So you’re considering a career in the lashes industry? Well, we highly recommend it. Becoming a lash artist is a rewarding and massively gratifying prospect filled with so many opportunities. And who wouldn’t want to help people feel extra good about themselves?
The industry itself has been soaring in demand and popularity for the past few decades now, so much so that the market value for false lashes is predicted to have reached $1.5 billion US dollars in 2022 (Source: Statista).
With the evident favorability amongst celebrities such as Kim Kardashian, Adele and Beyonce to name a few, it’s no surprise that there’s an equally high demand to train as a lash artist.
Getting started in the false eyelash industry
Now that we’ve established that the false eyelash industry is well worth the effort of pursuing as a legitimate career, where and how exactly do you get started in becoming a lash artist?
Naturally, it’s not as easy as just waving a magic wand and becoming a fully fledged eyelash artist. There’s a large degree of training and experience involved along with plenty of commitment, willingness and general ambition.
The very first step you should take is to look into the training opportunities and courses out there for you to take advantage of. We offer complete eyelash extension courses and more as part of our accredited training academy service for any aspiring lash artist, where you’ll learn the basics of lash extensions along with lifetime support, post-training and a good handful of discounts off various key elements you’ll need for your career such as insurance.
What qualifications do you need to become a lash artist?
Regardless of if you’re looking to become a trained lash artist to join a growing team of beauticians or interested in starting your very own lash extensions business, at the very minimum you’ll need to have the appropriate qualifications under your belt before conducting your business. You’ll be looking at gaining a NVQ qualification in order to proceed within the false eyelash industry along with attending an array of training courses to cover different types of lash extensions.
By completing different lash courses, you’ll receive the needed qualifications for each respective type of extension. Our accredited eyelash extension courses include a full range of lash extension types to choose from including courses on brows and general mentoring/support courses.
What insurance do you need as a lash artist?
There are a few essential insurances you’ll have to look into once you’ve gained your qualifications, these being:
Public Liability Insurance
As a lash artist, you’ll be dealing with members of the public and more specifically, you’ll be in physical contact with people so this insurance is crucial. Public liability insurance makes sure to protect and cover you from claims from members of the public, such as a complaint of injury during one of your treatments.
Products Liability Insurance
The products liability insurance makes sure to cover claims regarding any faulty products that you have purchased for your business that have been used on clients. Take extra care to ensure products you use have no broken seals or other noticeable defects that could cause any irritations or damage to customers.
Employers Liability Insurance
A more generic insurance policy but held to just as high a degree of importance is the employers liability insurance policy. This is needed if you’ve decided to set up your own eyelash extensions business to protect and cover your employees if they are injured as a result of their work.
You’ll also need to consider other types of insurance such as property damage, accidents and sickness. All of these insurance policies are important to take onboard whether you work for a beauty business or are self-employed.
How long does it take to become a lash artist?
How long is a piece of string? As is the case with any type of professional training, it’ll only take as long as the pace you set yourself at to become a lash artist. You could be up and running relatively quickly but it’s advised to take your time learning and practising and making sure you’re comfortable with your work before going out into the big wide world with your fresh skills.
It’s also likely that you’ll need to do some general work experience before becoming a fully-qualified lash artist, which can take weeks to months. Having patience and taking your time to learn the ins and outs and get some general experience is the best way forward to making sure you’re fully equipt to face the false lash industry.
And don’t forget that learning never ends. There will always be ample opportunities to continue your professional development, take booster courses and have general mentoring if you feel it’s needed.
What are the benefits of being a lash artist?
We’ve saved the best for last and it’s the key thing everyone likes to know for any job prospect – what are the benefits?
You have flexibility
With the skills and qualifications you’ll gain from training in the lash industry, you’ll have the opportunity to be so flexible with your options. Work from home, run your own business, go work for a beauty business, even attend beauty events or booths. And with this flexibility, you can fit your lash artist career around home life, especially good for stay-at-home parents.
You get to be a part of making someone happy
There’s nothing more uplifting than knowing you’ve made someone happy. The feeling someone gets from receiving a lash extension treatment is amazing, and the fact that you’ll be at the source of creating that happiness is the best feeling.
You get to meet all kinds of people
It’s not just one typical client base that will walk through your doors, you’ll get to provide treatments to people from all walks of life. Meeting people and listening to their stories just feeds the soul so you’ll be lucky enough to have the chance to be surrounded by so many new characters with new stories.
Getting paid is always nice
Of course, a good salary is important so you’ll probably be wondering how much do lash artists make? It can be a pretty refreshing figure, depending on level of experience and location. But considering it’s not super cheap to get eyelash extensions, you can expect a pretty good paycheck. The average for a lash artist in the UK currently is around £22,000pa (Source: Glassdoor).
The best part about being a part of the Genna Rose salon experience is that we provide a little more than just lash extension treatments. We make sure our clients are pampered and treated like royalty.
Keen to start your career as a lash artist? Get booked in with the training academy or click here to get in touch with one of our expert eyelash beauticians to learn more.
