Established 1-woman salon owner to fly out for schooling - input needed

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#1

I have an established in home salon and have been in business almost 9 years in Washington state where electrology is unregulated. I am now ready to get educated but I vacillate between my options. Will the things I “think” matter or will I find they won’t at all.

I go back and forth as the whether I should go for the full 600 hours to get a license in a state I will 99.999% likely, never ever use it in, or do the 400 hours and get really well crafted continuing education classes. To suppliment

What I struggle with is not how to shift my clients to make this happen… it’s actually working around my husbands work and family life (dog) schedule and the financial aspect of flying to a state to get my hours in chair.

I have researched several schools in different states and they obviously all have their pros and cons some schools are much more flexible with helping the students get the chair hours in but might not be in a very desirable location from the airport, from lodging etc…

I’m trying to take into account the total cost as well. I use Monterey Bay as an example they are in a very desirable location very close to the water and in a very walkable area close to the airport this will make it so that I wouldn’t need a rental car. I would have the beach close by to go when I am off school for the evening to go relax, however lodging will likely be very, very expensive to go for 5 - 6 days a month.
I could go to school in Utah where flights are cheaper, school is a lot cheaper for 600 hours but when I fly there it will probably probably be a lot colder. Reviews on Goggle for this school are 50% never go here if your life depends on it and the other half are that the school is amazing. How to know…?

So the question that I ask myself is would it be best for my program to take longer, likely be less stressful and more comfortable. Versus a program that’s going to be shorter, likely hammer me which could cause me to possibly drop out because of the stress?

My goal is to find a good school that’s flexible in an area that I likely would not need a rental car. If I only needed to pay for a shuttle to the location and then back out on my way out of town that wouldn’t be so bad.

I’m thinking of taking a flight down to California to see the two schools at the southern end and then finishing going up north to seeing the Monterey Bay school and actually walking around these areas and pretend that I’m in school for this trip and see up close if this is going to work.

I’m leaving at home a husband and three dogs that are used to me being home all day and my husband is no longer working at home like he was during Covid so this makes it very difficult for me to step away when dealing with dogs that can’t be locked up for 10 hours a day.

Managing my current clientele to be able to go to school… that actually will be the easy part! I have amazing clients and they are all behind me on this 100%.

I can pay for the school upfront but I do have concerns if I pay the whole amount and for some reason the school goes out of business. Being at a complete loss and have to start over doesn’t sound fun.

I’m really not partial to what state I fly to I wouldn’t mind flying to Utah or any other state but I do have to factor in the time, the cost for lodging, transportation, food and that’s some thing that I’m having difficulty figuring out.

I have no idea what will matter most because I’m not in that situation yet. I’ve talk to some people (non-electrologist’s) who say just do very intensive hours and get it done.
As an esthetician I don’t really find that beneficial because sometimes when you learn things you need to let them settle into your brain and honestly if I did 4 - 12 hour days in a row I just don’t know how much of a brain I would have left at the end of the day let alone doing that four days in a row… so while I may finish a program quicker is it really going to help me the best electrologist I can be?

I would love to hear from other people who have been in the situation when it comes to flying in from a different state and doing a hybrid program and what cities have people found best for this situation if you hypothetically counted each school as equal in quality.

What school did you fly into (like me) and what was the actual versus what you thought it would be?

I appreciate any input that may help me especially if I should do the full 600 hours to license program or do the unlicensed program. So many pros and cons to each.

Thanks…

#2

I’ll venture an answer! Consider that there are several aspects to an electrologist’s career. First, there is the theoretical: something anyone could study and master (rote learning). Then, there is the actual ability to do the basic treatment. This will be a “plus or minus” discovery: you either can or cannot perform electrolysis. And finally, judgement that can only be attained from many years of practice (and you cannot learn that in any school).

My suggestion is to start with point two! See if you can do the work FIRST! Find an electrologist, and experiment. See if you can see the area and insert the needle properly. Treat hairs and do it a lot. YES, I am advocating a “do it yourself” approach BEFORE investing in schooling. Maybe you won’t like the work. Maybe you can’t do the work. Frankly, in my opinion, all the best electrologists were “DIYers” before they set about their electrology career. (I was one of those too!)

You’re close to Canada … and, there are several lovely electrologists in BC that will let you do some “fiddling.” (They won’t feel threatened by potential competition.) You might even purchase a used machine and work with it. Finally, when you have some experience under you belt … that’s the time to seek out a proper learning situation. With your DIY experience, you won’t be “Tabula Rasa” but, at least, you’ll know what questions to ask.

#3

I am just under 200 miles from Canada so that won’t be much of an option for me.

I am certain this is going to be right up my alley it’s just figuring out the where, when and how.

Also to hear from people who have done the same to hear from them what worked for them, which may not be what works for me but I do appreciate insight because there may be a bunch of things I haven’t thought of or didn’t consider that I should. For example if someone said “I went to such and such school and while the school was great getting to the airport was a pain” or “School was great but there were not cheap hotels nearby and no where to get decent food”

The one thing I do worry about is starting on my own from scratch and learning bad habits that may be hard to undo.

So would your suggestion would be to find a machine and use it on my family or myself as practice first? Although technically I could buy a machine and use it in my salon here, what I cannot get is insurance coverage. If I haven’t gone through a program they will not cover me. I also wouldn’t feel comfortable working on my clients just by winging it. Lord knows that would be when something goes wrong.

#4

It would be ideal if you could do distance learning for the theory/testing and apprentice with someone that is geographically close to you, logging in hours needed. You would pay them to apprentice you, of course. Why we have these tall barriers befuddles
me. We should be more helpful and creative. Maybe the AEA has an apprenticeship program? If they don’t they should. You could then take a national exam to certify you if you wanted an extra bounce upwards.

#5

Unfortunately doing the book work /theory via distance learning and doing an apprenticeship combo is just not available. I can’t insure myself and the electrologist can’t risk me hurting their client because of liability reasons. The programs just don’t allow that either.

I agree there just isn’t an easy way. I hope I can find someone like me who had to do the fly in once a month process to pick their brain.

Can I ask you… is flying down and doing 12 hours of intensive training for two days in a row followed up by two 8 hour days (40 hours total in 4 days) going to make me hate my life doing that ? I’m mid 40’s who also has an esthetics salon back here at home. Would four, 8 hour days in a row be much more tolerable?

I am hoping at least twice during my process I can go down for two whole weeks to save on airfare. Airfare, lodging and transportation is my biggest issue and cost. So many pros and cons to going to each school. It’s making my head hurt a bit. Ha!

I also have to decide if I want to get licensed in CA so I can say I am licensed or do I do the minimum program and forget the licensing altogether since I’m only going to be in WA anyway?

#6

Many of us that have trained did so with much inconvenience and expense, but it was worth it. I was out of town for two days a week for one year and I had 4 kids and a husband that worked 12 hour days.

You have to make that commitment on your own, knowing that it will take temporary sacrifice.

By the way, the kids and husband did just fine.

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#7

You made me laugh a little Dee. Yeah, I spent 4-years getting my BA, another year for my MA and another year getting my teaching credential (University of California). Then I discovered teaching history in public school was boring! So, I moved to Los Angeles for 6-months and attended the little electrology school. I suppose there were sacrifices along the way and a few surprises. Whenever one starts any new venture, it’s impossible to know all that will befall you. My suggestion: just jump in and swim … You know, “go for it!”

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