to mention, the growing realisation that a little bit of pampering goes a long way.



The starting salary is about $25,000 per year and this may go as high as $35,000 for someone with more experience, even more if you are self employed in the industry. However, most of the people employed in this occupation are done so on a casual basis, occasionally part time. Generally, people new to the industry are paid between $10 - $15 per hour and this may go as high as $18, $20 in some cases. This would be paid to someome very experienced who can demonstrate management skills.

To work as a qualified beauty therapist you will need to have completed the six basic units of the Certificate III in Beauty Services or the Certificate IV in Beauty Therapy and/or a Diploma in Beauty Therapy. These courses are offered through registered training organisations including TAFE. For more information, check out the TAFE and NTIS websites below.

The Diploma of Beauty Therapy is offered through the Mount Lawley and Fremantle campuses of TAFE (in 2005).

For further information, please check out the NTIS and TAFE sites below.

It is also possible to undertake a traineeship in beauty therapy. For more information, contact the New Apprenticeship Hotline on 1800 639 629.

	Other Training Providers
	National Training Information Service website.
	TAFE Colleges
	Homepage links and contact details for all TAFE Colleges in WA.
	TAFE Handbook
	An online guide to full time TAFE courses available throughout WA.

Wholesale, Retail and Personal Services ITC
Suite 19 Plaistow Mews City West Centre West Perth WA 6005 Phone: (08) 9481 5766 Email norma@wrapswa.com.au URL: http://www.wrapswa.com.au

Australian College of Beauty Therapy
Level 2 - 60 Stirling Street Perth WA 6000 Phone: (08) 9228 4611 Fax: (08) 9228 2769 Email: acbt@space.net.au URL: http://www.space.net.au/~acbt/acbt06.html

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Corrine Brown is the first to admit that the catalyst behind her decision to study beauty therapy was purely for her own benefit. While she wanted to be able give her own skin the best possible attention, she certainly didn't expect to turn those skills into a career.

But she has and lucky for Corrine, it is proving highly rewarding. Corrine has been able to combine her skincare knowledge with her love of people and desire to teach and help others.

Better yet, beauty therapy has become a rapidly expanding industry. Most women and nowadays, many men, want to know how best to care for their skin.

Fourteen years after completing a course in beauty therapy, Corrine has earned the title of salon manager/senior beauty therapist at the Hepburn Beauty & Day Spa and is the Company's product trainer and consultant in Australia and South East Asia. If that is not enough, she is also the International Examiner for CIDESCO (a Zurich-based Health and Beauty international organisation).

You only have to listen to Corrine's philosophy about the relationship between beauty therapists and their customers to know that she really strives to do her best by the client to enhance that relationship.

'When you sell beauty products it only takes about 10 minutes. Retail is the most profitable side of the beauty industry, but clients know when a therapist is just selling for the sake of selling. In this industry relationships are built on trust and you should only recommend something that the client needs. The greatest satisfaction that I derive from my work is seeing my customers happy.'

That aside, it's probably not that hard trusting Corrine when she recommends certain skincare products and regimes. Beautifully groomed, she is a great testimonial for the beauty industry.

And it's not all 'product'! Like many beauty therapists these days, Corrine adopts a holistic approach to skincare, recognising the benefits of good eating habits and a healthy lifestyle to promote prime health and glowing skin.

So, girls or guys, if you have an interest in the beauty industry and share similar aspirations to Corrine, why not give this occupation a closer look? As Corrine has proved, there are personal benefits to be gained from beauty therapy and the occupation offers exciting career opportunities.