Skin care is one of the fastest-growing sectors within the beauty industry, according to Washington State Employment Security figures, says Dana Ware, a master esthetician who plans to train students in the Spokane area in all phases of skin care with the hope of taking advantage of that growth. 

Ware plans to open the Skin Studio Academy at 220 E. Wellesley in about 2,000 square feet of leased space in early October, and to offer training in basic esthetics, master esthetics, and instructor training to prepare students for state licensing exams and employment in the industry.  

Students at Skin Studio Academy will learn to give facials, dermabrasion, spray tanning and full-body waxing, Ware says. Ware estimates she will have 16 students during the first sessions. She says she will cap enrollment at 10 students per instructor.

Hairdressers and cosmetologists are in demand in all Washington state counties and the occupational outlook is in growth mode, says Ware in a press release. The estimated employment in that sector in Washington was 18,805 in 2011, and an additional 650 job openings are expected to occur between 2011 and 2021, she says, citing employment projections.

She says the data also show that a graduate with certification can start off making around $16 per hour, although she says starting pay here probably would be a little lower. 

Ware says the master esthetician license, implemented by the state in January, will draw a higher wage and enable students to work with dermatologists and plastic surgeons. 

Ware, who has worked in the industry since 1995, holds a master esthetician and national instructor certification from the National Coalitions of Estheticians Association. That certification is the professional status awarded to a skin care professional who has met competency standards set by the NCEA and represents the highest skin care credential available in the country, says Ware. Washington state students must have 750 hours of training for a basic esthetics license and 1,200 hours for a master esthetics license. 

Ware has owned and operated a full-body waxing salon called Headz N Tailz for the past five years and has taught at local beauty schools. 

The skin care school will open to the public for esthetics services at a reduced cost in late October, she says. 

She and one other instructor will make up the school’s staff.