Estheticians often perform very intimate and delicate procedures. People go to spas to enjoy treatments like waxing, manicuring, shaving, and facials, which can entail very up close and personal contact. Without a second thought, most would assume that the esthetician who is performing these procedures know what they are doing, and are educated properly. However this is not always true in Alberta.
There is no license requirement to become an esthetician and provide services. Legally anyone can do it, whether they went to school or not.
This is an issue, as the treatments an esthetician may perform, have serious risks associated with them. Education plays an important role in minimizing such risk. In an esthetics school, one of the first things that a student learns, is how to properly sanitize and disinfect surfaces, and tools. Without such education, one might use the wrong alcohol, or disinfectant which may leave a colony of infectious bacteria on a work surface, ready to infect the next client. Something else that is taught in esthetics courses, is how to deal with clients who have special needs, such as clients with diabetes. The risk of nicks and cuts can be dangerous for clients who have diabetes or are on certain medications. Shunning education can put consumers at serious risk.
Under the current system where basically everyone can provide these commercial services, it burden falls upon the consumer to learn what types of practices are safe. Bottom line is, clients should not have to go take a course on esthetics in order to know if they are being treated properly at the spa. If the government of Alberta were to require estheticians be licensed, it would set a standard of education that would solve the issue of incompetently educated estheticians putting consumers at risk. And, consumers would be able to go to a spa, and be sure that the treatment they are receiving is proper.
Unfortunately not many politicians are talking about this issue. Part of the reason is that this issue mainly impacts the younger generation. The younger generation is not known to be the most politically active, and so politicians have very little reasons to care about such issues. In order to change this, people will have to take the extra step and become politically active. You can find your local representative here. Speaking about these issues will result in change.