While the appeal of being a beauty pro differs from person to person, there are some compelling benefits that many cosmetologists will agree on. Following your passion, embracing your creative expression, and working directly with customers are all great reasons to choose a career in the beauty industry.

The ability to work for yourself, forge your own destiny, and scale your business are equally as compelling from work and financial perspectives. If you are money-minded and want to scale your beauty biz toward financial success, choosing the beauty certifications with the most profit potential is a great idea.

Beauty Certifications to Maximize Profitability

Money isn’t everything, especially if you love being a beauty pro, but it sure doesn’t hurt. If you want to boost your salon’s profits, you should consider adding the following beauty certifications to your resume.

Makeup Certification

Offering makeup services is an exceptional way to increase profits while benefiting your clients. Not only will your current clientele appreciate this new service–with many of them opting to add it to their current beauty regimen–but you will also attract more customers who have been searching for such a service.

This particular beauty certification includes learning basic application skills and mastering multiple techniques (like contouring and brow sculpting). It requires about a month of coursework followed by a practical exam. If you want to progress even further in the world of makeup, you can specialize in things like makeup for cosplay, makeup for photography, and more.

Esthetician Certification

Professional skincare is a beauty certification that practically every beauty pro should consider. There is a massive market for this skill set and the services it facilitates, and clients will flock to your beauty biz to receive treatments like chemical peels, facials, and waxes–not to mention specialty retail product sales.

Esthetician certification can be completed in about a month. After completing the education, beauty pros must pass a comprehensive exam to become certified.

Therapeutic Massage

Many salons offer massage services to provide their clients with a truly well-rounded experience. While the requirements to become a licensed massage therapist are quite stringent, the earning potential of receiving certification for therapeutic massage and bodywork is incredibly high.

Massage therapists must complete a minimum of 500 hours of study, with some programs requiring upward of 1,000 hours. The investment is high, but so is the return on that investment. Once certified, you will be able to perform over 80 types of massage treatment, allowing you to offer current and potential clients diverse and valuable services.

Professional Barber Certification

Adding short-hair specialization to your salon is a great way to attract new clients and increase the profitability of your shop. As a cosmetologist, you may already cut short hair, including men’s hair. However, obtaining barber certification requires a more in-depth education and training that is specific to short hairstyles and facial hair.

Barber school usually takes six to nine months if you are dedicating yourself to it full-time. If you plan to add this particular skill set to your beauty biz while working full-time hours, barber school will likely take closer to 18 months to complete. Upon completion, you can apply for your barber license!

Nail Technician Certification

Manicures, pedicures, nail treatments, artificial nails, and more are all popular services requested by beauty biz clients. By offering these services in your salon, you can increase your profits by having loyal clients turn to you for their nail technician needs and by attracting new customers to your shop.

By completing an approved program that will take anywhere from six months to two years and passing the associated exam, you can receive nail technician certification and begin providing related services to your clients. The profitability of these additional services can vary, but they are sure to add a solid influx to your beauty biz.

Beauty certifications are a phenomenal way to grow your cosmetology knowledge, expand your skill set, and increase the profitability of your beauty biz. By being intentional in the beauty certifications you elect to pursue, you can maximize the financial success of your salon.