English is a language of mysteries, which keeps us baffled with words like Aesthetician and Esthetician. An Aesthetician is someone related to aesthetics. Is there a word called esthetics? Why does a profession exist for a non-existing word? To keep it short, both Aestheticians and Esthetician are skincare experts, beautifying their customers in some aspects.
Aesthetician vs Esthetician
The main difference between Aesthetician and Esthetician is that an Aesthetician has a medical license. He can provide consultation and prescribe medications to their patients for any skin ailments, whereas an Esthetician lacks a permit to carry on medical practices. Estheticians are limited only to providing skincare (like facial, massage, hair removal, etc) to their customers.
An Aesthetician is a licensed medical practitioner who practices medicine, especially in skincare. They can perform several skin tests to analyse the underlying cause of any skin problem. He can also recommend medications and other medical treatments to treat the same. Moreover, he is a beauty therapist who can work either on spas or in his clinic.
An Esthetician is also a skincare expert who have undergone cosmetology training yet haven’t pursued a medical license. So, he can work on spas, salons and even under the guidance of an Aesthetician. His everyday tasks include cleansing the skin, applying bleach, facials, manicuring the nail and so on. They can’t treat skin diseases but provide skincare to their clients.
| Parameters of Comparison | Aesthetician | Esthetician |
| General Description | One who has a medical license to treat skin ailments and provide skincare treatments through prescriptions | A person who provides skin care to their clients but cannot practice medicine. |
| Workplace | As they are medical professionals, they can work in medical sectors or their clinics. | They work in spas, salons and related facilities. |
| Constraint | They must learn different medical concepts such as anatomy, physiology, pathology as a doctor does | They learn subjects related to beauty, salon management, massage etc. |
| Job offers from the government | They can get a government job because they practice medicine. | They do not receive government work in their field because they focus solely on skin care. |
| Equipment to be handled | They use several medical types of equipment, more specifically laser to remove scars, burns and tattoos. | They don’t use advanced medical pieces of equipment. |
What is Aesthetician?
Aestheticians are certified skincare experts who are qualified enough to analyse and treat various skin problems in their clients. They are also called clinical aestheticians or paramedical aestheticians.
They work on specified clinics or under the guidance of a surgeon to treat the damaged skin of the client. They should provide pre and post-operative skin care to the clients upon skin reconstruction.
They even work on reconstructing the skin of clients who were involved in acid attacks, burns and chemotherapy. Other than fixing the damaged skin, they work on the epidermal layer of the skin also. They practice several skincare measures like peeling, waxing, tattoo removal, skin whitening, scar or mole removal etc.
To become an Aesthetician, a wide variety of biological and medical concepts should be learned. They study vast concepts or subjects like human anatomy, physiology, chemical treatments, skin conditions and diseases along with genuine cosmetology training.
Once the degree is obtained, he/she can run his/her clinic or work for the government in the field of skincare. The job of an Aesthetician isn’t intended to beautify the skin of their clients as they do in spas and salons. But they use several medical pieces of equipment to diagnose and cure skin problems.
What is Esthetician?
An Estheticians works on the epidermis in a non-medical way. Esthetician is also called by various names like skincare therapist, spa technician and facial specialist. Estheticians work on spas, salons and even under an Aesthetician. One must complete a training course, pass descriptive and practical exams in their concerned state to earn an Esthetician license.
Estheticians don’t learn anything about human physiology or anatomy during their training period. They are required to learn about cosmetics and their various use cases, and they should learn about the cosmetic tools and their usages during their training period or course period.
They do regular skincare procedures like massage, facial, bleaching, peeling for the skin. They also perform general beauty procedures like dying, waxing, manicure, pedicure etc.
Estheticians can’t treat skin diseases and prescribe medications to their clients. They have no access to the dermal layer of the skin unless they pursue a medical license. Beautification is the main objective of an Esthetician. They don’t use specialised medical equipment but can utilise cosmetics for their purpose.
Main Differences Between Aesthetician and Esthetician
- An Aesthetician holds a medical licence and can work under an organisation or the government. But the latter doesn’t have a medical licence and so he works in spas and other beauty-related fields.
- An Aesthetician’s responsibility is to consult with their clients and prescribe medicines to treat skin-related issues, while an Esthetician provides skincare to the client.
- Aestheticians scarcely focus on the beauty of their clients. Estheticians pay attention to beautifying the skin of their clients.
- Aestheticians can handle medical equipment and medically provide advanced treatment. An Esthetician works only on cosmetics and other beauty products. Aestheticians are medical professionals who are waged well.
- On the other hand, Estheticians are paid only as half as an Aesthetician earns. The field of opportunity is vast for an Aesthetician. But Esthetician should either work on a spa or a salon.
Conclusion
Due to the influence of social media, the skincare and beauty industries are expanding enormously. Popular statistics assume that the global skincare market will widen to a 189.3 billion U.S. dollar economy by 2025. Skincare has become a modish way of earning publicity and fame on social media. So, this has made the job opportunities of Aestheticians and Estheticians expand hastily. If a permanent solution to prolonged skin problems is needed, one should approach an Aesthetician who is medically approved. If someone seeks only skincare and has no long-term underlying medical issues, they can seek the help of an Esthetician.