How To Become An Esthetician, Makeup Artist: What It Is and Career Path

What is an esthetician, makeup artist and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being an esthetician, makeup artist. For example, did you know that they make an average of $19.75 an hour? That's $41,081 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 17% and produce 13,400 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreEsthetician, Makeup ArtistUS Average

Salary

3.2

Avg. Salary $41,081

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.6

Growth rate 17%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

2.1

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.65%

Asian 13.59%

Black or African American 8.74%

Hispanic or Latino 20.39%

Unknown 5.50%

White 51.13%

Gender

female 93.03%

male 6.97%

Age - 32

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 32

Stress level

7.6

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

7.3

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

0.6

Work life balance is very poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become an esthetician, makeup artist

Explore esthetician, makeup artist education requirements

Most common esthetician, makeup artist degrees

Bachelor's

33.9 %

Associate

22.8 %

Diploma

13.9 %

Start to develop specific esthetician, makeup artist skills

Skills	Percentages
Product Knowledge	19.32%
Customer Service	10.85%
Cleanliness	9.10%
Skin Care Products	7.40%
Spa Services	6.90%

Obtain the necessary licensing

Becoming an licensed esthetician, makeup artist usually doesn't require a college degree. However, you need to pass an exam to become a licensed esthetician, makeup artist in most of states. 38 states require estheticians, makeup artist to have license for their work. You can see the list of states below.

State	Education	Exam	License url
Alabama	Specific course required	State exam required	Licensed Esthetician
Alaska	Specific course required	State exam required	Esthetician
California	Specific course required	State exam required	Esthetician
Colorado	Specific course required	State exam required	Estheticians
Delaware	Specific course required	Third-party exam required	Aesthetican

Research esthetician, makeup artist duties and responsibilities

Manage the aesthetics department and perform consultations with patients regarding aesthetic and facial surgery procedures.
Provide outstanding customer service associate with the Nordstrom model.
Provide exceptional customer service experience and demonstrate knowledge of products as well as Chanel history and heritage.
Understand the NARS brand and history.

Prepare your esthetician, makeup artist resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your esthetician, makeup artist resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on an esthetician, makeup artist resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable esthetician, makeup artist resume templates

Build a professional esthetician, makeup artist resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your esthetician, makeup artist resume.