According to bsl.gov, employment within the beauty space will increase by 13% from now until 2026. That’s more of an increase than all other occupations! 

Over the past two years, several beloved teachers and professionals from Cameo Beauty Academy have been interviewed for this blog.

This month, we’ve collected quotes from their interviews in a compilation of “best advice” to Cameo (and other) cosmetology students and practitioners. If you’re intimidated about breaking into the beauty industry and need some encouragement, look no further.

Quality Education!

That is what sets Cameo Beauty Academy a step above the rest. From the first time they interview, to the day they graduate, Cameo students receive quality treatment and education.

Does that "Gratuity" blank on your salon receipt have you drawing a blank in your mind? Here's some advice.

Kollen Krizka, born and raised on Chicago’s south side, grew up with aspirations to pay her way through college by doing hair and nails on the side. Little did she know she would someday be able to combine her dream with a passion that swept her off her feet. For Krizka, working as Cameo’s manager means more than just overseeing students and teachers; she is also the guide who shepherds students (sometimes with gentle force) out of the classroom and into their salon training, styling hair for actual clients.

April is fast approaching, and with it comes Prom Season. We're here to help with an overview of this year's trends and tips on how to create complimentary hair styles.

Nail art trends. Just when you think you’ve seen it all . . .

For celebrity ladies like Pink and Kelly Osbourne (who first debuted her lavender hair around 2009), silvery, pale pastel haircolor is nothing new. But since then, more recent celebrity follow-ups have cropped up with increasing frequency: Lady Gaga’s silver hair, Nikki Minaj’s infamously bubble-gum pink locks, Katy Perry’s jade-green strands and Hilary Duff’s silvery-blue tresses.

You left home with your hair still slightly damp, and you thought you’d be okay. Turns out, it was a lot colder outside than anticipated. You know that crunchy, brittle feeling in your hair can’t be good, but what can you really do about it?

Christmas is on our doorstep. You’re busy balancing school, work and family while battling the elements and suddenly someone asks:  Have you finished your shopping yet?

There is perhaps no more crucial time than Halloween to discuss the importance of thorough makeup removal -- and not just your typical "once over with eye makeup remover and a cleansing towelette" routine either. If you're doing complex makeup involving prosthetics, greasepaint, latex, synthetic hair and more, you're putting your skin through its paces. Your normal cleansing routine just won't cut it!

Gina Paternostro works full-time as the Main Colorist and as an instructor at Cameo Beauty Academy.  In between color consultations with clients in the school’s student salon, she teaches courses on hair color.

You love that pumpkin-spice-flavored everything is back on the shelves, but you’re not ready to part with your summertime shimmery beige and bronze eyeshadows. How do you keep your makeup in season while continuing to use these oh-so-flattering tones?

Fashion Week in New York is officially underway! It’s the perfect time to take a look back through the photos from runway shows like Valentino, Balenciaga and Gucci to recap some of the fall fashion that debuted earlier this year. To help you prepare for the trends your clients may be buzzing about and requesting you to duplicate in months to come, here’s an overview of predicted fall 2015 fashion trends:

You know that summer reading list you used to get in grade school? Whether you were the kid who couldn't wait to get a jump start on your classmates, or the kid who saw this as unfair summertime homework, your potential cosmetology career should be taken slightly more seriously than elementary school.

In junior high and high school, you had an idea of what to expect when you returned to class in the fall: a similar schedule, same buildings, many of the same classmates and even some of the same teachers.

1. Communication is Crucial!

Communication skills are often cited as one of, if not the most, important skill sets school interviewers and employers are looking for. Set yourself up for success before your interviewer ever even lays eyes on you: Call and/or email the school’s admissions office one or two days in advance of your interview to confirm your appointment time, and to assure them that you WILL be there. (Huge bonus points if you can manage to speak to your interviewer directly over the phone.) And then, take steps to make sure you make good on your word.

A 2013 study by McKinsey Consulting (detailed here* in Forbes magazine by Susan Adams) reported that a staggering one-half of surveyed college graduates would go back and either study something completely different, and /or choose a different school, if given the chance.

To help you avoid these common pitfalls, we’ve scoured the web and consulted with the pros at Cameo to “bust up” a few of summer’s most common beauty myths.

Nikki Hath is a 2003 graduate of Cameo Beauty Academy who now owns her own salon space with Sola Salon Studios in Orland Park, IL. She loves purple, loves being her own boss and believes firmly that training from Cameo is the ideal first step in a successful cosmetology career. Read on to learn how she took that first step, (and conquered all the steps after that) with help from Cameo.

The day has finally come.  The caps are tossed, the tassels are turned and the diplomas are finally in hand. The world is full of possibilities.

Or is it?

Laurie Cepkauskas loves Cameo Beauty Academy, and she wants you to know it.

 “I traveled 45 minutes each way every day for class because that’s how much I loved that school,” professes Laurie, a 2007 graduate who has been featured on BehindtheChair.com. Laurie is currently Head Designer at Jeffrey Lamorte Salon and Spa, where she’s worked ever since she graduated. (How’s that for stability?) Read on to learn more about  why she chose Cameo (and why she thinks others should), how she landed a job at a premier salon right out of school, how she handled a particularly awkward client situation, and more.

Spend any amount of time reading Cameo Beauty Academy’s online testimonials and Facebook reviews, and you will see several of our instructors praised and thanked by name. Among them is the hairdresser/instructor/mentor extraordinaire known to nearly all Cameo students and graduates as “Ms. Pat,” who has been teaching at Cameo “forever,” according to administrators.

In a recent interview for this blog, Ben Mollin, season one finalist from Bravo’s  “Shear Genius,” called Ms. Pat “a spitfire of a woman . . . She was just a cool chick. She was like that art teacher who just sort of resonated with you, that you just enjoy. She didn’t necessarily make it feel like I was there as a student, she treated me as an individual.”

We caught up with Ms. Pat herself at the end of another full day of teaching, to hear her side of the story about Cameo and its students.

Celebrity stylist Sally Hershberger, Meg Ryan’s stylist, once told Ben Mollin that Ben could charge hundreds of dollars for one of his haircuts. But after finishing as a runner-up on Bravo network’s hairstyling competition series “Shear Genius,” the ‘93 Cameo graduate decided against Hollywood’s high price tag and returned to the Midwest to style – and teach – his faithful clients back in Indiana.  On a Thursday afternoon in March, immediately after finishing a haircut, Mollin carved out ten minutes to tell us what continues to make Cameo Beauty Academy unique.

At Cameo, we recognize and value the fact that each student is different. (Seriously, our instructors and clients would get really bored if all of you were the same.)  And while our staff is here for you to answer questions about your individual cosmetology career, we’ve noticed that prospective students have a lot of the same initial, burning questions on their mind. So here they are, in no particular order. This information (and more!) is all available on our website, but we’ve laid it out here, plain and simple, in our Top 5 Most Frequently Asked Questions:

Enroll in February or March and Your Down Payment for Registration/Equipment Fees are Waived!

Choosing to continue your education is a big step, no matter what institution you attend or what you study. The following eight factors are critical to successful training in several career fields, but they’re especially important  in the beauty and cosmetology industry.

Stand resolved to make a real, impactful and immediate change in your life this year.

Stand resolved to begin growing your skill set immediately.

Stand resolved to take charge of your career. Stand resolved to use your creativity to build confidence in others.

Stand resolved to improve your life and the lives of others.

Stand resolved to try something new.

Stand resolved to take on new challenges and learn new techniques.

Stand resolved to learn from instructors who care about you and your individual goals.

Stand resolved to stay on the cutting edge of trends and styles in a fast-paced, exciting career field.

Stand resolved to see the outcome/results of your work and receive the client satisfaction you deserve.

This holiday season and New Year, give yourself the gift of expert, hands-on cosmetology training – and we will give you !00% off enrollment/registration fees!

Winter here in Chicagoland means early-onset of whiplash winds and moisture-sucking indoor heating. If we winterize our homes, cars and wardrobes for the colder months, why not winterize the skin and hair that also helps to keep us warm? (Ok, yeah. We’d like to keep it attractive-looking too. Hiding under a hat and scarf until May isn’t exactly an option, especially with holiday parties approaching.) Here’s how to stay one step ahead of winter damage this season: