After 15 years in the beauty industry, why am I still investing in my own training?

After more than 15 years working in the beauty industry, you might wonder why I still invest so much time in training and education.

The simple answer is that I never want to stop learning.

One of the biggest lessons I’ve taken from my career is that gaining a qualification and developing real professional expertise are two very different things.

A certificate marks the completion of your training. Expertise develops afterwards, through practice, experience, continued education and being willing to question and refine the way you work.

And beauty certainly doesn't stand still.

‍ The industry keeps changing

Products evolve. Techniques develop. New approaches emerge and sometimes they challenge methods we've relied on for years.

Korean Lash Lift techniques are a great recent example of this for me. Exploring a different approach to a treatment I already know incredibly well has made me look again at technique, product choice and the reasons behind each stage of the process.

I've had a similar experience with my own advanced nail education. The more technical the work becomes, the more you realise how much precision, control and understanding sit behind what can look like a very simple finished result.

There is always another level to develop.

Becoming the student again

Recently, I've found myself back in the student's chair undertaking advanced training of my own.

And I think that's incredibly valuable as an educator.

It reminds me what it feels like when something doesn't immediately click. To watch someone demonstrate a technique that looks effortless and then discover that your own hands haven't quite got the message yet!

It also reinforces something that is very important to me when I teach at SLS Académie.

Learning a new skill should challenge you, but you should never feel as though you're doing it alone.

Good education isn't simply about showing somebody a technique and handing them a certificate at the end of the day.

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Not all beauty training is equal

The longer I've worked within this industry, both as a beauty professional and an educator, the more strongly I feel that the structure surrounding your education matters.

Practical tuition matters. Individual attention matters. Having the opportunity to ask questions and understand why you're doing something, rather than simply copying a sequence of steps, matters.

And the learning shouldn't necessarily finish when the training day does.

You need time to practise, make mistakes, send over work, ask questions and receive constructive feedback as your confidence develops.

Where a qualification is required, I also believe students should understand whether their training is appropriately accredited and insurable before investing in it.

These are all things I've thought very carefully about when developing education at SLS Académie.

A certificate is the beginning, not the end

Whether you've been in beauty for 15 weeks or 15 years, I don't think we ever reach the point where there is nothing left to learn. I'm still a student myself.

And perhaps that's one of the most important things I can offer the people I teach.

I know what it feels like to learn something unfamiliar. I know the frustration when a technique doesn't immediately work and I know the difference that the right guidance can make when it finally clicks.

So if you're currently learning something new, keep going.

The certificate might mark the completion of your course, but the expertise comes from everything you do afterwards.

Stacey x