Esthetician school or continuing education: which do you need?
School is how you get licensed in Florida: 220 hours at a licensed cosmetology school for a facial specialist registration. Continuing education is what you do afterwards — shorter, specific courses that add a skill. A studio cannot replace the first, and a school rarely gives you the second.
These two get searched as if they were the same thing, and they are not. One is how you become allowed to work. The other is how you get good. Doing them in the wrong order wastes money.
What school gives you
In Florida a facial specialist registration comes from completing a minimum of 220 hours at a licensed cosmetology school and then registering with the Department. The full specialist credential, which adds nails, is 400 hours.
That is the only route to being allowed to perform facials for money. It is not optional, it is not shortened by any private certificate, and anyone telling you otherwise is selling something that does not exist.
What continuing education gives you
Two different things share this name, and it is worth separating them.
Skills training sits in between. At ANNAZUR, Microcurrent Training is one focused day and Acne Treatment Pro is two. Other subjects are priced at consultation because the right one depends on where you are starting. Current figures are on the course page.
The order that saves money
Get licensed first. Then work for a while. Then buy training for the specific thing you keep hesitating on.
The expensive mistake is buying advanced training before you have enough clients to have found your gaps. You end up paying for a protocol you cannot yet place. The cheap version of the same decision is a free consultation where someone asks what you actually see in your chair.
Not sure which comes first for you? A consultation with an instructor is free.
What each one costs
School is the large number and varies by institution. Renewal is small and fixed: a flat fee every two years, plus whatever the ten CE hours cost from an approved provider.
Where ANNAZUR sits
We are the second thing, not the first. We do not run a license-track program and we cannot take someone from zero to esthetician. What we run is continuing education for people already working: acne case work, treatment planning, device handling, sculptural massage, lash and brow technique.
If you are starting from nothing, a cosmetology school is your first call and we will genuinely see you after. If you are already licensed and stuck on something specific, that is exactly the conversation we are useful for.
Also in this series:
The short version.
- School: 220 hours, licensed cosmetology school, the only route to the license.
- Mandatory CE: ten hours every two years from a Board-approved provider, to keep the license.
- Skills training: short courses for a specific gap. This is what we do.
- Order matters: license, then real clients, then training for the gap you found.
- Not interchangeable: no private certificate replaces the 220 hours.
See our facial courses, or book a free consultation with an instructor at the spa. The free consultation is available at both Jacksonville locations — Salisbury Road and Sutton Park Drive South.
See the facial coursesSchool or training. Questions answered plainly.
Is a private certificate the same as a license?
No. A Certificate of Completion records training. The license comes from the state after school and registration.
How many hours is esthetician school in Florida?
220 for facial specialist, 400 for full specialist, at a licensed Florida cosmetology school.
Do our courses count toward the mandatory ten CE hours?
No. We are not a Board of Cosmetology approved CE provider. Our courses are technique training and do not count toward the mandatory ten hours. Treat them as two separate purchases with two separate purposes.
Can a beginner take a facial course here?
Possibly, depending on the subject and your scope. That is exactly what the free consultation is for.
How often is renewal?
Every two years, and renewal is not processed until the CE hours are done. The Department publishes the current fee.
What should I do first if I am still deciding?
Talk to someone who is not selling you a school. A consultation with an instructor at the spa is free and takes about half an hour.
