How to become a lash trainer

One of the questions we probably get asked the most at LashBase HQ is: ‘How do I become a lash trainer?’. So we thought it was about time we answered this in some more detail.

Becoming a lash trainer may be one of your long term career goals, but how do you become one and how do you know if you are ready?

Getting the correct qualification

First things first, before you do anything else you will need the correct qualification to become a trainer. To train others you will need to gain an AET Level 3 Award in Education and Training. This is easy to get started, just by typing this into Google you’ll find so many places you can gain this qualification. The good news is if you lead a busy life (like most of us do) you can take this course online so it’s easy to fit around other commitments.

I have my qualifications, what do I do next?

Once you have your AET Level 3 Award you then need to decide whether you’re hoping to teach specific workshops or foundation courses.

Workshops and advanced courses are designed for lash technicians that are already qualified, so you don’t need any course accreditation for this and can start pretty much straight away. However, if you choose to teach workshops you won’t be able to teach new lash techs. Teaching workshops and advanced courses are a great option if you have a specific skill or expertise in a particular technique. These types of courses are also growing more popular within the industry so provide a great teaching platform to get you started.

Foundation courses are taught by trainers to people that are brand new to the technique. These courses cover techniques such as Classic, Volume, Lash Lift, etc. If you think you want to teach a foundation course, you have 3 options available, which each have their pros and cons:

The Easy Option: Use an accredited provider, such as the guilds GTi courses. This is quick and easy to start as all the work is done for you, but it can cost you more. The manuals/syllabus can be basic and you may find it won’t help grow your reputation as a trainer.

The Medium Option: Reach out and contact an established brand and teach for them. A pro of this option is that you have the reputation of the brand behind you, there’s less admin involved and you are offered a lot of support and guidance. This option is also great for building your experience and reputation. However, you may be tied into a contract and therefore have limited flexibility. You may also find you have targets and requirements to meet and have to teach in a certain way.

The Hard Option: Finally, the hard option is to write your own manual and have it accredited. This option is fully flexible, gives you more money and the ability to teach in your own way. But this can take a lot of work to get started. It is also a lot of responsibility, more admin and more planning.

Knowing what’s required in a manual and putting it all into a document can be confusing and a lot of work. If you need some help, or aren't too sure on what to include, our downloadable manual templates may help! 

How to know if you are ready.

Taking everything we’ve said into account, you also need to decide whether you are ready to become a lash trainer. There is so much that goes into being a trainer, it’s not just about teaching students, there’s a lot of admin and organisation involved too.

You need to make sure you want to become a trainer for the right reasons and it’s not just about “more” money. To help you decide if you are ready we have listed a few questions below that you need to ask yourself:

• Do you genuinely get great satisfaction from seeing others improve thanks to your guidance?
• Do you have experience in your craft and understand in detail what it is that you are teaching?
• Are ready to be contacted by students 24/7 with the same questions over and over and you can do it all with a smile on your face?
• Do you have your current lash business under control and can manage the extra admin? Most people don’t realise the amount of admin and organisation involved in being a trainer, so this is something to really consider.
• Do you feel strongly that something is missing from current lash training standards and that you can provide the answer?
• And lastly, do you want to really want to be a trainer rather than doing it because you feel you’re “supposed to”?

What makes a good trainer?

Finally, there are several traits that make a good trainer:

• After-course support – providing support and advice to your students after they have completed their course.
• Patience. – Remember, lashing takes time and a lot of practice and not everyone picks it up straight away.
• Passion – You need to be genuinely passionate about what you do.
• Empathy- You need to have the ability to understand others and how their feeling.
• A desire to continually progress – You need to a person who is always striving for more.
• Excellent Admin and organisational skills – being a trainer requires doing a lot of paperwork so you’ll need to be super organised when it comes to admin.

If you can confidently answer ‘Yes’ to all of the above questions and believe you have the right qualities then a career in training might be the next step for you. We hope this post has provided some help and advice on how to become a trainer. If you have any other questions then please get in touch with us on Instagram (@LashBase_US) and we’ll be happy to help.