Waxing ... can it all be covered in just 1 day?

[essentia]

Hi I do agree it is the quality and the time spent doing the waxing. I was lucky as there were only 10 students on my original course and things MUST be different now. Our teaching time was 9-5, 5 days a week. Also tutors then had also been on full time courses and had experience before teaching.

Nowadays even college courses seem to be run 1-2 days a week with little practise time, so I can understand that students come out of college feeling less than confident. Plus the system of short/one day courses can in turn breed tutors becoming inadequate teachers.

I feel it might be better if these one day courses provided attendees with student insurance rather than full insurance - it would be better for the student and the industry.

 

[jcpark]

I do worry about these courses though.
I recently did a one day IHM course run by a well known training school that does one day courses in both therapies and now beauty. I qualified in sports massage about 15 years ago, and have done many other qualification courses, including IHM, but since doing acupressure about 10 years ago, I haven't really used the IHM - hence deciding to go on a refresher one day course. What horrified me was that five of the students (out of 8) were not qualified massage therapists, had no knowledge of a&p, health and safety, legislation etc. but at the end of the day, they did the routine (albeit while referring to the book), and were then qualified, could get insurance and go and treat the public. I was under the impression that the powers that be were trying to tighten up on qualification requirements, not give out qualifications to anyone who sits through 4 hours of training.

Regardless of the number of tutoring hours, all these therapies require practice to bring the student to a professional standard and yet they can walk away with certification without having had any practice. If they were assessed at a later date, then that would be better.

Sadly, poor therapists can have a knock on effect on others. While some customers may go elsewhere after a poor treatment, others, for whom it is the first time, may think this is normal and it will put them off for good.

 

[tonilee]

I think its important here to remember that every course is only as good as the therapist on it ( that made sense in my head !! lol)

What I mean is, a muppet can go on the best training ever but still be rubbish, some people believe that if they go on the best training courses, whether that be a 2 year, 1 year, vtct, nvq, week course day course WHATEVER, they believe that by simply going on these courses and getting the qualification they will be the dogs jobbies at the skill in hand.....WRONG!!

I have had my nails done by many a creative tech, some with master quals and to be fair they have been rubbish absolutely rubbish! I have had therapies from NVQ students who have studied for years (1 or 2) to get the qualifications and they too have been rubbish!!

What we have to remember here, is that training is ongoing and ongoing and ongoing like forever and ever!!

A days course will not have you qualified with everything you need to know to be the best waxer in town....however yes you will be able to wax!! You will have an idea of the relevant A&P, you will know contra indications, how to set up etc etc

How far you want to go ith that is down to the individual and their passion for the skill.....you may do the 1 day course and think "jeez I dont like that too much" and decide to stick at offering basiv 1/2 leg waxing if thats hat th demand for you is (this is an example) or you may think "OMG I LOVE waxing!!" and then you will want to know more and more, how do different waxes work, whats the different, how can I wax quicker, are there better positions to get clients into for waxing, how do I do all these new fangled brazillian/hollywood/honey moon jobs I keep hearing about.....and this THIS is where th passion is unveiled, and from that point onwards you will keep learning because you will WANT to!!

 

[jcpark]

A days course will not have you qualified with everything you need to know to be the best waxer in town....however yes you will be able to wax!!

Do you really think so, though.... I agree it can be a basis to work from, but surely practice is needed FIRST, and once assessed following that practice period the qualification/certification is given, rather than giving a qualification to someone who may have the theoretical knowledge, but is not fluent in the practice.

 

[tonilee]

Do you really think so, though.... I agree it can be a basis to work from, but surely practice is needed FIRST, and once assessed following that practice period the qualification/certification is given, rather than giving a qualification to someone who may have the theoretical knowledge, but is not fluent in the practice.

I cant speak for every course around, but yes I learnt to wax on a 1 day course before I got my certificate I had to do 3 case studies each on legs, bikini, facial (brows and top lip) and under arm. On the day we did all this in practicals a few times over...so strictly speaking yes after I left I could wax, I did my case studies I got my certificate.....but it hasnt stopped there I did plenty more case studies before I started to charge and am going to see Kim for further waxing mentoring....

I cant imagine there are many courses that teach you to wax without actually doing any waxing practicals on the day....if there are then I totally disagree with that!!

 

[Kim Lawless]

I must say a few words of support to the trainers on these one day courses for wholesalers etc. I'm sure that most of them are excellent trainers and that they must feel very frustrated by how little time they are given. This isn't their fault.

Too many students look for the cheapest and quickest way of training, just so they can get their insurance and say they are qualified. The course providers are under pressure to provide just that. Up until now, I've only ever trained 'qualified' waxers, who wanted to train in my techniques, so I would openly tell them to find the cheapest one day course they could find as they'll be able to get insured and then to come to me where I would teach them how to really wax like a pro.

Absolute Beginners waxing cannot be taught in one day and that's why I've decided to NOT go down that route. Will students be prepared to pay? Who knows....I'll have to just wait and see.

 

[essentia]

I do not know why suppliers should be under pressure at all. They offer one day courses so they can sell more products and make it look like an easy career to start up! It would be in their interests to actually have longer training courses (more revenue) and to make sure that their products are being used correctly. Plus following a more regarded form of training is something to be proud of.

I feel learn in day courses (not refreshers or add ons for qualified therapists) cheapen the industry and I feel it is a shame. Unfortunately I think nail techs, beauticians and holistic therapists fight to get the respect they deserve from the public sometimes. This just compounds it. Do you ever hear become a lawyer in a day/week? No because skills and qualification have to be learnt and practised.

 

[Kim Lawless]

I do not know why suppliers should be under pressure at all. They offer one day courses so they can sell more products and make it look like an easy career to start up! It would be in their interests to actually have longer training courses (more revenue) and to make sure that their products are being used correctly. Plus following a more regarded form of training is something to be proud of.

I feel learn in day courses (not refreshers or add ons for qualified therapists) cheapen the industry and I feel it is a shame. Unfortunately I think nail techs, beauticians and holistic therapists fight to get the respect they deserve from the public sometimes. This just compounds it. Do you ever hear become a lawyer in a day/week? No because skills and qualification have to be learnt and practised.

I agree but it comes down to the insurance companies that accredit the courses I guess. If they feel that 1 day is enough, then so be it.

I see what you mean about the wholesalers though. I din't think of it like that. I was thinking about the poor tutors who have to try to fit so much into one day. xxx

 

[saspeterson]

Hi, I agree with essentia, I dont think its possible to take everything in a one day course, its great i guess for the qualified therapist as a refresher or to introduced a new product / treatment but it isnt possible to learn the skill and theory in just one day. ~X~

 

[Lori Nestore]

A one day class can put you on the road to practicing good habits which will then over time serve you very well. Any training can be good or bad at any length of time. Sometimes a class you simply attend and watch can give you the best tips ever. It will all depend on the class and the attendee.

 

[crazysaz]

i did most of my itec yrs ago then had to drop out for various reasons, so i decided to go to a well known wholesalers to do my waxing - OMG! About an hr of theory then onto practical. no one was totally hairy / or prepared to get waxed so we basically got certs saying we could wax when we hadnt even done it once. when the tutor saw i knew a bit she got me to supervise and explain to the girl who was practising on me. she couldnt give remember to pull the strip off in the right direction plus she was soooooooooo slow when pulling it off, but that girl has a cert to say she is proficient in waxing.
the best one was the eyelash tinting and perming where we did 1 perm and were advised by the tutor not to do both on the same day as it was bad for the lashes so she would show us how it was done. so we got a cert even though we'd never touched an eyelash. oh yes and while giving a demo of how to do the perm, the tutor dropped a massive glob of perming lotion into the models eyes - painful!
its madness they are allowed to do this - this thread had made me think i might ring up and complain! and it is cheapening our industry - for £99 joe bloggs can do a 1 day course, then set up doing their mates at cheap rates and pay no rent, rates etc plus do us out of money.
btw i went back and finished my itec!