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28 Sep The Inspire Greatness Aveda Institute College Life

Inspire Greatness Aveda Institutes has four campuses in very different locations. Provo, Denver, Phoenix, and Tucson are lively and exciting places for our students to learn and grow, so we wanted to highlight some of the things that make them special!

Provo

The first Inspire Greatness Aveda Institute we want to highlight is located in Provo, Utah. Provo is best known as the home for Brigham Young University (BYU), the local private university, which provides a vibrant students life. Provo has become quite the bustling college city in recent decades, now with over an estimated 115,000 residents. With so many people in the city, it has become a great place for people with entrepreneurial spirit to start building their own businesses and chase their dreams. Nu Skin, one of the world’s largest personal care product companies in the world, even has a headquarters in Provo!

Brigham Young University

Much of Provo’s student life revolves around events at BYU, even if you’re not a student at the university. BYU has all of the typical high-energy sporting events for the public to attend, such as football, basketball, soccer, and many more. BYU also has a rich artistic and musical culture, so if you’re into concerts, performances, and shows, Provo is a great place to be because you can take part in many of those events as a Provo resident! If you’re not a BYU fan, no sweat! Provo is growing into a major city with events for people from all walks of life.

The Great Outdoors

Are you someone that craves to be one with nature? Perfect, Utah is a great place to get your adventuring fix! Utah is famous worldwide for having some of the best skiing and snowboarding on earth, and Provo is just a short drive from a large selection of resorts. Utah’s adventures continue in the warmer seasons with many outstanding hikes, bike trails, and more that you can explore.

Cultural Experiences

Utah isn’t just a place for adventuring and sightseeing, you can also enjoy exciting and unique cultural experiences. For indie film fans, you can attend the Sundance Film Festival, a huge annual event that draws thousands of people from all over the globe. The annual Festival of Colors is an exciting and colorful celebration of Hindu culture that is open to anyone who wishes to attend. Salt Lake City is also a short drive from Provo, and is rich with history. You can enjoy concerts, events, parades, museums, and even visit the iconic Temple Square. No matter what you’re interested in, students at Inspire Greatness Aveda Institute in Provo have something they can enjoy!

Denver

Denver, the “Mile High City”, is the capital of Colorado and the city where another Inspire Greatness Aveda Institute is located. Denver is also home to Colorado State University, among several other colleges, which brings a lively atmosphere to the city. The city also provides a manageable slice of big city life with a population of over 600 thousand residents. The city is large enough to have just about anything you could want without feeling too big to handle. Denver is also an excellent place to kickstart a beauty career with the countless opportunities to explore!

City Life

There’s no shortage of things to do in Denver! For those with the cosmopolitan flair, Denver has the Cherry Creek Shopping Center and 16th Street Mall, both of which are large, fun and relaxed places to spend a Saturday. Much like BYU in Provo, the college scene in Denver also keeps the city lively and full of things to experience. Whether it’s sporting events or musical performances, there’s always something to see. If you have a taste for big league events, you can attend a Rockies baseball game at Coors Field, or a join the mass of Denver fans at a Broncos football game at Mile High Stadium. If you’re into live music, few places are more unique or iconic than Red Rocks Amphitheatre where you can catch a live show almost any day of the week!

Outdoor Adventures

With sunny weather in Colorado 300 days out of the year, it’s easy to embrace your inner adventurist and explore nature. Whether your jam is bicycling, river kayaking, and more, you have plenty of options in the Denver area! If you’re looking for something a little more modern or thrilling, Elitch Gardens is one of the largest theme parks in the entire area. To keep cool in the summer you can also consider Water World. Regardless of what you’re in the mood for, Denver can provide as much adventure as you like!

Building Beauty Opportunities

Considering how big Denver is, there are also plenty of opportunities to build your beauty career. Events like the Colorado Beauty and Hair Expo come around every year to attract barbers and stylists from all over the country to enjoy all things hair. It even includes an epic barber battle! Many intelligent men and women in Colorado have made fantastic beauty businesses, and you could be the next one!

Phoenix

Coming in as the fifth largest city in the United States, Phoenix is the largest city to be home to an Inspire Greatness Aveda Institute. Our Phoenix campus is in the largest city of any of our campuses, which provides our students with unique opportunities. Living in the desert is a paradise for many people, with perpetual sunshine and no bad hair days!

The Big City

Phoenix is a big city that is rich with art, music, and style. It’s really the city for you to find yourself in! Whether you prefer theatrical performances or art galleries, there’s always something new to explore.

Life in The Desert

The wide open desert in the Phoenix area makes the perfect canvas for you to enjoy all kinds of outdoor activities. To beat the heat, early morning or late night hikes are a great way to keep cool and see incredible sights. Kayaking or paddling the Salt River is another fantastic way to enjoy the outdoors without burning to a crisp on a hot summer day!

Local Beauty Events

In a city as large as Phoenix, it’s easy to find beauty events and opportunities for young beauty professionals. Events such as the Arizona Hair & Beauty Show draw vendors and professionals from all over the country to show off their stuff, and you could be part of the show! The city is also alive with all kinds of beauty salons, parlors, blowout bars, and more where you could make your mark. You could even open a business of your own!

Tucson

Tucson, Arizona is the last of our Inspire Greatness Aveda Institute campuses. Located almost two hours from our Phoenix campus, the Inspire Greatness Aveda school in Arizona shares home with the University of Arizona, the college that breathes life into the city. The combination of small town feel with a relatively large number of residents makes Tucson the perfect place to experience some of everything!

University of Arizona

Go Wildcats! The University of Arizona is the beating heart of Tucson, both as the largest employer and as the largest student body. Like the other college towns mentioned before, Tucson provides residents amazing opportunities to get involved with the local lifestyle, ranging from sporting events to musical performances. Regardless of your interests, Tucson can provide entertainment and enrichment.

Local Events

While Tucson isn’t quite the size that Phoenix is, Tucson still has many local events and activities for people to get involved in. The Women’s Day Out Expo is a great example of a large event where strong women get together to network and build opportunities. The Arizona Fashion Convention & Beauty Expo is more fashion, style, and beauty oriented, and could provide excellent networking and business building opportunities for young beauty professionals!

Learn at Inspire Greatness Aveda Institute

Regardless of which campus you choose to attend, the Inspire Greatness Aveda Institutes are dedicated to helping our students to prepare for exciting careers in the beauty world. We can help you discover your passion is for esthetics, cosmetology, and more. Contact us today to learn more about how you can change your life with us!

21 Sep The Advantage of an Aveda Education

The Aveda education is unique among other beauty school curriculums, so people often have questions. Can I work in any salon with an Aveda education? Do I learn the same things as another beauty school? What is unique about the Aveda education? These questions and more are common among people investigating their beauty school options. Here we’ll cover just a few of the ways that Inspire Greatness Aveda Institutes strives to give students an advantage in their education.

Practical Practice

We don’t want our students to just know about cosmetology, esthetics, or other beauty professions, we want them to practice it extensively. Practice is the key for skilled and satisfying services, so we strive to give our students lots of opportunity to practice until things feel second-nature. The clinic floor at Inspire Greatness is designed to simulate what it would be like for graduates to work in professional salons after graduation. This makes it so that the practice that students get in school can help prepare them for the real thing after they complete their program!

Learn the Aveda Way

The Aveda products and practices are one of the big ways that the Aveda education really stands out. In addition to teaching the services and practices required by the state licensing board, the Inspire Greatness Aveda Institutes usually incorporate education about the Aveda brand, products, and practices. Aveda products and services have a large focus on natural and healthy ways to achieve desired results. Aveda education can give students the opportunity to learn the Aveda way in addition to learning practices that are required for state licensure.

Build Business Basics

Regardless of where your beauty career takes you are, you’ll likely either work for a business or own a business. This is why learning a foundation of business skills is important for our students. We strive to prepare our students to be effective at managing guests, products, and more from the potential position of management. Business basics can also help students learn to market themselves and grow their personal business, whether they work at a salon or in their own private business or practice.

The Aveda Career Network

The Aveda education is designed to help students prepare to work in any salon or spa, but it can also give students an advantage in applying for opportunities at Aveda brand salons and spas. Students who attend non-Aveda beauty schools often have a difficult time getting positions at Aveda salons and spas. With an Aveda education you license as a cosmetologist or esthetician to apply at any salon or spa.

Beyond career preparation, the Inspire Greatness Aveda Institutes strive to bring outside opportunities in to the school for students to experience. This can include things like career fairs, presentations, guest speakers, and much more. The networking opportunities can play a critical part in making the education at the school lasting and impactful.

Join Aveda Today

Attending Inspire Greatness Aveda Institute isn’t just about learning cosmetology or esthetics, it’s about providing the opportunity to transform your life. Embrace your truest self and contact us to learn more about our programs today. We have campuses in Phoenix, Tucson, Provo, and Denver for you to choose from.

22 Aug Questions Every Parent Should Ask About Beauty School

Making a choice about beauty school can be a difficult decision for some people, especially when parents want their children to make the best decision. As with any trade school, there are questions about career opportunities, cost, and more that come to mind. This guide can help parents think about the top five questions they should be asking when they tour any beauty school so they feel prepared before they set foot in the door.

What Careers Can You Have as a Beauty School Graduate?

Beauty school graduates can explore many career options after they’ve graduated their program. The exact opportunities depend mostly on what program they graduate from. Inspire Greatness Aveda Institutes offers programs in cosmetology, esthiology, massage therapy, and more. Depending on which program is selected, our graduates may have the opportunity to pursue a variety of careers including:

• Hairstylist
• Esthetician
• Hair colorist
• Massage therapist
• Nail artist
• Salon/spa manager or owner
• Beauty product specialist
• Barber
• Makeup artist
• And so much more!

You can take control of your career when you graduate from beauty school because you get out of it what you put into it. Some of our students even have the opportunity to go to London or New York Fashion Week to style hair or do makeup! These kinds of opportunities are what our students get excited about and can help them become outstanding professionals after graduation.

Some parents are concerned about the career opportunities their children have after graduation because they are unfamiliar with the options out there. Our graduates have the opportunity to be brought into the Aveda network when they graduate, so they stay a part of this huge family of beauty professionals that can work together on ambitious projects and businesses throughout their lives. Career placement and success is incredibly important to us!

How Do I Know This Beauty School is The Best Choice?

When you or someone in your family is considering beauty school for the first time, it’s important to look at all the options available. Beauty schools are all remarkably different from one another, so it’s important to break each of them down and find why it may or may not be the best fit. Here’s a few additional important things you can ask beauty schools about:

Educational Support

The quality of education at a beauty school is important because each of the students are expected to sit for the state licensing exam after graduation. This can be intimidating for many students because traditional test-taking isn’t suited for them. You should ask schools you visit about how they prepare students to sit for the licensing exam and what additional support is offered to help students succeed.

Other topics you can ask about include classroom size, test preparation, and supplemental educational opportunities. Ask questions at schools you visit so you know exactly what it will be like for students at the school. A good school should have an invested interest in helping their students to excel, so they may have answers to these questions on-hand.

Practical Experience

Beauty school may prepare students to sit for the state licensing exam, but that’s not all that a good school should care about. A good beauty school wants their graduates to become more than just licensed cosmetologists, estheticians, massage therapists, or nail technicians, they want students to become model beauty professionals that excel and make an impact in the industry. Ask the schools you visit about how they give students the opportunity to learn skills that can make them talented professionals, such as the basics for opening a business, managing clientele, and how to work with other people. Find out what they are doing specifically to help their students prepare for life after their state licensing exam. School shouldn’t just be about passing tests, it should also teach students how to be amazing beauty pros.

Extracurricular Activities

We mentioned above that beauty school gives you back what you put into it, and that’s why we strive to provide extracurricular activities for our students. At Inspire Greatness Aveda Institutes, our students can prepare and apply for competitions and travel abroad opportunities that can broaden their horizons and expand their professional networks. We take select students to Fashion Week in New York and London, as well as other study abroad opportunities to places like India, Madrid, London, Berlin, or Japan. Selected students can also compete in the prestigious North American Hairstyling Awards (NAHA) each year. One of our students even came out on top at the competition this past year! These activities are important to us because it can help set our students up for professional success. Be sure to ask beauty schools what they are doing to go above and beyond for their students.

What Options Are There to Pay For School?

While beauty school may be substantially more inexpensive than attending a four-year university, it’s still important to ask about options for paying for school. Accredited beauty schools often have government financial available to those who qualify. Beyond that, some beauty schools have an admissions director or department that can assist with navigating financial options. Contact any of our locations in Denver, Tucson, Phoenix, or Provo to speak with an admissions representative about how you can fund your education!

Join Inspire Greatness Aveda

The Inspire Greatness Aveda Institutes are dedicated to giving a quality education that can help graduates become outstanding beauty professionals. Contact us to schedule a tour of one of our campuses so you can make a completely informed decision!

20 Jul How to Become a Licensed Beauty Professional in Colorado

Becoming a licensed cosmetologist, esthetician, barber, hairstylist, or nail technician in Colorado requires three steps:

1. Enroll in a program approved by the Office of Barber and Cosmetology Licensure.
2. Complete the required clock hours for your program.
3. Pass the state license exam for your program.

Once you’ve completed these steps you are officially licensed to practice in the state of Colorado! Sounds easy, right? There’s a lot that goes into each of these three steps, so we’ll break it down for you below.

Choosing a Beauty School

Licensing in a beauty industry career isn’t easy for everyone, and being successful after graduation requires sharp skills and hard work. You want to make sure you select a beauty school that provides both the program you want and the support you need to be successful after graduation. Make sure the schools you look at offer the required hours to be eligible for state licensure, and also look for ways that the school goes above and beyond for their students.

A good example is the Inspire Greatness Aveda Institute in Colorado. Not only do we help our students meet the program hour requirements to take the licensing exam, we also provide extracurricular opportunities to help give our students get an edge on their careers. We take some of our students to Fashion Week in London and New York, the North American Hairstyling Awards competition, and even study abroad experiences in places like India! Look for things like this in your beauty school program to get the most out of your educational experience!

Complete Your Program

Depending on the program you’re interested in, you may need to fulfill different program hour requirements. The number of clock hours you need to fulfill can vary depending on the program you’re interested in, and also by state! Check to make sure the program you plan to attend can provide enough clock hours to meet the requirements of the state you want to work in. Here are the requirements for the licenses available in Colorado:

• Cosmetology License: 1500 hours
• Barber License: 1500 hours
• Hairstylist License: 1200 hours
• Esthetician License: 600 hours
• Nail Technician License: 600 hours

The licenses above are all of the ones available in Colorado, and Inspire Greatness Aveda Institute in Denver offers courses for cosmetology, barbering, esthetics, massage therapy, and spa therapy.

You can look at your school’s program catalog to see a breakdown of how your program hours are distributed. For example, if your program catalog has 175 hours of hairstyling that goes towards the 1500 hours to license in cosmetology, your school will determine how much of that 175 hours is spent in a classroom and how much is used on the salon floor. The 1500 hours for cosmetology aren’t just hours you spend in the building, it’s the time you have to put towards advancing your professional skills, and your school will help with that along the way! You’ll need to meet your minimum number of clock hours, which are the total number of hours per week you spend attending class or other instructional activities that count towards completing the program.

The number of months it takes to finish one of these programs can vary. If you are on a full-time schedule, you can often finish certain programs in several months, while part-time programs can take a year or more depending on the requirements. Consult with an admissions representative to find a schedule that works best for your needs!

Take the Licensing Exam

The last step in your journey to become a licensed beauty professional is to take the licensing exam for your chosen program. Your school should help you prepare for the exam and help you with steps like scheduling a time and place. In Colorado, licensing exams are administered by PSI. You can visit PSI’s website for test prep, reference materials, and to register for an exam. Many people can feel anxious about taking standardized tests like this, so it’s important to find out how your beauty school can help you prepare for the exam. Inspire Greatness Aveda Institutes works closely with students to help make sure they are prepared, and can offer additional review or tutoring sessions to make sure they are ready to go!

Once you have your license, you are qualified to work in your new career at nearly any salon or spa throughout the state!

Learn With Inspire Greatness Aveda Institutes

At Aveda Inspire Greatness, we know that education means much more than simply meeting state licensing requirements. We want our students to feel comfortable with taking the licensure exam, and we also want our students to become incredibly talented cosmetologists, estheticians, and beauty specialists! Contact us at our Denver location, or any one of our locations in Phoenix, Tucson, or Provo to learn more about how you can build a career in beauty at Inspire Greatness Aveda Institutes!

19 Jul Alumni Spotlight: Taylor Ward

The graduates from Inspire Greatness Aveda Institutes always amaze us with the incredible things they are able to accomplish, and Taylor Ward is no exception! Taylor is our alumni feature for this month, and she’s made incredible strides since graduating.

Why Aveda Products?

Taylor originally chose to come to Inspire Greatness Aveda Institute because of how professional, clean and organized the school is. She also obviously loved the product! The naturally derived ingredients are the key to the Aveda brand. Combine that with the fact that Aveda products are cruelty free and you have a recipe for success!

After graduation, Taylor decided to keep with the Aveda name and now works at an Aveda salon named Juut in Tempe, Arizona. She absolutely loves Aveda color, and it’s one of the main reasons she wanted to stay with the brand. She loves how custom Aveda color can be and knew there was a lot more she could learn about it. She also wanted to stay with Aveda because of the mission statement and what the brand represents. She enjoys that she can give back simply by doing what she loves!

Life After School

Working at Juut has been an absolute dream for Taylor! She is a color specialist so she spends most of her time doing hair painting and full foils, and she absolutely loves it! She’s even performed so well that she was number two for referrals across the whole company! Since then she averages 100 referrals every six months, which is incredible! Much of her success is owed to an important tip she learned in school, which is to under promise and over deliver. She knows exactly how to set client expectations and blow them out of the water!

Social Media Tips From a Pro

Taylor offers excellent advice on how to make the most of your social media presence. Most stylists network and connect with clients through social media, so it’s important to master! She explains that using real photos is an important key for success. Don’t edit them excessively, you want to show off exactly what you can do so that people aren’t surprised by the results you give them. She says that understanding your audience is important too. Find the people that belong to your same interest group and show off what you love to do. If what you do resonates with your audience, they’ll be more engaged with your social media presence!

Begin Your Journey With Aveda

Inspire Greatness Aveda Institute isn’t just a school, it’s a way of life. Our students have the opportunity to learn about Aveda products and services so that they can provide the best experience for their clients. If you have a passion for beauty, we have programs for cosmetology, esthetics, and more that you can pursue! You could be like Taylor and pursue a career in color. Contact us at any one of our Tucson, Phoenix, Denver, or Provo locations to learn more about how you can change your life today!

15 Jul What Are Beauty Professionals Made Of?

The Aveda brand is all about what our products and people are made of, which has us asking: what are beauty professionals made of? Everyone who comes into an Aveda school is uniquely different, but many of them have similar traits and goals. So what are Aveda beauty professionals made of? Here are just some of the more common “ingredients” we’ve seen in our incredible students:

Outgoing

One of the biggest drives for people to start a career in beauty is the opportunity to help people each and every day. Whether you choose cosmetology, esthetics, or another discipline, you can have a role in helping other people feel like their best selves. You can provide haircuts that boost confidence for job interviews, makeup for weddings, or skincare treatments for truly healthy skin! Helping people feel great is what beauty careers are all about! Many of our students possess that passion for people and work hard every day to brighten the lives of people around them.

Inquisitive

The beauty industry is always growing and evolving, so it’s important for beauty pros to be learning as they continue to develop in their careers! New products, styles, techniques, and trends are coming out all the time, so continuing education after graduation can make you an outstanding cosmetologist, esthetician, or other beauty pro. This is one reason why we offer travel abroad opportunities to our graduates as well as our current students. We want people to have the opportunity to continue to learn and develop themselves even after graduation has come and gone!

Hands-on

Many of our students enter beauty school because they want to be actively physically engaged in the work they do. They love being on their feet, active, and involved in whatever they’re doing. Their days go fastest when they’re physically occupied with something. If you enjoy working with your hands and being busy throughout the day, beauty school could be the perfect place for you to build a career!

Artistic

Our school attracts many artistically gifted students who love working with color and styles. It’s partly why we do some of our extracurricular activities, such as the North American Hairstyling Awards competition and the London or New York Fashion week excursions. Many beauty pros love art and artistic expression, so if that sounds like you then cosmetology, makeup, or esthetics could become your new future.

Innovative

Students at Inspire Greatness Aveda Institutes don’t simply learn beauty, many of them also become innovators. They come up with new and inspiring ways to make the world a healthier, more beautiful place. Some students even reinvent themselves along the way, becoming more mindful of others and creating a lifestyle of Aveda beauty around them.

What Are You Made Of?

Knowing what we’re made of is an important piece of what makes us unique . Not only are Aveda products built with the purest ingredients the earth can offer, our students and staff are built the same way, each unique and beautiful in their own right. Some students are made up of strength, courage, and tenacity, compassion, fervor, or selflessness. What are you made of? Visit our Facebook page to learn more about what we’re made of and get inspiration for yourself! If you think you’re made of the right stuff to be an outstanding beauty professional, contact us at any of our Tucson, Phoenix, Denver, or Provo campuses for more information on how you can begin your future with Inspire Greatness Aveda Institutes!

13 Jul How to Prepare For School in the Fall

Summer is the time of year that most people get really excited about. The weather is warm, the sky is clear, and the water is so refreshing for a swim. If summer is a vacation from school for you, then you know that routine is a thing of the past. Going to bed at 2 am and waking up at noon becomes the norm, and you get out of habits that can make you a rock star student. Having fun in the summer sun is totally okay (and absolutely recommended!), but before you know it fall will roll around again and it’ll be time for school! Every beauty school schedule is different, whether full-time or part-time, so here are some general things you can do now to prepare for school in the fall:

Regulate Your Sleep Schedule

We’re not going to tell you how to live your life, but it’s much easier to be an amazing student if you’re well rested! Summer months are when people like to stay out late with friends, go to bonfires, and have all sorts of fun. Make sure you get your fun in, but also make sure you start sleeping regularly as the school year approaches. If you’re accustomed to late nights and late mornings, you should start adjusting your sleep schedule a few weeks before school starts so you have time to get used to your new schedule. Many beauty school classes start in the morning, so you want to be ready to roll on your first day back at school!

Eat Healthy & Regularly

If you are in the habit of sleeping in late, you’re also probably in the habit of skipping breakfast, and might have even had a late night snack the day before! Beauty school takes a lot of energy because you need to be awake and attentive in class. After you’ve been in school for a while, you often spend a lot of time on your feet in the student salon, so being energized is important! Make sure you eat a healthy breakfast and plan something for lunch. And no, coffee does not count as breakfast! At least do your body a favor and grab a banana while you’re at the coffee shop. Foods with proteins and complex carbohydrates can give you the energy you need to make it through the day!

Exercise Your Mind

Beauty school is different from traditional schooling in many ways, but there are still classrooms and textbooks like nearly any other school. Make sure you spend time reading and keeping your mind sharp during the summer so you can jump into your beauty education right away! Adjusting to school again could be difficult if the most challenging thing you read this summer was the netflix recommended shows list!

Back to School Prep

Beauty school is also different from traditional schools in that your school supplies are made uniquely for beauty school! The school you attend will likely provide a cosmetology or esthetics kit for you to use, but there may be other things you need to bring as well, such as the ipad that comes in your Inspire Greatness Aveda student kit. If you’re not sure what you might need for your beauty school courses, contact your campus and ask questions!

Dress Smart

With summer in full swing, your feet have probably forgotten what shoes feel like! It might be time for you to start thinking about your school wardrobe. Many beauty schools have uniforms or aprons that you wear when you’re on the salon floor, but you can start thinking about things like shoes and pants that you want to wear while you’re on the scene. The salon floor can be tiring to work on, so make sure you have some comfortable flats or low heel shoes that you can wear for hours at a time without tiring! Most uniforms or aprons at beauty schools, especially at Aveda Inspire Greatness, are black, so you can choose most colors of pants to match. Just make sure they are appropriately conservative because you’ll be representing your school on the salon floor!

Start School at Aveda Institutes

Many people say that life is about the journey and not the destination, and the same can be said about Inspire Greatness Aveda Institutes! Many students find a home away from home here and are able to build new lifestyles and careers with us. If you’re interested in coming back to school with everyone else after summer vacation, reach out to us about our cosmetology, esthetics, or other programs! Contact one of our campuses in Provo, Denver, Tucson, and Phoenix to begin the next leg of your journey today!

08 Jul 5 FAQs About Our Extracurricular Activities

Beauty isn’t just a job or a career at Inspire Greatness Aveda Institutes, it’s a way of life! Everything on the earth is connected in some way, which is why it’s important for our students to see the bigger picture beyond the classroom! We offer some incredible extracurricular activities for our students to apply to, such as our New York and London Fashion Week trips, North American Hairstyling Awards (NAHA) competition, and study abroad to places like Madrid, India, Berlin, and Japan. All of our students are invited to apply for these opportunities, so we wanted to answer a few of the most common questions our students have here on the blog!

1. Who can apply for these opportunities?

Any of our current students are welcome to apply for the activities of their choosing! Some opportunities may be more appropriate for some programs than others, however. For example, our massage therapy students may not be as well suited for the NAHA competition given that their program doesn’t cover hair styling! If you’re not sure about how your program fits with the extracurricular program, feel free to talk with one of your instructors! Both students and graduates are welcome to apply as well!

2. What are the biggest benefits of attending one of these activities?

The biggest benefit for our students is that they get the opportunity to network and work alongside industry icons. Students also usually get a lot of hands-on technical experience that they can immediately apply from behind the chair or in the treatment room. It’s a boot camp of techniques that can strengthen their styling or makeup muscles a lot quicker!

3. What is the application process like?

The application process for each program is the same. There is a paper and video application portion, your retail and service numbers are evaluated, and your grades and attendance are included as well. The video portion of the application is probably the most involved, because each applicant needs to create a video on YouTube where they explain why they should be selected, why Aveda is important to them, and what this program would do for them and their career.

The only program with an additional application requirement is the NAHA competition, which requires applicants to include a before and after image of their work on a model. They need to show the model with no makeup or styling done, and then show how their work looks on the model afterwards. We want to see what our students are capable of!

4. What do you generally look for in these applications?

After meeting the basic academic and service number requirements, the most important thing we look for is how the applicant represents the Aveda lifestyle. We want to see that they are hard workers that would represent the school well and what it stands for during their travels or competitions. It’s hard for students to be selected sometimes because of how many incredible applicants want to participate, so it’s all about making yourself stand out and showing how this would help you and your career.

5. What can I do now to prepare for a future extracurricular activity?

The biggest tip we can give is to work with your educators on academics, attendance, and service and retail numbers. Make it known that you’re applying. Make connections with people everywhere so that you can show that you can work well on a team. Be engaged with the other students and staff at the school and really push yourself from the very beginning!

Build Yourself With Inspire Greatness Aveda

Aveda is a way of life, and we love to see that in our students! They become very passionate about their careers and are incredible representatives of a brand that promotes love and care for the earth and the people in it. Visit our website to learn more about our NAHA, study abroad, and fashion week opportunities. If you’re ready to take the leap, contact us and we can help find the right program to help get you where you want to be at your Tucson, Phoenix, Denver, and Provo campuses!

06 Jul How Esthiology Prepares Students for Medical Spas

At Inspire Greatness Aveda Institutes we have a specially designed program for learning esthetics called Esthiology. What is the difference between an esthetics program and Aveda’s Esthiology program? In many ways they’re fundamentally similar, but at Aveda Institutes, we want to elevate our education beyond basic esthetics and help our students prepare to work in any capacity as an esthetician, even in medical spas. The Aveda esthiology program may be right for you if you’re looking for an opportunity in the esthetics industry.

Esthiology And Esthetics

If you compare an esthetics program at another school to the Esthiology program at Aveda Institutes, you may notice that they cover the same fundamental subjects, but the Esthiology program covers a few skills unique to Aveda. Esthiology helps students learn that skincare is more than simply putting products on to make your skin look better. Esthiology takes a holistic approach to the way we take care of skin. It encourages balance; promoting a healthy mind and body to help improve your overall well being. It also teaches that what you put in the body is just as important as what you put on it. Aveda teaches students to be aware of nature, their surroundings, and how all of those things influence their health. When you get an Esthiology education at Aveda Institutes, you can learn the basics of esthetics and how they can work better when you practice a healthier and more holistic lifestyle. Our emphasis on skincare habits is what can help students flourish in any environment!

Medical Spas And Traditional Spas

Medical spas are increasingly prevalent options for students to work in after graduation, so how are they different than a traditional beauty spa? Traditional beauty spas are where people usually go for massage or skincare services provided by massage therapists or estheticians. Medical spas often provide similar services while also providing services performed by doctors such as dermatologists or chiropractors. This allows clients to come to a convenient location to have their conditions diagnosed and treated by the most appropriate specialist. Dermatologists often work with skin diseases and things that estheticians can’t usually work on, and the dermatologists refer their clients to their in-house estheticians for services that can help their patients as well.

The Aveda esthiology education can provide an educational foundation that can allow students to excel in both medical spas and traditional spas. All of our basic Esthiology programs introduce medical spa services such as microdermabrasion and peels, while our masters Esthiology program covers those procedures in depth. These types of procedures are very common in medical spas, so we want our students to feel prepared to practice them!

Training Esthiology Students to be Learners

When asked about how the esthiology program helps to prepare students to work in medical spas, Brad VanDyke, the Director of Education had this to say:

“Because the Esthiology education is foundational, many times when students enter a medical spa they are given specific training on lasers, peels, and other things. What is so beneficial from Aveda is the art of communication and how to be that liaison between a doctor and the client in taking care of their needs. Students learn the foundational information, and we teach them that learning never ends, so when they go into those specific spas they are open to learning new things.”

Every medical spa has its own unique protocols and way of doing things, so the most important thing we focus on is teaching students to be open to learning throughout their careers!

Learn Esthetics With Aveda Institutes

An Esthiology education can be an excellent choice for people who want to live a lifestyle that promotes well-being. Taking care of yourself isn’t just a career, it’s a way of life. If you want to dedicate your life to helping others feel and be their healthiest selves, esthetics could be perfect for you! Visit our programs page or contact us for more information on how you can build a lifestyle career for yourself!