Requirements for Medical Aestheticians & Schools

A medical aesthetician differs from a regular aesthetician due to the fact that they typically work in a medical setting along with a doctor or under the supervision from a doctor. In addition to working under different situations, medical aestheticians need additional training.

Duties

A medical aesthetician works with patients who need help with their skin due to medical procedures or other traumas. Additionally, they help patients to learn the proper ways to care for their skin and apply things such as makeup to reduce the appearance of problems which may have resulted from treatments or surgeries. One such example is cancer patients. A medical aesthetician will teach the patient how to care for irritated skin caused by radiation treatments or how to cover up the loss of hair, such as eyebrows and eyelashes.

Training and Knowledge

A medical aesthetician must have additional training on specialized machinery such as light therapy, lasers and microcurrent systems. Additionally, they require more extensive knowledge in anatomy, skin histology, skin diseases and other medical techniques than someone who practices general aesthetics. It may also be needed to know some of the more basic medical procedures depending on the location where the medical aesthetician works.

Education

In order to become a medical aesthetician it is required to first hold a license as an aesthetician. Some schools offer the option to train for medical aesthetics while undergoing the training needed to become licensed as a general aesthetician; however, it is not required to undergo any additional training to become a medical aesthetician.