A career in Beauty Therapy

Your Work Duties as a Beauty Therapist

Beauty therapists treat their clients' bodies and faces to enhance their appearance. You could work as a beautician, or become a fully qualified beauty therapist. As a beautician you will provide treatments such as: 

• temporary hair removal by waxing or sugaring 
• cosmetic make-up 
• eyelash and eyebrow colouring, shaping and eyelash perming 
•manicure and pedicure. 

A beauty therapist can offer the same treatments as a beautician, plus more advanced techniques such as: 

• body treatments: such as massage, which may include aromatherapy 
• nail treatments: nail extensions and nail art 
• heat treatments: sauna, steam and UV tanning. 

Beauty consultants work around 40 hours per week, and may work weekends and evenings. They may work in a hair and beauty salon, beauty clinic, health farm, spa, or even a cruise ship or airline. A beauty therapist should: 

• have excellent interpersonal skills 
• have a friendly and welcoming manner 
• have enough stamina to be on their feet for most of the day. 


New products and techniques are being introduced all the time, so beauty therapists need to keep their skills up to date.

There are excellent prospects for beauty therapists, and a number of career paths to choose from. They may choose to move into management, or become a trainer or make-up artist,

They usually work in a private room or cubicle, with one client at a time. Manicurists may work in an open area, possibly alongside a hairdresser. 

For many treatments they have to stand and bend over the client. If they have an allergy or a sensitive skin condition, some of the beauty products may irritate their hands. 

They usually wear a uniform to protect their own clothes and to look clean, smart and well groomed. 

What level of salary and benefits are there? 

These figures are purely for guidance only. Salaries may vary for the area the job is situated in, age, experience along with a host of other factors: 

• As a newly qualified beauty therapist, they could start on around £9,000 a year. 
• Consultants with a few years experience can earn £13,000. 
• If they move into management or set up their own salon, they could earn over £20,000. 

What type of skills will I need? 

You will need to have some or all of the following type of skills to carry out this job: 

• have excellent interpersonal skills 
• have a friendly and welcoming manner 
• be persuasive, to get clients to follow their advice 
• be commercially aware, to sell products and earn commission 
• have enough stamina to be on their feet for most of the day 
• have some knowledge of human biology and chemistry 
• have artistic flair if specialising in make-up, nail art or skin decoration 
• have good standards of literacy and numeracy 
• have some familiarity with computers.