What does a licensed esthetician do?
Licensed Estheticians are responsible for cleaning and maintaining a client's skin. They normally provide services such as facials, pore cleansing, exfoliating, chemical peels, waxing, aromatherapy, and body wraps at a salon or spa. They are also trained to identify skin problems and can advise on a proper skin cleansing regimen. Estheticians can use their license to teach clients how to make up, such as learning proper shading to create the best skin tones and accentuating bone structure. Specialized services include eyebrow tinting and sculpting. A medical esthetician works in dermatology or plastic surgery, assisting with procedures and helping with its recovery process.
Licensed esthetician responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real licensed esthetician resumes:
- Manage the aesthetics department and perform consultations with patients regarding aesthetic and facial surgery procedures.
- Maintain product displays, and general cleanliness of facility.
- Maintain cleanliness, organization, and stock of treatment areas.
- Provide expert head to toe waxing services, lash and brow tinting, lash extensions and makeup applications.
- Provide extend services such as: full body waxing, teeth whitening, lash and brow tinting, etc.
- Experience in aromatherapy, anti-aging and acne facials.
- Deliver informative education to patients regarding multiple skincare product lines and treatments/procedures offer within the medical practice.
- Used upselling techniques to recommend take home products design specifically for every client's individual needs.
- Analyze skin issues and implement custom facials, body waxing including Brazilians, eyebrow and eyelash tinting and upselling products.
- Organize and implement marketing strategies using Facebook, word-of-mouth, and third party services for customer acquisition.
- Use creative marketing strategies and materials to retain previous clients from Ulta, and to acquire new clients.
- Promote for companies that include Chanel, Donna Karan, Vera Wang, and Calvin Klein.
- Assist in the launch of the first Sephora in Philadelphia.
- Conduct field visits on retailers including Nordstrom's and Sephoria as part of marketing efforts.
- Assist in the execution of special events, seasonal gift with purchase within Nordstrom and holiday programs.
Licensed esthetician skills and personality traits
We calculated that 36% of Licensed Estheticians are proficient in Customer Service, Product Knowledge, and Spa Services. They’re also known for soft skills such as Business skills, Customer-service skills, and Initiative.
We break down the percentage of Licensed Estheticians that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Customer Service, 36%
Manage of Salon/Spa within assisted and independent living facility * Responsible for daily operations, team management, and customer services
- Product Knowledge, 20%
Facilitated product selection and shared product knowledge which increased retail sales.
- Spa Services, 14%
Form rapport with in-store customers, discuss various spa services, including wax procedures and complimentary Face Mapping sessions.
- PCA, 4%
Performed facials daily with PCA, Obagi, Rx Systems and M.D.
- Product Line, 3%
Provided effective communication of features and benefits of product line.
- Cleanliness, 3%
Maintained organization and cleanliness of the spa.
Common skills that a licensed esthetician uses to do their job include "customer service," "product knowledge," and "spa services." You can find details on the most important licensed esthetician responsibilities below.
Business skills. One of the key soft skills for a licensed esthetician to have is business skills. You can see how this relates to what licensed estheticians do because "skincare specialists who run their own salon must understand business principles, such as accounting, to manage a salon efficiently and profitably." Additionally, a licensed esthetician resume shows how licensed estheticians use business skills: "developed strong relationships with business professionals, and representing product lines. "
Customer-service skills. Another essential skill to perform licensed esthetician duties is customer-service skills. Licensed estheticians responsibilities require that "skincare specialists should be friendly and courteous to their clients to encourage repeat business." Licensed estheticians also use customer-service skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "assisted with scheduling appointments, answering questions and other customer relations. "
Initiative. This is an important skill for licensed estheticians to perform their duties. For an example of how licensed esthetician responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "self-employed skincare specialists generate their own business opportunities and must be proactive in finding new clients." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a licensed esthetician: "directed retail sales of professional skin care products and drove impactful marketing and networking initiatives. ".
Physical stamina. licensed esthetician responsibilities often require "physical stamina." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "skincare specialists spend most of their day standing." This resume example shows what licensed estheticians do with physical stamina on a typical day: "encourage and reassure patients on a consistent basis to ensure ultimate satisfaction emotionally as well as physically. "
The three companies that hire the most licensed estheticians are:
- Hand & Stone Massage and Facial Spa298 licensed estheticians jobs
- Massage Envy47 licensed estheticians jobs
- Nordstrom19 licensed estheticians jobs
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Compare different licensed estheticians
Licensed esthetician vs. Beauty therapist
A skin therapist is a licensed professional who specializes in recommending and implementing treatments to improve skin health. Their responsibilities revolve around meeting with clients to identify their needs and skin conditions, conduct assessments and evaluations, suggest skincare products, and perform treatments such as hair removal, facial cleansing, and other techniques, ensuring client satisfaction. There are also instances where they may refer clients to dermatologists and other specialists. Moreover, a skin therapist must establish rapport with clients to have a strong customer base.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between licensed estheticians and beauty therapist. For instance, licensed esthetician responsibilities require skills such as "spa services," "pca," "product line," and "cleanliness." Whereas a beauty therapist is skilled in "spa treatments," "make-up," "hair removal," and "beauty treatments." This is part of what separates the two careers.
The education levels that beauty therapists earn slightly differ from licensed estheticians. In particular, beauty therapists are 3.2% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a licensed esthetician. Additionally, they're 1.5% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Licensed esthetician vs. Skin therapist
A skin care specialist mainly cleanses and beautifies the body and face of their client for enhancement. They give full-body treatments, head and neck massages, and facials for skin improvement. Some of them give other skincare treatments such as masks, peels, and scrubs to remove dead or dry skin. They create skincare routines and recommend products for customers based on their skin analysis. Sometimes, they sell skincare products such as lotions, creams, and cleansers. They refer clients to other skincare specialists like dermatologists if they find serious skin problems.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that licensed esthetician responsibilities requires skills like "pca," "cleanliness," "treatment options," and "spa management." But a skin therapist might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "guest service," "hair removal," "confirmation calls," and "skin health."
Average education levels between the two professions vary. Skin therapists tend to reach similar levels of education than licensed estheticians. In fact, they're 4.0% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 1.5% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for licensed estheticians in the next 3-5 years?
Charley Sain
Cosmetology Instructor, Program Coordinator for Cosmetology, Esthetics, and Manicuring, Cleveland Community College
Licensed esthetician vs. Skin care therapist
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, licensed estheticians are more likely to have skills like "customer service," "pca," "product line," and "cleanliness." But a skin care therapist is more likely to have skills like "patients," "patient care," "mental health," and "family therapy."
Skin care therapists typically earn higher educational levels compared to licensed estheticians. Specifically, they're 19.4% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 2.3% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Licensed esthetician vs. Skin care specialist
Even though a few skill sets overlap between licensed estheticians and skin care specialists, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a licensed esthetician might have more use for skills like "spa services," "pca," "cleanliness," and "treatment rooms." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of skin care specialists require skills like "customer relationships," "store events," "advise clients," and "acne. "
In general, skin care specialists earn the most working in the hospitality industry, with an average salary of $34,160. The highest-paying industry for a licensed esthetician is the health care industry.In general, skin care specialists hold similar degree levels compared to licensed estheticians. Skin care specialists are 1.0% more likely to earn their Master's Degree and 0.2% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of licensed esthetician
Updated January 8, 2025
