Uncategorized – Arizona Beauty World

Arizona Aesthetics Licensing Exams

Hate tests? Well, me too. It’s so intimidating and scary. I’ve always had a bit of test anxiety, so taking a test to get licensed for anything you love sounds tough! Still, the keyword there is “love,” so again, if you really want to do well, you will.

Be Prepared for Your Test

Don’t forget the most important parts of being prepared beyond the hundreds of hours you’ve spent in class at an accredited school. Those things include eating well on the days before your testing as well as getting plenty of sleep.

Other things that will let you get the sleep you need are arranging your travel to the testing site, making sure you have a backup plan, and those silly things like taking your picture ID, bringing your phone (just in case, and having some cash – think lunch later, Uber, or some other unknown!

As for those hours of training you put in, the Arizona State Board of Cosmetology expects those testing to have completed 1600 hours of Cosmetology training. Those wishing to get other specific licenses will need 750 hours for Hairstyling, 600 hours for Aesthetics, 600 hours for Nail Technology, and 350 hours for all Instructor training licenses.

The Arizona Cosmetics Aesthetics Testing Process

The Aesthetics testing consists of two parts, a written test with approximately 100 questions and a practical test to show off your skills. The written portion takes about an hour. As for the practical, time depends on how many students take the test with you. This can vary depending on how many students take the test with you. Plan for three hours.

The practical part takes longer because you are using your skills in front of the testing group. You’ll need to bring your State Board kit with everything needed. This can change from time to time, so check at the official Arizona State site to ensure you have what’s necessary.

The written part will test your overall knowledge of Aesthetics. No notes or books are allowed – and it is administered on a computer. Don’t worry; it goes fast if you know the subject fairly well.

Being prepared is essential, so keep in mind that schools like IMAj Institute offer Examination Preparation courses. At IMAj, their course is 32-hours of hands-on training for students who may have trained in another state, at another school, or who need to refresh before taking the state tests.

Of course, if you attend IMAj Institute they will spend the last two weeks before graduation helping you prepare for the state boards and you’ll be so ready!

What Arizona Requires to Test

Step one: You must apply for your examinations, so go to Virtual Inc. (PCS) and register (no fee). Then choose Arizona and continue your application. There is a $177 fee for both the written and practical portions. If your application is in order, you’ll receive authorization to test. The official admission notice for the practical part will be emailed to you about two weeks before your exam date.

Step two: Go to the Arizona State Board of Cosmetology website and submit your application. You’ll need a 2×2 Passport photo, a certificate of graduation on your school’s letterhead, proof of lawful presence in the US, proof of age (16 years with HS diploma or 18 and older).

Once those are uploaded and accepted, you get to pay the non-refundable $60 fee. Afterward, the Board will notify Virtual Inc. (PCS), who will schedule your exams with you.

Notes:

Use your full legal name as it appears on your state/government ID
Make sure you do both steps one and two, or you won’t get an exam date
You’ll get your admission to test (written) 2 business days after Board approval
You’ll get your admission time for the practical portion 2-5 days after approval
Practicals can’t be rescheduled. You’ll have to pay a new fee if you can’t attend

You’ll get your final scores and your license in about two weeks if everything goes well. When that happens, the world’s your oyster. Go be a success!

Brighten Up With Flowers

I spend a lot of time in my garden. It always takes some work, but the rewards are worth it. In the Springtime, there are new buds on the trees and an abundance of greenery. If everything goes to plan, the grass is doing well after a long winter of brown patches, and the fragrances are unique.

If I’m lucky, there are enough new flowers to cut a few of the buds and bring them into the house and my patio for show. Before spring, and when I’ve already done the bulk of my pruning, I like to have flowers delivered next day so there are new colors inside to brighten up each room.

Colorful arrangements bring a warm glow to the house and always leave me smiling. I’ve got plenty of holiday touches that I bring from my storage room to show the seasons’ passing, but having the extra flowers is lovely.

The splash of colors and the upbeat smell of flowers are always welcome. Although I do love decorating, there’s nothing wrong with a casual bouquet of your favorite flowers. Keep in mind that if you are trying to set-off a holiday theme, you may want to go a bit fancier, but overall, the arrangement itself and the vase you put them in will make or break your theme.

The Color is the Key

Your flower arrangement can be simple, and so can the vessel you use, but the key to harmonizing your display and theme is how the colors burst from the table or shelf. Flowers are natural, but making them pop on display takes a little effort and energy.

This is your chance to be creative, so think of new and exciting ways to show off your beautiful arrangement. How about a carved pumpkin at harvest time? You’ll get the pungent smell of the gourd as well as the fragrance of the flowers.

Any old bucket or water pail makes a perfect vase if you are going for a rustic theme. In my mind, even an arrangement of grasses and daisies look extra special in a grey pail. If it’s not quite what you had in mind, add a ribbon around the container for a contrasting color.

You’ll probably find that mixing colors and flowers can give any room in the house that special flair you were looking for. And, you’ll also note that with aromatic, beautiful flowers, you almost can’t go wrong.

When you bring your flowers in from the garden, make sure you get them into the water quickly, they are in shock and won’t last more than a few minutes in the outdoor heat before wilting. If you are taking advantage of an overnight flower delivery order, they have been well prepared for delivery and may last longer than those you’ve cut yourself.

However, even with delivery arrangements, take gentle care of them and do two things as soon as they arrive. First, imagine just how you want them to look in the vase or your chosen vessel, and even if they come in water, change it for clean tap water.

Next, clip the bottom of each flower stem so it can continue to draw moisture up to the petals. Then, add the nutrient packet supplied (it’s often rubber-banded to a branch) or a tablespoon of sugar and half that much vinegar to preserve your beautiful display as long as possible.

Another tip for keeping your flowers looking fabulous and lasting longer is to keep them off window sills where the rays of the sun can get concentrated through the glass!

Five Top Reasons to Get Enough Sleep

Getting enough sleep helps us all maintain our sanity and beauty

A little reminder from our Guest about sleep:

True silence is the rest of the mind and is to the spirit what sleep is to the body, nourishment and refreshment. William Penn

Remember when your mother harped on you to get more sleep? It turns out she was right. There are many good reasons to get plenty of sleep and to avoid shorting yourself in the hours you need. Don’t believe me? Well, take a look at what the CDC (Center for Disease Control) says is recommended for optimal health.

Newborns up to three months: 14–17 hours

Infants four to 12 months: 12–16 hours

Toddlers one to three years: 11–14 hours

Preschoolers three to five years: 10–13 hours

School-age children six to 12 years: 9–12 hours

Teens 13 to 18 years: 8–10 hours

Adults 18 to 60 years: 7-plus hours

Adults 61 to 64 years: 7–9 hours

Adults 65 and older: 7–8 hours

Now I’m not telling you to set the alarm, because everyone’s biological clock is slightly different. But if you are coming in short of the advised hours, you should try and stay in bed and get some quality sleep as long as you can. Good sleep can be improved by sleeping in a dark room. Use blackout shades if you must, or even consider a sleep mask if your room is too bright.

Having a comfortable bed is another big factor in getting enough sleep. The more you toss and turn, the less time your body will have to get into REM sleep, which you need to relax and calm your body.

Reason One – Lower The Possibility of Weight Gain

Strangely enough, working more, or at least sleeping less, tends to lead to weight gain. Poor sleep patterns and stress have been shown to have a profound effect on the body. In a recent study at the University of Colorado, participants restricted to a five-hour nightly sleep pattern gained an average of two pounds in just one week.

Part of that can be attributed to hormonal changes, including the regulation of leptin, which sleep deprivation reduces. And the hormone ghrelin, which sleep-deprivation activates. Ghrelin triggers the feeling of being hungry. See where I’m going with this?

When you don’t get enough sleep, your body can’t regulate your food intake correctly. It’s not that you’re that hungry; it’s just that your body is confused.

Reason Two – Improve Concentration and Performance

Study’s show that a child’s sleep patterns impact their academic performance and behavior. The less sleep they get, the more likely they are to fall behind in school. Studies on adults point to similar effects on work performance.

If you need more convincing, according to surveys in 2018 and 2019, a lack of sleep had a direct effect on sexual desire in both men and women. Twenty percent of women said they were too tired at night for sex, and medical studies show that a man’s testosterone level can fall by up to 20 percent at night after a lack of sleep during the prior week.

Sleeplessness has an impact on the brain’s frontal lobe, which maintains complex judgment calls. Study’s have found that after even a single sleepless night, men overestimated women’s interest in sex. You’ve been warned.

Reason Three – Improved Immune System

Research shows that there is a direct correlation between good sleep and the body’s ability to repair itself. The immune system fights off colds and viruses and is stronger when it has a chance to rejuvenate itself.

Getting adequate sleep helps reduce inflammation in the body and protects us all from its effects. Unfortunately, studies have now shown that sleep deprivation contributes to diseases, and in turn, many of those diseases contribute to sleep deprivation. It’s a vicious circle. Beat the bugs by getting enough sleep!

Reason Four – Greater Emotional Intelligence

Ever stay up late for nights on end trying to get ready for a test or business presentation? Did it help? Often, the lack of sleep hurts your test scores. And, it can put a crimp in your work performance too.

When you don’t get enough sleep, you may feel cranky and be less able to understand other people and empathize with them. Which impacts how you view people, and also how you interpret their reaction to whatever you might be presenting to them at work.

When you are tired, you miss the emotional signs that help you make good decisions. How might that impact a personal relationship? Yes, not well.

Reason Five – Preventing Depression

Our sleep patterns greatly impact our overall mental health. Studies in the US and New Zealand show that there is a likely link between a lack of sleep and depression. Unfortunately, studies also show that a lack of sleep is also a contributing factor in a significant number of deaths by suicide.

Sleep is a vital part of life. It can make us happier, more energetic and athletic, and give us sharper focus for mental tasks. It can even make us look better.

When we are tired, we look a bit off. When rested, we look and feel better. And there’s proof! Sleep deprivation can interfere with collagen production, which we all need to maintain healthy skin and look better. A lack of collagen production can weaken our skin, making it taught and rigid. You can help keep it supple and youthful with adequate sleep. Your read it here first!

A little sugaring

My experience with sugaring as a spa treatment.

I’m old enough now to admit that I have a love affair with sugar. So, when I heard my aesthetician talking about sugaring, I thought it was a sugar rush treat, and I might get something yummy. No such luck. But, I did hear about something that’s been around since ancient Grecian times and it does involve sugar. That, and lemon and water to make a gooey, sticky mess that molds easily to your skin.

The good part of the story is that I got a treatment like waxing without the pain because sugaring doesn’t stick to the skin as wax does. And, it’s biodegradable, faster to finish treatment, and easier to clean because it’s water-soluble.

In a nutshell or your beautiful folds of skin, the sugaring removes hair by the root without damaging, so less irritation. Yes, I liked it partly because I hadn’t shaved recently.

Honestly, sugaring works best when you’ve got a little peach-fuzz, an eighth to a quart-inch of it for the sticky paste to grab ahold. And the warmed sugar-solution feels nice and comforting as it’s rolled in the opposite direction of hair growth. Then the aesthetician flicks the paste away in the direction of hair grown.

My sugaring lasted about two weeks before the hairs started coming back, but there’s a nice discount for a series of sessions, and I can stretch them out to about a month apart. The hairs also came back lighter and thinner after just my first treatment, so that was a nice bonus.

Where oh Where May I be Sugared?

Everywhere there’s hair, sugaring is fair. I started with my legs and moved on to a Brazilian, which my aesthetician said was the most popular service. That’s not what I was thinking of as sugar, but the results were fabulous.

My aesthetician was quick, so the sessions were fast, less than a half-hour. I haven’t needed other areas done, but eyebrows and upper lip look like quick fixes and don’t break the bank at about $10.

The only downside or restrictions will be if you are taking steroids or using retinol or vitamin C on your skin. If so, stick with the razor or waxing. As with that waxing, you’ll want to avoid sugaring if you have a sunburn, bruising, or any open sores.

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Starting Fresh

At Arizona Beauty World we want to bring readers everything under the sun, but we are starting with beauty Industry news, trends, and information you might like to have about schools that teach cosmetology and aesthetics.

We’ll also be talking about home beauty ideas and how you can have the very look that makes you happy, healthy, and ready for each day, even if you aren’t going any further than your living room or porch today!

If you’ve got questions or ideas about what could be featured in our pages, drop me a line by clicking on our contact page and we’ll see what we can do about getting the information you need to our site and your email!

Just call me Clair and we’ll do fine.