Everyone is well aware of how your appearance can effect your state of mind.  Feeling good about how you look has a powerful effect on your overall health.  These positive feelings are very important for everyone, but especially for those who are dealing with more serious medical conditions.  A medical esthetician works with people in these situations as part of an overall treatment program.  For a person who is undergoing cancer treatment or has had a surgery that has effected their skin, such treatments not only help the individual take appropriate measures to speed up the healing process but also utilize techniques for improving appearance.  The role of the medical esthetician is gaining greater acceptance in the medical establishment opening up an entirely new sector of jobs for those who are licensed.

Where do medical estheticians work?

A medical esthetician works within the health care system under the supervision of a medical doctor.  They can usually be found working in a dermatologists office, but can also be found working with other medical specialists such as oncologists, plastic surgeons, or in a burn unit in a hospital.  Some medical estheticians are hired as regular staff in a hospital to provide services for numerous types of patients dealing with different medical conditions, but all needing special attention for their skin.

Medical estheticians cannot diagnose a skin ailment nor prescribe medication, only a dermatologist or medical doctor can do that.  They can however treat skin conditions with skin care products or utilize special equipment to perform specialized treatments.

The patients they treat represent a broad spectrum of the population.  Men are just as likely to be under the care of a medical esthetician as women.  Age is also not a factor in determining who can benefit from this type or intervention.  Young children, teenagers, adult, or the elderly are all susceptible to skin conditions that require specialized treatment.

Medical esthetician licensing:

Contrary to popular belief, there is no such thing as a medical esthetician license.  Medical estheticians are in fact required to be licensed by the state they are working in, but they receive the same esthetician training and license that an esthetician working in a non-medical setting would receive.  This is a great advantage because it means that you do not in fact require any special training to apply for a position as a medical esthetician.  This means the the job market for estheticians in general is very broad and you are not limited to finding work in just a medical setting.  You can in fact work in any of the common settings in which an esthetician can be found.  This also means that estheticians who work in a non-medical setting are eligible to apply for such positions in a medical setting.  Licensing requirements vary from state to state, but all require that the student pass both a written as well as a practical exam in addition to receiving anywhere from 300-1200 hours of instruction.

Medical esthetician salary:

The annual salary of a medical esthetician can range anywhere from $20,000 to $52,000, with the average being around $30,000.   Other factors will also determine salary such as location, expierience, and any specialized training that has been received.  Medical estheticians on average have higher salaries then then non-medical estheticans.