cosmetologist
cosmetologist
Job description of a cosmetologist.
CandidCareer.com (A Britannica Publishing Partner)
Transcript
BILLY: This is Billy from CandidCareer.com to talk to Melissa Grasso, hairdresser and cosmetologist. Let's go learn a little bit about her job, hear what she has to say.
MELISSA GRASSO: Hi, I'm Melissa Grasso. I'm a hairstylist and makeup artist at Lilly Maritza Salon and Gallery in Ellicott City.
SPEAKER 1: I love having Melissa. She's gentle. She knows what she's doing. That's-- my hair is difficult to do.
MELISSA GRASSO: So a cosmetology license covers hair care, skin care, makeup, and nails. So I'm licensed to do all four. I just choose not to do the nails. I opted out of that.
BILLY: Gotcha. Any particular reason?
MELISSA GRASSO: I don't particularly like feet.
BILLY: You heard it here first. She doesn't like feet.
MELISSA GRASSO: No feet.
BILLY: Keep your feet away from her/
MELISSA GRASSO: Every day it's all about coming in, making people look good, feel good. So sometimes you have to hear about their life. They want to hear a little bit about your life. But it's mostly just about building relationships with clients.
BILLY: In terms of the services that you provide, what are some of those?
MELISSA GRASSO: I am a hairstylist, so I do all kinds of color, haircuts, perms, relaxers, anything like that. And then I'm also a make up artist, so sometimes I get to have fun with that for weddings or special events. And then I do a lot of waxing services as well.
BILLY: Anybody come in and you take a look at their hair and you're like, oh my god, I don't know what I'm going to do with this.
MELISSA GRASSO: Sometimes, yeah, that does happen.
BILLY: Most important question of the day. What would you do with my hair?
[LAUGHTER]
MELISSA GRASSO: I don't know about that.
BILLY: You can be honest. You can be honest.
MELISSA GRASSO: I don't think it looks bad though.
BILLY: I got a haircut yesterday. I couldn't wait.
MELISSA GRASSO: That's OK. Not a problem. Sometimes it does. It's a lot of fun if you can go on location. Especially for weddings, you can see people kind of in their element and doing different things. And you can be part of their big day.
I work Tuesday through Saturday every week. I get to come in late Monday, but then I work a little bit later. And then the rest of the days I'm here 10:00 to 6:00, so it's not too bad. And then on Saturdays, 9:00 to 3:00. So you can still have a life and have-- later down the road, I can still have a family and feel like I'm not missing out on everything, which I really like.
BILLY: Melissa, explain the difference between a cosmetology license and a barber license.
MELISSA GRASSO: A barbering license is strictly for hair. There's no makeup, no nothing like that. For a cosmetologist, I'm licensed, and I've been educated to do the hair care-- so the color, the cuts, the chemical services that go with it-- the makeup applications, nail care, and skin care-- like facials, waxing, things like that.
BILLY: And so is that just additional schooling that you had to take?
MELISSA GRASSO: There's more hours involved. So in Maryland, for a cosmetology license, you have to go through 1,500 hours of school, whereas barbering, I believe, is only 12.
MELISSA GRASSO: Hi, I'm Melissa Grasso. I'm a hairstylist and makeup artist at Lilly Maritza Salon and Gallery in Ellicott City.
SPEAKER 1: I love having Melissa. She's gentle. She knows what she's doing. That's-- my hair is difficult to do.
MELISSA GRASSO: So a cosmetology license covers hair care, skin care, makeup, and nails. So I'm licensed to do all four. I just choose not to do the nails. I opted out of that.
BILLY: Gotcha. Any particular reason?
MELISSA GRASSO: I don't particularly like feet.
BILLY: You heard it here first. She doesn't like feet.
MELISSA GRASSO: No feet.
BILLY: Keep your feet away from her/
MELISSA GRASSO: Every day it's all about coming in, making people look good, feel good. So sometimes you have to hear about their life. They want to hear a little bit about your life. But it's mostly just about building relationships with clients.
BILLY: In terms of the services that you provide, what are some of those?
MELISSA GRASSO: I am a hairstylist, so I do all kinds of color, haircuts, perms, relaxers, anything like that. And then I'm also a make up artist, so sometimes I get to have fun with that for weddings or special events. And then I do a lot of waxing services as well.
BILLY: Anybody come in and you take a look at their hair and you're like, oh my god, I don't know what I'm going to do with this.
MELISSA GRASSO: Sometimes, yeah, that does happen.
BILLY: Most important question of the day. What would you do with my hair?
[LAUGHTER]
MELISSA GRASSO: I don't know about that.
BILLY: You can be honest. You can be honest.
MELISSA GRASSO: I don't think it looks bad though.
BILLY: I got a haircut yesterday. I couldn't wait.
MELISSA GRASSO: That's OK. Not a problem. Sometimes it does. It's a lot of fun if you can go on location. Especially for weddings, you can see people kind of in their element and doing different things. And you can be part of their big day.
I work Tuesday through Saturday every week. I get to come in late Monday, but then I work a little bit later. And then the rest of the days I'm here 10:00 to 6:00, so it's not too bad. And then on Saturdays, 9:00 to 3:00. So you can still have a life and have-- later down the road, I can still have a family and feel like I'm not missing out on everything, which I really like.
BILLY: Melissa, explain the difference between a cosmetology license and a barber license.
MELISSA GRASSO: A barbering license is strictly for hair. There's no makeup, no nothing like that. For a cosmetologist, I'm licensed, and I've been educated to do the hair care-- so the color, the cuts, the chemical services that go with it-- the makeup applications, nail care, and skin care-- like facials, waxing, things like that.
BILLY: And so is that just additional schooling that you had to take?
MELISSA GRASSO: There's more hours involved. So in Maryland, for a cosmetology license, you have to go through 1,500 hours of school, whereas barbering, I believe, is only 12.