how to become a lash tech

Licensed Eyelash Technicians Are In High-Demand

Are you a beautician or esthetician solo-preneur who specializes in lashes? Alternatively, do you own your own salon and employ other beauticians or estheticians? No matter which one describes you, you've probably seen and heard more about lashes and lash extensions lately than ever before.
There's a good reason for this, as Teen Vogue estimates that lashes and lash extensions are now becoming more popular than mascara.

That's right – getting your lashes done is now more popular than makeup.

How is this possible?

Well, for one, it makes your clients' morning routine that much easier.

If you're a beautician and you haven't been offering this service yet, here's a complete guide on eyelash extensions.

In fact, folks have even been inventing some incredibly popular techniques for applying lash extensions at home. With the meteoric rise of popularity in lashes and lash extensions in the beauty industry, it is a great time to cover the basics of why it's important to get your beautician or esthetician license, as well as the practical real-world steps to getting licensed.

After all, any additional services you can offer that increase your income is generally a good thing (especially if you're building on this growing trend).
Get that stray eyelash out of your eye and say hello to the Disney Princess look, because we're about to reveal the complete How and Why of becoming a licensed eyelash technician.

After reading this article, you'll be able to make your clients' eyelashes more lush and beautiful, all while building your solo-preneur or small beauty business at the same time!

WHY YOU SHOULD BECOME A LICENSED EYELASH TECHNICIAN

First, we'll dive into why becoming licensed to perform your lash treatments and lash extension services above-board is essential for your success as an independent business owner.

In fact, we'll review 3 reasons why that is the case:
1. Becoming a professional
2. Avoiding legal action (don't get sued!)
3. Financial benefits

Let's take this step by step for becoming a certified technician!

BECOMING A CERTIFIED LASH TECHNICIAN

First off, getting licensed makes your business appear that much more professional and on-point in the long-term.

It's a way to differentiate yourself in a $1.7B market chock-full of eyelash technicians, estheticians, and beauticians all vying for your client's attention.

In fact, ABC News characterized it as a 'booming market' in their article on the topic, which also features clips from Kim Kardashian's tutorials that have helped to drive demand.

One way to stand out is to feature your license on your Facebook or Instagram page.

You can literally just snap a picture of yourself holding your license and post it.

You could argue this is essential if you'll be applying a bonding solution to their eyelids or otherwise servicing them with chemicals and/or sharp objects in the vicinity of their face and eyes. Being a lash stylist does require customers to trust you, so a certification is a great way to alleviate their concerns.

You'll get more bookings straight from your Instagram (shameless plug: putting your PocketSuite booking button on your Instagram page can help with this as well. Even listing out the specific eyelash treatments available can help get you more leads.

AVOIDING LEGAL ACTION ( DON'T GET SUED! )

Here's a recent question posted on Avvo about whether it's possible to sue a beautician for being unlicensed when they performed a lash extension service.

If you're operating unlicensed, you are classified as unregulated by the Board of Cosmetology.

This comes with several problems from a legal standpoint, the biggest of which is that you can actually get sued for misrepresentation of your official business status.

Take it from the experts at Lash Affair:

"Nearly all states require a lash artist to have a cosmetology or esthetician license in order to apply lash extensions. … Otherwise, artists are not able to have a home salon that is unregulated by the board of cosmetology."

So that's that. If you're operating under the table, you're putting yourself at risk of legal action.

You don't want a disgruntled client with burned eyelashes or superglue in their eyes to file a suit against you.

FINANCIAL BENEFITS

Being your own boss brings a lot of benefits (and who doesn't like a flexible schedule?). And becoming a licensed eyelash technician comes with actual financial benefits. It might start out as a part-time thing, but as it grows you can turn it into a full-time job.

For example, Associated Skin Care Professionals (ASCP for short) is the official industry organization that has thousands of licensed members.

Being a part of this organization will allow you to network with others and exchange valuable business tips, go to conferences, get educated on the latest market trends and techniques, and even get referrals from fellow business owners!

In order to join, however, you must be licensed.

Another prominent organization, The National Association of Lash Artists (commonly known as the NALA Global Directory) can help you find an accredited course to help you on your journey to get licensed. More on this in the next section on How to get licensed.

So now that we've covered all of the potential benefits of becoming a licensed eyelash professional, let's continue to the juicy part – How do you actually do it?

HOW TO BECOME A LICENSED EYELASH TECHNICIAN

You don't need a medical license to become an eyelash technician, but the requirements for becoming licensed vary by state. Here are the 3 steps to take if you want to become a certified lash technician.

1. Check the list of licensing requirements for your state.
Determine the laws of your particular state (assuming you're within the United States) – do you need to become a licensed esthetician, cosmetologist, medical professional, or barber?

2. Take an accredited course and complete the required hours of training in order to graduate and receive a certificate.
Extensive training courses are required for becoming a certified technician. Depending on the course you choose, it can take up to a couple of months to get certified. In person classes are also the way to go as you'll get hands-on coaching to learn how to work with lash extensions and new lash products coming out. You can take courses at a local beauty school and some community colleges even offer training courses. And as a bonus, the training courses are where you can learn customer service to deliver an excellent experience to your future customers. Here is a directory of courses to help get you started.

3. Go to your state's Board of Cosmetology (or Esthetics) and take your licensing exam.
There is also continuing education available as well as advanced courses, specifically for experienced eyelash technicians.
You can choose between Classic Courses, Volume Courses, Combo (Classic + Volume), Lash Lift and/or Lash Tint certification courses as well as Extended Learning courses for experienced Eyelash technicians.
For starters, go with the Classic courses. If you're more experienced try one of the other ones to expand your knowledge. Once you have your cosmetology license, you can officially begin working as an eyelash technician.

Ultimately, this journey that you'll be taking to get licensed will result in more money in your pocket, less sweat on your brow, an end to all of the worries about being sued for unlicensed practice and a wealth of connections and partnership opportunities.

Your new life as a licensed eyelash technician awaits. Will you grab it or let it slip away?

MANAGE YOUR BEAUTY BUSINESS WITH POCKETSUITE

Speaking of changing your life, PocketSuite can give your esthetician, beauty, or barber business a whole new look.

Say hello to online booking from your website/Facebook/Instagram, accepting deposits and payments online, scanning credit cards on your phone, scheduling, and a whole lot more. Try the Premium plan and thank me later.

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