In this article, we teach you everything you need to know on how to become a lash tech in 2024.

Can you make a lot of money as a lash tech?

Yes! The lash tech business is booming. Lash technicians can earn six figures per year by starting their own business. You build a client base and set your own rates. Plus, certified beauty specialists can earn more.

How do I become a lash tech?

A six-figure lash tech business is possible if you know the right steps. Before opening up your business, you need proper training and preparation to attract and retain happy clients. PocketSuite helps lash technicians manage clients and grow their businesses, and now we want to help you. 

Here’s how to become a lash tech in 2024.

#1 Attend an accredited cosmetology school or lash extension course

Clients won’t let just anyone handle this delicate beauty routine. So, you need the technical training and confidence to apply safe and beautiful lash extensions. To become a lash tech, you should complete a lash extensions course or program from a reputable beauty school. 

Lash programs will vary, but your required training hours depend on your state. For example, in Texas, you must complete at least 320 hours of instruction at a licensed cosmetology school 

Also, some beauty schools have an on-site beauty clinic that’s run by students. So, you have an opportunity to practice your skills with real clients. And, depending on your state, you may be issued a temporary student permit during your training. 

Plus, a professional degree or certificate from a cosmetology school can help you build trust with clients. It lets clients know that you’ve put in the work to deliver quality service.

Can I do an online lash course?

Yes! Lash extension courses are available online. However, your state may specifically require you to complete hands-on instruction hours to obtain your license. So, be sure the course hours will count towards your license or certifications before enrolling in a program or paying tuition!

#2 Obtain your lash extension license or certification

A license is a state-issued document that gives you the right to perform lash services, while a certification is typically issued by a beauty school or independent program. 

Every state is different. Some states will require you to obtain a specialty license to become a lash tech, a general cosmetology license, or a lash technician certification. It’s important to understand your local regulations to avoid any hefty fines. 

For example, you must obtain an Eyelash Extension Specialist license to become a lash tech in Texas.  The licensing process involves both a written and practical examination. Don’t forget you’ll have to pay a fee and renew your license regularly.

Read our complete guide to becoming a licensed eyelash technician!

#3 Invest in quality equipment and a dedicated workspace

You’ll have to spend some money upfront before you can open up shop. First decide, where will you take clients. Maybe you’ll start an at-home lash business or rent a booth at a local beauty salon. Or perhaps you use a van to create a mobile lash business and meet clients at their homes.  

Either way, you’ll need high-quality tools and equipment to keep your clients looking good. The good news is that as a licensed beauty professional, you can buy wholesale beauty products at discounted prices from popular distributors. Just make sure to check their reviews. 

#4 Create an online presence to attract new clients

As a new business, online discovery is key! Take time to curate your social media channels and business websites for your target audience. However, the best way to attract more clients is with an optimized Google business profile. 

Your Google business profile is your ticket into your clients’ search results. When potential clients browse Google for a “lash tech in Florida” or a similar search term, your business will pop up. Of course, other businesses are competing for the same ranking. That’s why you need to optimize your Google business profile to get the most leads and reviews. 

Google ranks profiles with more reviews. So take care to solicit reviews from your clients after completing a service. With an app like PocketSuite, you can request Google reviews from your clients automatically!

#5 Automate your lash tech business with a booking app

You love perfecting a set of lashes. But a lash business also comes with time-consuming business management tasks, like scheduling appointments, following up with clients, and accepting payments. That’s why you need a CRM or booking to run your lash business.

A good booking app gives you more time to do what you love. With the right app, you can have clients book you online, set up automatic appointment reminders, and accept multiple forms of payments all in one place.  

The Bottom Line

With time and training, you can become a lash tech. PocketSuite is the all-in-one app to grow a Successful lash tech business. We have all the tools you need to book clients, attract leads, solicit reviews, and accept payments straight from your phone!

You can practice eyebrow threading, also known as epilation, in most states without an esthetician or cosmetologist license, but you’ll still need training to do good work.

There are lots of training options. Your local spa or beauty salon may offer in-person classes and there are dozens of online courses to choose from. With both, you’ll get a study manual and training videos (either online or recorded on DVDs), plus a threading kit with the basic supplies. The only real downside to online training is you’ll still need some volunteers to practice on before you can reasonably expect to charge money for threading.

With an in-person course, you can be certified in as little as 5-6 hours. As a working brow threading tech, you can make good money and enjoy the professional satisfaction of helping clients feel good about themselves by enhancing their appearance.

Ready to take your career as a beauty professional to the next level? Let’s get started.

In this article you’ll learn:

• How much money you can make as a threading technician
• The required training and certifications
• Professional groups to join
• Employment opportunities for threading technicians
• Finding clients
• Plus helpful tips for new threading techs

How much money can you make?

Threading technicians average about $11.30 an hour currently in the United States, although a trained and licensed esthetician can generally charge twice that amount based on skill and experience. 

Take a look at Chapter 1 for more information on how much money a licensed esthetician can expect to earn.

Threading techs also can receive tips (20 percent is customary on a threading service) that add to their income.

You can check average salaries for your state with EstheticianEdu.org’s searchable web page.

Training and Certification

Not all states require a license to offer eyebrow threading. The best way to protect yourself and be sure of the requirements is to contact your state’s cosmetology board and find out what regulations apply in your area. Some states even have specific prohibitions on the technique for performing certain threading procedures. For instance, California forbids threading techs from holding the cotton thread in their teeth while working, as this is viewed as unsanitary.

If you do need to become a licensed esthetician, consider joining the National Coalition of Estheticians, Manufacturers/Distributors & Associations (NCEA), which is the premiere organization for certifying professional estheticians in the United States. “NCEA Certified” represents the highest skin care credential currently available in the country and adherence to the profession’s code of ethics.

The cost of training ranges from $664 if you pay in installments, to as low as $600 for paying upfront. You can complete the training at home with study materials delivered by the NCEA. See chapter 1 for more information on training to become an esthetician.

Even if you don’t need a cosmetologist or esthetician license to work as a threading technician, training and certification will not only show you’re qualified to do the work, but you’ll have an edge in the job market over techs who do not have certification.

Here’s a state-by-state listing of esthetician schools and training programs where you can study brow threading.

You’ll definitely want to shop around for a training program that fits your needs. Prices vary, but start at about $140 for an online course. In-person training can be more expensive, but you get hands-on experience. With online courses you’ll need to recruit willing friends to be test subjects as you practice brow threading techniques. It will be difficult to persuade anyone to hire you unless you can show examples of your work. Be sure to take photos of your test subjects before and after completing their brow treatments. Building a portfolio of work samples is crucial to finding work in the profession.

What you’ll learn in training for brow threading:

• Eyebrow Threading & Shaping online training (typically involves watching videos)
• Eyebrow Threading Technique with demonstrations
• Eyebrow Shaping Technique with demonstrations
• Threading Theory
• Explaining eyebrow threading benefits to clients
• Stocking the correct supplies
• How to fill-in eyebrows using cosmetic products
• How to conduct a proper consultation with new clients
• Tips for promoting yourself on social media

Professional Groups to Join

The Professional Beauty Association offers three membership levels, bronze, silver and gold, starting at $195 a year. Bronze is probably your best choice for an individual membership. At the gold level, for $1,500 salon owners can add up to 30 employees on the membership.

Benefits of joining include networking with other members (great for hearing about job openings), plus continuing education opportunities, conferences and special events, and discounts on liability, health, dental, and vision group insurance.

Employment

Visit local beauty salons and spas to ask about employment openings. Bring your resume, training certificates and photocopies featuring pictures of your work on clients. You can also find job opportunities in hair and nail salons, day spas and department stores.

Finding Clients

Set up a business webpage. It doesn’t need to be fancy; just attractively designed with a description of your services and plenty of photographs to showcase your threading work.

Create an account on Instagram devoted to your threading services. Instagram is one of the top online platforms for beauty professionals to display their work. Take “before” and “after” photos to illustrate the quality of your work. With every Instagram post, include a hashtag (example: #browthreading) so people can find your work. Without hashtags, no one can search for your services.

Other ways to get new clients:

• Offer a discount to new clients.
• Set up a referral program to give discounts to returning customers who bring new clients to your door.
• Ask clients to review your services online. According to a survey, 90% of people say their buying decisions are influenced by positive online reviews.
• All new clients should complete a basic form about their interest in your brow threading services. Get their contact information so you can stay in touch and email special offers to them.

When promoting your services, these are the benefits most often mentioned about eyebrow threading:

No chemicals

Unlike other hair removal procedures, threading does not use chemicals, only cotton thread. Clients with sensitive skin should find this appealing.

Accuracy

A skilled threading tech can shape brows with greater precision than a tech using tweezers or wax, which covers the brow and makes it difficult for techs to see what they are doing.

Less pain

Because the thread does not touch the skin during hair removal, threading is less painful than plucking brow hairs individually, or waxing over the brow.

Less time needed to achieve results

Threading involves the removal of several brow hairs at once in one clean motion. Compare that to tweezing one brow hair at a time.

It’s safe

For people who use topical retinoids or acne medications, threading may be a safer alternative to waxing, reports WebMD.

Unlike chemical treatments or waxing, threading is much less likely to cause skin irritation.

A long-lasting procedure

Threading results can last from 2-5 weeks before another appointment is necessary to maintain the brow appearance.

It’s affordable

Clients can enjoy stunning results for a price typically much lower than other brow treatments.

Good to know:

• Need some new ideas? Here’s a dozen bold eyebrow moves to share with your clients.
• Top eyebrow tips & tricks from some of the most well-respected brow techs in the world.
• Learn how brow trends have changed through the ages.
• A 20 percent gratuity is considered appropriate for a threading tech’s services.
• If you’re working at a spa that sells products, and most of them do, take time to learn about selling techniques. Chances are you’ll receive a commission on products you sell. It’s a nice way to supplement your income.
• Stay current with your profession through ongoing training.
• Follow best practices by using only clean, quality tools.

If you enjoyed this article, check out some other PocketSuite.io content that can help you grow your career as a threading technician. Here’s a great place to start.

PocketSuite has thousands of business owners who all started where you are right now. Our community is always happy to help you ramp up, grow your client base, and achieve your income goals, both within the PocketSuite app and as part of our exclusive Facebook Community Group. PocketSuite’s vision is for any professional to be able to work for themselves and make a great living. It starts here. It starts with you. It starts today. Let’s get started, download PocketSuite now! Feel free to reach out with any questions (we’d love to hear from you)! Text us @ (415) 841-2300.

Depending on where you live in the United States, you may not need certification as a brow tech, but you will need formal training to offer quality services. Many states do require brow techs to be licensed as an esthetician or cosmetologist. All the resources you need to learn the requirements for your state are right here.

In this article you’ll learn:

• How much money you can make as a brow technician
• The required training and certifications
• Professional groups to join
• Employment opportunities for brow technicians
• Finding clients
• Plus helpful tips for new brow techs

How much money can you make?

Newly trained eyebrow techs in the United States currently make about $11.30 an hour, however, if you choose to become a licensed esthetician in addition to brow tech training, you can just about double your hourly rate. See Chapter 1 for in-depth information on becoming an esthetician.

You can check average brow technician salaries for your state with EstheticianEdu.org’s searchable web page.

Training and Certification

There’s a patchwork of regulations impacting brow technicians from state to state. Some states do not allow eyebrow tinting, for example, but other techniques are permitted.

Most states require a cosmetology, esthetician, or medical license for you to practice as a brow technician. Depending on where you live and the services you offer as a brow tech, your work might fall under the same regulations as a tattoo studio or laws regulating “body art facilities.”

There are literally dozens of schools, groups and organizations that offer training for eyebrow techs. Their pricing is also all over the place.

To help you narrow your options, consider this tip:

It’s a good idea to pursue certification with an organization that certifies throughout the United States. That way, you enjoy greater professional prestige and employers are less likely to demand recertification if you move from another state with only local accreditation.

An alphabetical list of state cosmetology boards and contact information is available here. Contact your local board and find out your state’s requirements for certification and licensing as a lash technician. Then you can choose a program that best fits your needs.

Many programs can be completed in as little as a day to achieve basic certification. Pricing for these courses can range from $1,000 to under $500.

If you also need an esthetician certification to meet your state requirements, join the National Coalition of Estheticians, Manufacturers/Distributors & Associations (NCEA). This is the premiere organization for certifying professional estheticians in the United States.
The cost of training with the NCEA ranges from $664 if you pay in installments, to as low as $600 for paying upfront. You can complete the training and take your final exam at home with study materials delivered by the NCEA.

What you’ll learn in training for certification as an eyebrow tech:

• Threading, waxing, cleaning and tweezing techniques – and knowing which ones to use
• Eyebrow shaping, such as softly angled brows, high arch, straight brow, strong-angled brows, as well as rounded and curved brows.
• Customizing brow styles to your clients’ facial shapes
• Eyebrow threading, which is similar to tweezing but uses a thread to cut hair in a scissor-like motion.
• Eyebrow tinting – a colorizing technique in which you’ll clean the client’s brows, apply a thin layer of petroleum jelly to prevent the tint from staining the surrounding skin, then prepare the tinting formulation and apply it with a small brush across the brows. Timing is important so both brows are tinted evenly.

Many salons offer certification classes in eyebrow threading and waxing. Some offer online training as well.

Once certified, you’ll need to be licensed to practice in your state. Refer to the alphabetical list of state cosmetology boards available here.

Professional Groups to Join

Join the Society of Permanent Cosmetic Professionals to network with other eyebrow techs, exchange style ideas and techniques, even get tips on job openings. Membership is $325 per year paid upfront, or you can choose to pay $29 a month, which works out to $348 annually. Here’s how to join.

One benefit of membership is the SPCP’s toll-free national line and website so that clients seeking eyebrow beauty services can obtain referrals and locate qualified member technicians and trainee members. You’ll also have access to the society’s marketing kit, with downloadable logos, images and other branding material you can display on your website.

Employment

Job-search sites such as Indeed.com, Simply Hired and Zip Recruiter can turn up many employment leads for brow technicians.

Perhaps even more effective is the person touch, where you make the rounds of local salons and introduce yourself with copies of your resume and professional certifications. Even if there’s no immediate opening at a salon, the owner is likely to remember your initiative. Be sure to dress professionally for the occasion.

Salaries tend to be higher at spas and salons in resort areas where people vacation and happily pay for a variety of pampering services.

Finding Clients

When running your own business, an attractive website is critical to attracting clients. Keep it current and fresh with photos, special offers on skin-care products to drive traffic to your door, discounts for new customers, maybe even a price break for existing clients who refer new business.

Ask clients to post online reviews of your services. According to a survey, 90% of people say their buying decisions are influenced by positive online reviews.

Ask all your new customers to fill out a basic form about their interest in your beauty services. Be sure they include their contact information. Your web site can be set up to require contact information before the form is submitted. You need contact information so you can follow-up with all your clients. This encourages repeat business. That’s important because many of the services you’ll be offering will last several months before clients need to return. A steady stream of clients built up through your marketing efforts means less time waiting for appointments and more time providing services.

Good to know:

• Having trouble coming up with a cool and distinctive name for your eyebrow services? Try entering random keywords on BizNameWiz to get instant ideas.
• The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) at this time does not approve any color additives for eyebrow tinting. Some states, including California, have made it illegal for salons to offer eyebrow tinting. To protect your clients and yourself, when practicing where eyebrow tinting is allowed, use only vegetable or henna-based dyes.
• Here’s a dozen bold eyebrow moves that will thrill your clients.
• Top eyebrow tips & tricks from some of the most well-respected brow techs in the world.
• Discover how brow trends have changed through the ages.
• From Tinting to Tattooing: How to help a client select the right eyebrow treatment.
• Check out this series of before and after eyebrow transformations featuring nearly two dozen celebrities.
• How long does eyebrow tinting actually last?? Find out here in this primer on eyebrow tinting techniques.
• Tips are appropriate and indeed are encouraged in beauty salons and spas. A 20 percent gratuity is considered the minimum for an eyebrow tech’s services.
• If you’re working at a salon that also sells products, and virtually all of them do, make sure you know the compensation structure. Many eyebrow techs supplement their income by selling in-store products to customers for a predetermined commission.
• Always follow best practices when performing brow services. Use quality tools, keep them clean, and maintain a professional appearance every time you step into the salon. Work with a colleague to perform brow treatments on each other, as needed. Clients will judge your skill by your own appearance – even though you’re obviously not doing eyebrow work on yourself.

If you enjoyed this article, check out some other PocketSuite.io content that can help you grow your career as a brow technician. Here’s a great place to start.

PocketSuite has thousands of business owners who all started where you are right now. Our community is always happy to help you ramp up, grow your client base, and achieve your income goals, both within the PocketSuite app and as part of our exclusive Facebook Community Group. PocketSuite’s vision is for any professional to be able to work for themselves and make a great living. It starts here. It starts with you. It starts today. Let’s get started, download PocketSuite now! Feel free to reach out with any questions (we’d love to hear from you)! Text us @ (415) 841-2300.