The apprenticeship program for Estheticians is not going to be safe or practical for the public and the industrty as a whole.

Currently, there are many Spas and other establishments that are not licensed or qualified based on current licensing regulations of Virginia to carry out the services they offer by that I mean we come across many individuals who contact us telling us they either were not aware of the licensing regs or they chose not to pursue their education to acquire licenses and continue to practice without license and they have managed o go under the radar of regulatory agencies! This means the apprentices will be possibly working under the hands of these unqualified individuals which has its risks and consequences encouraging the unprofessionalism and lack of knowledge needed to treat and handle clients and consumers.

Virginia raised the bar by implementing the licensing regulations in 2007 which was a great move to bring the standards higher like the other states or other countries, by allowing apprenticeship programs in this state we are allowing the standards to sink again.. if there is a need to simplify the training for individuals who need to work perhaps the board could consider lowering the hours and combining the basic and master program into one 900 hour program.

I have been an Esthetician for over 30 years with experience in working in the Uk and Ausstralia where they require two years of training to be able to work as skin care specialists.

I would be more than happy to give feed backs and expert opinion if needed.

I appreciate your time and attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

Shiva Vahid

In retrospect to my comment of reduction of hours I wish to add the following after a discusion with our curriculum specialist, instructors and advisory board. We do not recommend  any reduction in hours and support the full 1200 hours.Due to the technical nature of the skill set required to practice esthetics and master esthetics, the state required components of the curriculum, and with the increase in industry advances and need to prepare our graduates for employment that demands these skill sets, we are not able to teach the profession in less that 1200 hours and feel it will pose a risk to the health, safety and welfare of the citizens of the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Shiva Vahid

I am currently a license basic esthetician pursuing my Master Esthetic's license and getting ready to graduate at the end of this month.  My instructor informed us of this forum which we can respond to the idea of allowing "grandfathered"  estheticians to be allowed to obtain their license without having to go through formal training.  I totally agree with Shiva Vahid's statements that she has made in addition to add my own opinions.  Virgina has made a standard of 1200 hours in a formal school in order to become a Master Esthetician-this standard should not be lowered or excused.  We are trying to raise the bar for estheticians and a lot of estheticians who have been grandfathered in have learned unsafe skills or are not aware of sanitary procedures or even understand the science behind products or skin histology.  When someone who has not had formal training is working on client and implements unsafe standards, practices and treatments because they have been show the process how to do a treatment but do not understand the science behind the treatment it in turn will cause a negative consequence for the client, that in turn, puts us licensed estheticians in a group of being unsafe and uneducated.  I believe and hope to see that all states implement the 1200 hour program in order to become a master esthetician.  A formal education is necessary and vital in order to keep our clients safe and for the sake of keeping professionalism in the estheticics field.

Thank you,

Christine Davis

As a master aesthetics instructor, and school owner of the Graham Webb Academy I oppose apprenticeship for aesthicians.  In particular master aestheticians.  I draw you attention to the fact that in 2007 many people were grandfathered into aesthetics, some with only cosmetology training and a history of doing facials.  There are literally hundreds of such individuals in the marketplace.  Their ability to teach an apprentice even though they are licensed is greatly diminished, and considering master aestheticianns perform chemical peels, and microdermabrasion, it would creat an unsafe enviornment for consumers.  

Apprentices fall under the department of labor, with little oversight by the cosmetology board, and the ability to grant compentancy hours, and not follow the state prescribed criculum  is rampant as evidenced by the recent Cosmetology Board meeting. Many times students are used as cheap labor and taught little.   In addition apprentiship programs have a very low completion rate, leaving many individuals with nothing to show for their efforts.  Schools are more effectively monitored and must comply with all aspects of State rule.