Beauty Consultant Career Paths in California and Kansas
Not all cosmetology careers get their start on a spa or salon floor. Some become beauty consultants—professionals who help clients find the products that best benefit them. Rather than performing cosmetology techniques, these experts act as advisors and representatives.
Bellus Academy is a beauty and wellness institution with campuses in Poway, Chula Vista, El Cajon, California, and Manhattan, Kansas. We deliver a variety of beauty school programs, including Cosmetology, Esthetics, Nails and Barbering, that train students in the skills they will use in the industry. Find out how to become a beauty consultant through our training.
What Does a Beauty Consultant Do?
The beauty industry is vast and constantly evolving. With new innovations being introduced every day, individuals may not know how to find the best products to suit their unique needs.
Beauty consultants act as advisors, performing demonstrations and providing advice to connect clients with the right products. These professionals may specialize in an area of interest, such as skin care, cosmetics, or haircare, or take a comprehensive approach that addresses all of a client’s beauty and wellness needs. Everyday responsibilities may include:
- Communicating with clients to understand their goals
- Evaluating clients’ skin, hair, and nails to identify unique needs
- Recommending products and demonstrating their correct use
- Forming long-lasting relationships with passionate customers
- Staying aware of the latest trends and product releases
- Designing, setting up, and re-stocking product displays
- Keeping a location clean and attractive for a positive shopping experience
- Maintaining a consistent inventory and communicating shortages as they occur
- Giving honest, positive feedback and guidance to customers
- Planning and executing customer events
Beauty consultants can be found at department store makeup counters, specialty shops, brand marketing offices, or even working independently as self-employed consultants. No matter where they work, they can take pride in helping customers feel confident and empowered to care for themselves at home.
Beauty Consultant Career Paths
While all beauty consultants work to connect customers with products, this career includes a few different paths. Consider whether the following roles may be right for you:
Product Ambassador
Product ambassadors work for a specific beauty brand to promote its products. They may perform customer education at a beauty store or help create an advertising strategy to increase awareness of the brand’s latest release. Product ambassadors may also create and maintain a social media following to help a product reach a wider audience.
Retail Consultant
Instead of representing a brand, retail consultants work at a beauty store. They form an understanding of their location’s entire stock, which may include products from a variety of brands. When a customer comes seeking assistance, these consultants use their knowledge to explain different products’ strengths and help the customer find the best one for them.
Independent Consultant
An independent consultant works for neither a brand nor a retail location. Instead, these professionals are self-employed. They are hired by individuals who want to improve their beauty and self-care routines. These consultants may perform skin and hair evaluations, recommend ideal products, and demonstrate techniques that clients can use at home.
Influencer
Aspiring self-employed consultants may also find rewarding careers as influencers. These individuals specialize in maintaining and communicating with a wide social media following. Influencers may be sponsored by a brand or a range of brands to demonstrate the benefits of their products, helping them reach an interested audience.
How to Become a Beauty Consultant
If any of these career paths sound interesting, your first step is to complete your beauty school education. Choosing the right program is important to ensure a strong start.
Bellus Academy is a beauty institution with campuses in Manhattan, KS, and throughout the San Diego, CA, region. All campuses offer a variety of beauty and wellness programs led by licensed instructors who have a passion for training future generations of professionals in trending techniques and tools of the trade. Students exercise and expand these skills in our Student Salons and Spas under the supervision of our licensed instructors to gain hands-on experience before graduation. Our programs also provide training in customer service and business skills to prepare students for the real world.
We are also invested in our alumni. Bellus Academy’s career services provide resume aid, job searches, and networking opportunities to help students find open positions, whether as beauty consultants or elsewhere in the industry.
Start Your Beauty Consultant Career Journey in San Diego, CA, or Manhattan, KS
Get started with your beauty industry training at Bellus Academy. Our courses are available in multiple locations in the San Diego, CA, area (Poway, El Cajon, and Chula Vista, CA) and Manhattan, KS, with some options available in a hybrid model that accommodates the schedules of adult students. Our accreditation enables financial aid opportunities to those who qualify, including federal loans and grants, and assistance from experienced financial aid representatives. Contact us today to learn more or apply now to find out how to become a beauty consultant.