Let’s clarify the distinction between an esthetician and a medical esthetician!
Esthetician: An esthetician primarily focuses on providing services such as nail care, beauty, and skin care such as facials, exfoliations, and waxing. When it comes to skin, an esthetician treats the outer layer of the skin, known as the epidermis. Their expertise revolves around improving its appearance and health through traditional techniques with an innovative take to reflect current knowledge.
Medical Esthetician: Medical estheticians take skin care a significant step further by incorporating advanced treatments, including energy-based treatments that require specialized training and expertise to treat skin for dramatic results. They treat the deeper layers of the skin, such as the dermis, using innovative equipment, including different types of lasers, intense pulsed light, radiofrequency technology, microneedling, and advanced clinical procedures.
How can I become a medical esthetician?
Some of our students embark on their medical esthetics careers by learning their foundational skills in the Esthetics Diploma Program, and advance their skill set through supplementary training to become a medical esthetician upon graduation.
Other students begin their journey with the Esthetics Diploma Program or Skin Care Technician Program, and eventually take advanced courses, such as microneedling, laser hair removal, and more, ultimately achieving the designation of a medical esthetician.
What skin concerns do medical estheticians treat?
Medical estheticians perform a variety of advanced skincare treatments that typically include laser hair removal, photofacials, non-surgical facelifts, scar reduction, and more.
At Wrapture Beauty Academy, we train you to learn advanced techniques that include operating a range of advanced esthetic technologies such as IPL (Intense Pulsed Light) Photofacials, radiofrequency, fractional lasers, microneedling, and laser hair removal to address a variety of skin concerns. These technologies offer targeted treatments to help clients visibly improve their skin’s appearance and address specific issues.
Most Popular Medical Esthetic Treatments:
Laser Hair Removal: Laser hair removal is an increasingly popular treatment that targets hair follicles, resulting in reduced hair growth in treated areas of the face and body over time. People are increasingly seeking it out at younger ages and in more areas of the face and body than ever before.
Non-surgical facelift: Using laser and radiofrequency (and sometimes IPL energy), skin texture is smoothed out to reduce fine lines, undereye circles and bags, and diminish the appearance of large pores and age spots, while facial and neck contours are sculpted and tightened. All without surgery!
Hyperpigmentation & Tone: IPL Photofacials and certain laser treatments, such as fractional lasers, target patches of hyperpigmentation, such as sunspots, age spots, redness, broken capillaries (those small veins found around the nose and cheeks) and uneven skin tone, by breaking down excess melanin and hemoglobin in the skin. Laser is also one of the most popular treatments for melasma.
Fine Lines and Wrinkles: Laser resurfaces the skin and stimulates collagen production, which helps improve the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, resulting in smoother and firmer skin.
Body Rejuvenation: Contouring, Stretch Marks, & Cellulite: Radiofrequency (RF) energy tightens and firms the skin, helping sculpt body contours, reducing cellulite’s appearance and promoting a more youthful look. Fractional laser addresses stretch marks and any other undesired scars or marks on the body.
Acne Scarring: Laser and microneedling target acne scars by promoting collagen remodelling and skin resurfacing to treat both pigmented acne scars (dark spots) and atrophic scars caused by cystic acne (or other conditions such as chickenpox).
Uneven Texture: Fractional lasers and microneedling treatments improve skin texture by promoting the growth of fresh, new skin cells and stimulating collagen production. This tightens large pores and smooths out scars and premature signs of aging.
Skin Rejuvenation: Many of these advanced medical esthetic treatments contribute to overall skin rejuvenation by stimulating collagen, improving elasticity, and promoting a healthier complexion. Even if a client is not necessarily there to target just one concern, you will find that once your clients see the results of laser, they will come in for maintenance sessions of energy-based facials and the rejuvenation of the neck, decollete, and hands. The demand for body RF and laser is also on the rise for sculpting, toning, and addressing cellulite, scars, and stretch marks.
Skin Resurfacing: Fractional lasers, microneedling, and picosecond laser treatments offer skin resurfacing benefits by promoting the removal of damaged skin cells and encouraging the growth of new, smoother skin. They are perfect for advanced maintenance facials.
Tattoo Removal: Picosecond lasers are used for tattoo removal due to their ability to break down ink particles more effectively and quickly than traditional laser systems. Surrounding tissue is left unharmed, making picosecond lasers, such as Cynosure‘s PicoSure, a more comfortable tattoo removal option. You will find that clients coming in for tattoo treatments do so for a variety of reasons such as tattoo removal, tattoo diminishment to prep for a new tattoo, and to treat ‘tattoo blowout’ when the ink ‘bleeds’ or blurs out past its outline.
What else?
Although these are examples of the most common concerns people look to medical estheticians for, advanced and energy-based treatments have the ability to be adapted to treat even more than is listed here. As new scientific discoveries are made, we are finding more ways to use laser for skin beauty and rejuvenation. Medical esthetics truly is an exciting and evolving field full of new possibilities to bring confidence and skin wellness to your clients.
How does becoming a medical esthetician affect my beauty career?
In a world where self-care, beauty enhancement, and skin wellness are becoming paramount, the demand for estheticians is undeniably on the rise. The field of esthetics has evolved significantly over the years, presenting professionals with new and exciting opportunities to advance their careers.
As more individuals interested in the field of beauty respond to the demand for skin and beauty services by pursuing careers as estheticians, you have a unique opportunity to seek avenues that not only set you apart, but also keep you relevant in this fast-paced, ever-evolving field. Enter the realm of medical esthetics, where the journey elevates your expertise to a prestigious level of knowledge and skill, specializing in energy-based treatments such as laser, IPL, and RF.
Career Booster
One professional who embodies this spirit of embracing innovative technology is Amy, a dedicated esthetician who made the life-changing decision to specialize in laser treatments right after esthetics school.
For Amy, the journey to becoming a medical esthetician was driven by a deep-seated passion for skincare and a fascination with laser technology. Fresh out of esthetics school, she was already proficient in various skincare treatments, but she knew that specializing in laser treatments would set her apart in the competitive beauty industry.
“I’m a thousand percent happy I chose to do laser training right after esthetics school. It changed my daily life as an esthetician as I stay busy, earn a good income, all while learning so much more about skin and laser technology. You become a well-rounded esthetician,” Amy explains.
Wrapture Beauty Academy alumna Meagan, reports, “Becoming a laser-focused medical esthetician (see what I did there?) has truly been a game-changer for me. It’s transformed my career, enabling me to provide clients with treatments that show noticeable results and to thrive within a more upscale professional setting where I have endless opportunities for career growth.”
One of Amy’s favourite tools in her arsenal is a picosecond laser. “Cynosure PicoSure is my favourite laser to use, thanks to the wide variety of things it can treat. I love both tattoo removal and PicoSure skin revitalization to combat signs of aging. Seeing a visible, big change in my clients’ skin in even just one treatment always blows me away.”
For Meagan, photofacials make all the difference.“Among the range of laser treatments I offer, photofacials stand out as a personal favourite. The outcomes are truly stunning and everyone who tries photofacials just noticeably radiates a newfound confidence.”
Explore how becoming a medical esthetician grants you a competitive edge and positions you as a master in the art of skin care.
Elevating Your Career: From Esthetician to Medical Esthetician
Becoming a medical esthetician during or after your Esthetician Diploma training is an excellent start to your journey to mastering the world of cosmetic skin care. It is a pathway that transcends the realm of a regular esthetician, offering prestige, expertise, and a competitive edge in a rapidly-evolving field. By specializing in advanced and energy-based treatments, you position yourself as a passionate expert in the art of skin care, combining advanced knowledge with cutting-edge technologies.
Advanced Specialization & Expertise
Go beyond the basics of skin care and delve into the intricacies of advanced and energy-based treatments, gaining mastery over cutting-edge technologies that yield impressive results.
Similar to how a master’s degree carries a sense of prestige, becoming a medical esthetician positions you with the knowledge and skills to be an expert in your field. The versatility of advanced and energy-based treatments adds an exciting challenge to your career. Overcoming challenges as you learn and witnessing the transformative results can be incredibly rewarding, both professionally and personally. You will become sought out for the specialized knowledge and results-driven treatments you provide.
Resilience in the Evolving Landscape
The field of cosmetic skin care is evolving rapidly, much like the ever-changing landscapes in various industries. Becoming a medical esthetician ensures you’re at the forefront of skin care advancements, making you indispensable in a world where, increasingly, more of your potential clients’ disposable income goes toward skin care services.
With ongoing scientific breakthroughs, we continue to unearth new applications of lasers for enhancing skin beauty and revitalization. The realm of medical esthetics is undeniably dynamic and captivating, teeming with opportunities and fresh uses to instill confidence and bring beautiful skin to your clientele.
Higher Earning Potential
It’s a proven fact: Advancing your education leads to higher earning potential and your expertise in medical esthetics makes you a sought-after professional. Clients are willing to invest more in specialized services that deliver rapid, safe, and noticeable results. Medical estheticians command higher compensation due to their specialized skills and ability to offer advanced services that yield impressive outcomes.
Customized Solutions & Client Satisfaction
Much like a more advanced degree encourages critical thinking, your training and role as a medical esthetician provides you with a deep understanding of each client’s unique needs. You create customized treatment plans based on your expertise, ensuring personalized results for every individual. Advanced treatments tend to produce faster and more noticeable results compared to traditional methods. This leads to higher client satisfaction rates and a growing clientele who seek out your expertise.
Our alumna, Meagan, explains how her work as a medical esthetician expands beyond client satisfaction to being a life-changing experience for many:
“Witnessing the positive impact on people’s lives is the ultimate reward. A poignant memory that stands out to me is the use of the PicoSure picosecond laser on a client grappling with feeling confident due to acne scarring and pigmentation concerns. Seeing her exceptional results and the restoration of her self-assurance was truly heartwarming. It’s these moments that underscore the true joy of my profession, making each day exceptionally rewarding.”
Where do medical estheticians work?
Medical Spas: Within these spas, medical estheticians excel in administering non-invasive treatments that rejuvenate and enhance the skin. They encompass personalized skincare consultations, performing advanced facials, utilizing cutting-edge technologies for treatments like microneedling and laser therapy, and offering innovative approaches to promote skin wellness. Through their skilled and non-invasive techniques, medical estheticians at medical spas contribute significantly to clients’ esthetic journeys, fostering a renewed sense of confidence and beauty.
Amy works in a Medi Spa. We asked her what the most rewarding laser treatments she regularly performs is:
“I think I’d say laser hair removal is the laser service I perform the most. My clients always say how removing their hair has been life-changing for them. As a laser hair removal client myself, I could not agree more. It gives my clients a huge confidence boost. Their skin looks and feels so good all the time.”
Plastic Surgery Practices: Some medical estheticians find positions within plastic surgery practices that offer non-surgical cosmetic procedures. In this dynamic and collaborative environment, these professionals seamlessly merge their expertise in skin wellness with the practice’s commitment to esthetic enhancement. Working in parallel to plastic surgeons, they bring a specialized touch to the practice, focusing on non-invasive treatments that complement surgical options or offer alternatives to invasive procedures.
Education and Training: Skin care educators at beauty schools impart knowledge about advanced skin care techniques, product formulations, and cutting-edge treatments. These educators equip future skin care technicians and medical estheticians with the skills needed to perform procedures like laser, RF, microdermabrasion, chemical peels, and advanced facials. By moulding the next generation of skin care experts, cosmetic skin care educators contribute significantly to the growth and excellence of the industry, ensuring the highest standards of care and client satisfaction.
How do I get started?
Talk to your Wrapture Beauty Academy student advisor today about starting your medical esthetician journey! If you are an Esthetics Diploma or Skin Care Technician Diploma student, elevating your skill set to graduate as a medical esthetician is a perfect opportunity. If you are an esthetician or a beauty professional, our Medical Skin & Laser Specialist certificate program is an excellent choice. Text or call us at 204 894-4643 today!
Medical esthetics sounds very exciting!
Great to know some of the ways I can advance in my career!
sounds interesting to do.
It’s very important to know this difference.