Kentucky’s growing beauty industry promises an increase of about 5% for licensed beauty professionals, including makeup artists. If you’re passionate about making people look and feel their best, and you find yourself checking out the best makeup tutorials and trends in your off hours, you might want to look into schools that can help you get a license to work as a makeup artist.

It’s a rewarding career, which gets you meeting interesting people and can even lead to some glamourous opportunities in film and television!

kentucky university
Samvscat at English Wikipedia [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

How Long Is The School Training For Makeup Artists in Kentucky?

There is no separate license for makeup artists in the state of Kentucky. Instead, you’ll need to be licensed either as a cosmetologist or esthetician. You need to be 16 years or older, and have a GED or high school diploma. Depending on what you want for your career, and potentially on time constraints and costs, you may choose a cosmetology license, or esthetician license.

Esthetician license requirements are shorter, 1000 hours of study, instead of 1800, and unlike cosmetologist licenses, you will not be required to take an apprenticeship after you finish your educational component.

But a cosmetologist has more flexibility and often, higher pay options than a skin care specialist, so depending on where you want to take your career, you can choose either, to get to a career in makeup. Find a school near you using our app below:

Your Kentucky Beauty License

If you’re working toward a cosmetology license, your next step is to apply for an apprenticeship license. You will work at least 6 months, for at least 20 hours a week. If you are studying to be an esthetician, your next step is your licensing exams, a practical exam, and a written. Once you’ve passed your exams and logged your hours at apprenticeship, you can qualify for the license of your choice.

Licensing If You Are Moving From Another State

Depending on your license, you may be eligible for reciprocity agreements with the Kentucky State Board.

You must prove your current license is active and in good standing. You must also prove, whether you are licensed as a skin-care specialist, or a beautician, that your home state license requirements are the same or greater than those required in Kentucky.

You can check online with the Kentucky State Board for details, and compare them with your home state.

Renew Your Kentucky Makeup License

Regardless of if you choose an esthetician or cosmetologist license when pursuing your makeup artist career, you’ll need to renew every year between July 1st and 31st.

The renewal fee will depend on your license.

No continuing education is required, but you may consider keeping your skills up to date by attending trade shows, seminars, and learning new technology which can help you in your craft.

Beauty Jobs in KY

As we’ve already discussed, the Kentucky beauty industry is growing, and you can expect plenty of job opportunities with good salary to crop up as you finish your education.

When planning your new career, take a look at Kentucky’s entertainment circuit. Pageants, theaters, even freelance photographers can help you build a clientele exactly as diverse as you want to be. Check out Kentucky’s job market to find that first job to start you on your way.

Find out about theater makeup schools as well, though you may need to travel far to get a professional education in that.

Empire Beauty School – 7285 Turfway Rd, Florence, KY 41042

Appalachian Beauty School – 25429 US Highway 119N, Belfry, KY 41514

P J’s College of Cosmetology – 920 Happy Valley Rd, Glasgow, KY 42141

Paul Mitchell – 156 N Hurstbourne Parkway, Louisville, KY 40222

Ideal Beauty Academy – 10213 Linn Station Rd, Louisville, KY 40223

Barrett & Co. School of Hair Design – 973 South Main Street, Nicholasville, KY 40356

Paducah Beauty School – 124 South 4th Street, Paducah, KY 42001

Summit Salon Academy – 1300 East New Circle Road #110, Lexington, KY 40505

Bellefonte Academy of Beauty – 420 Belfonte Street # S2, Russell, KY 41169

Cumberland Beauty School – 371 Langdon St, Somerset, KY 42503

Madisonville Beauty College – 270 Madison Square Drive, Madisonville, KY 42431

Regina Webb Academy – 2425 Scottsville Road # 116, Bowling Green, KY 42104

Other Kentucky schools for nail technicians, estheticians, barbers and cosmetologists

Some School Websites:
barrett.edu
appalachianbeautyschool.com
paducahbeauty.com
idealbeautyacademy.net
summitsalonacademy.org
madisonvillebeautycollege.com
reginawebbacademy.com

Did we miss any KY makeup training schools? Please contact us to let us know.