Behind the Glow

I started esthetics school in August of 2022. I remember walking in full of excitement and passion, knowing that this was something I wanted to pursue, even though I didn’t quite know where it would take me yet.

My interest in the beauty industry actually started when I lived right around the block from a spa. I remember going in for a service and immediately becoming fascinated by everything. The treatments, the atmosphere, the idea that helping someone feel good about themselves could be a career. From that moment, I was HOOKED.

Like many people entering the industry today, I started my research at TikTok University. I know that sounds cliché, but hey it’s the truth. I was constantly looking up information about the beauty industry.

When I began school, I thought I might want to work in a spa and do a little of everything and then potentially in the future own my own spa. But my experience in school quickly became different than what I expected.

During my first week of esthetics school, our instructor quit. After that we went through a period where we would have substitutes and different instructors coming in and out. It was definitely a challenging time for our class because things felt a little uncertain.

Discovering My Passion for Teaching

Instead of letting that discourage me, I started creating some study resources for myself and my classmates. I’ve always been a competitive person when it comes to learning, so I started making Kahoot games, Quizlets, and other small study tools that we could use to prepare for exams.

Those little games turned into something much bigger. My classmates and I studied with them constantly. Also shout out to them for staying with me on my 100+ Kahoot over infection control. lol. Anyways they paid off we started succeeding because of them. Without realizing it at first, I had discovered something I really loved which was helping people learn.

As graduation approached, I remember hearing about my classmates getting job offers or starting to booth rent and various other spa opportunities. Meanwhile, I had spent my time creating study tools. I had two job opportunities one was for booth renting which at the time wasn’t something I was comfortable doing being a broke student working one day a week while going to school Monday-Friday and just moving to the area which made booth rental my least desirable option. The second option was at a spa doing lash extensions, which I had no training on at the time and was leaning more on offering the full scope of beauty. So, with that I wasn’t ready to take the leap.

After graduating, I went back to my day job at Hooters. Believe it or not, working there helped build my confidence in ways that I didn’t realize at the time. I just had to figure out how to merge that confident side of myself with the side that loved esthetics and education.

Becoming an instructor

About four months after graduating, I was searching on Indeed and saw something that caught my attention. My school had posted a job opening for an esthetics Instructor.

I remember joking with my boyfriend and saying, “Wow, what if I applied here?” He immediately told me that I should do it. I honestly didn’t think that they would hire me. I didn’t have an instructor license yet, and I didn’t have two years of experience. I was a fresh graduate still trying to figure life out.

But I decided to go talk to one of my past mentors from school, a teacher who had substituted for our class many times before and for that we loved and adored her. She told me she thought I would actually be a great fit for the position.

Not long after that conversation, I was placed into what’s called a 750 program. This allowed me to complete the additional hours needed to become an instructor. During that time, I was technically clocking in as a student while also training to become an educator.

Everyone’s journey to becoming an esthetics instructor looks different, and there’s no single “right way” to do it. But I truly believe my process made me a better educator. I got to see the good, the bad, and the reality of the industry. I built relationships with other esthetics instructors, learned from cosmetology instructors, and had the opportunity to be mentored by some incredible people.

During that time, I also built connections with people at corporate within my school system. I networked, asked questions, and worked incredibly hard.

If you think the esthetics program itself moves fast, the esthetics instructor program is even more accelerated. You’re learning the curriculum, studying material on your own, working as a substitute instructor, helping at the front desk, and trying to balance everything at once.

But I share this not to discourage anyone. I share it to say that if I could do it, you can too.

I went from being someone who never felt like a great student growing up to graduating from my esthetics program with honors and finishing my instructor’s program as Valedictorian with a 99.9 GPA.

After that, I took my state boards. I was extremely nervous, and in another post, I’ll go deeper into what the state board experience is really like.

But I passed.

I received my license.

And shortly after that, I was offered a position teaching my very own class.

My first class as an instructor was definitely a learning experience. It wasn’t perfect. There were challenges, lots of late nights making even more review games, and there were moments where both the students and I were figuring things out together. But that’s something I’ve come to love about teaching. Every class is different, and every group of students teaches you something new as well.

Even though my school already had a corporate curriculum in place, we were encouraged to develop our own teaching style. And so, I did. I built review games, created new study tools or aids, and adjusted my approach depending on the personality of each class.

Not every class nor student learns the same way, and that’s something I always keep in mind.

More than anything, I wanted to create a classroom environment where students felt empowered. I’ve had students tell me things like they never thought they were smart, or that they never had a teacher who believed in them before.

Those statements always stay with me because I understand what it feels like to doubt yourself or have others doubt you.

Anyone can technically become an esthetics instructor. Anyone can teach.

But to truly be an educator, you have to have a passion for it. You have to be willing to go the extra mile for your students, because you never know how much impact you might have on someone’s life.

Every single day I step into the classroom, I remind myself that I have the opportunity to either build someone up or tear them down. I always choose to empower them.

And the truth is, my students empower me just as much.

They push me to become a better teacher, a better mentor, and a better person.

In my first year as an esthetics instructor, I was honored to receive the 2025 Campus Instructor of the Year award for my school. Receiving that recognition as a newer instructor meant so much to me. It reflected not only the hard work I put into teaching, but also the support and belief my students and colleagues had in me.

For me, becoming an esthetics instructor wasn’t about knowing everything. I actually left school wanting to know everything about everything, and I quickly realized that learning in this industry never stops.

What I have gained is something even more valuable: connections, mentors, and people who guide me toward the right resources.

And now, I want to be that resource for others.

MY Why

My why is simple: the students

Adult education matters. Adults need support, encouragement, and someone who believes in them just as much as anyone else.

If I can be that person for even one student, then everything I’ve gone through on this journey will have been worth it.

And if you’re a student, a new esthetician, or someone who feels unsure about where to start, just know you’re not alone.

Welcome to Behind the Glow