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While many areas of campus may be a little quieter during the summer months, Waukesha County Technical College’s new Aesthetician Lab has been a flurry of activity. Clients have been stopping in for facials and other skin care services – all as part of the training for students in WCTC’s new Master Aesthetician Associate of Applied Science degree program.
Nine students began in the first cohort in January, and this inaugural group is developing skills needed to work in salon, spa and medical settings. The 60-credit program -- which includes fundamentals along with higher-level, advanced modalities -- such as chemical peels, microdermabrasion and various laser treatments -- is the first of its kind (to offer a medical spa/advanced training component) in the Wisconsin Technical College System.
What differentiates a medi-spa from a traditional spa, are the services, explained Chandra Baines Adams, lead program instructor. A medi-spa is staffed with a licensed medical professional (such as a dermatologist or plastic surgeon) and services can include chemical peels, laser treatments, dermaplaning and more. The focus is on corrective actions, such as reducing scarring, lightening pigmentation or treating acne. At a traditional day spa, the focus is on relaxation. However, she said, a medi-spa often offers a mix of both.
It is also important for students to consider whole-person wellness along with how a specific treatment can provide a solution to a problem.
“I want to give students the ingredients so they can develop their aesthetic eye, but more importantly, I want to help them develop their critical thinking skills,” she said.
If practitioners want to work in the medi-spa field, they need advanced, specialized training outside of what a basic aesthetician programs can offer, and that can be costly. The beauty of WCTC’s program, Baines Adams and Hader say, is its comprehensive nature.
Students in the Master Aesthetician program can earn the embedded Aesthetician technical diploma after completing 29 credits, and then sit for the state licensing exam. This gives them the skillset to perform basic facials, hair removal, specialized massage and other treatments. Once this is completed, they move on to learn advanced techniques.
“This program brings it all together. Our students have a fantastic opportunity to learn all these specialties right here. From a value standpoint, there is no competition. Our program also helps students develop their soft skills, management skills and interpersonal skills, and that’s certainly something employers want,” Baines Adams said.
Additionally, she said, students are learning in a beautiful, new state-of-the-art aesthetician lab, which features six hard treatment rooms, a teaching lab with six stations, dedicated classroom, consultation room, cutting-edge equipment and tools, and modern decor.
Student Ali Ludke says after exploring other aesthetician programs, WCTC’s program drew her in because of its advanced level of education, breadth of course offerings and hands-on training.
Ludke and her classmates have also been in a unique position to help shape the program, as they’ve been in on the ground floor as the first cohort group.
“I love that my voice and opinions are heard, and I really feel like an important part to making this program the best it can be,” she said.
WCTC’s Master Aesthetician program is welcoming students into its second cohort, beginning in January 2020, with applications being accepted through Nov. 18, 2019. For more information on WCTC’s Master Aesthetician program, visit www.wctc.edu/skin-care-adv.
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