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MUA Question....
I have been made aware locally (upstate NY), by a model, that MUAs should and are required to be licenced. There are plenty of underlying difficulties that may be encountered when working that craft. Many folks that freelance and as I am told by the model, are taking chances with the models that they are working on. Allergies, disease and germs were mentioned. They can also be ticketed by authorities for working without a licence. Comments? Thanks! May 16 06 08:12 am Link It depends on the state you are in. In most states anytime you are touching anyone, you are required to be licensed. Again, depending on the state it would be an Esthetics or a Cosmetology license. The reason is just what you mentioned, sanitation and disinfection. There are proper measures that need to be taken so there is no spread of infection from one person to another and the average person is not aware of exactly what they are or even the difference in the two. Lori May 16 06 11:13 am Link I agree, if you actually touch someone's face you need a license to do so. How the MUA's at the counters get away with it, is they use sponges and brushes. I do know that NY is one of the strictest states, and it also has one of the highest clock hour requirements to get a cosmetology license. In cosmetology you are taught how to apply makeup and follow sanitantion procedures. This is why I can touch someone's face with my fingers and someone without a license can't. May 16 06 11:34 am Link Truth of the matter is that as far as I remember back, about five years, this was surfaced re: NY. Have the agency artists gone out and got licenses because of it? Not ones who didn't already have one. Should a makeup artist and hair stylist be licensed? Sure. How could they regulate is the question? Are they just going to start popping into photo studios and giving out penalties to unlicensed makeup artist... probably very unlikely. And what about makeup artists coming in from europe? I doubt they have NY licenses. If one can afford to get a license and wants to feel safe, they should get one. But there are still hundreds or thousands of NY makeup artists working without one. May 16 06 12:00 pm Link i guess in NY you are supposed to be... unless you have been working in the field for like 3 years or something like that. most make-up artists aren't though. In California, you only need to be a licensed esthetician if you want to do make-up in a salon. I don't see why you would have to be a cosmetologist or an esthetician though... if you are a sanitary make-up artist, why would you need to know about waxing? I think that requiring make-up artists to be "licensed" is ridiculous... unless they are going to make a make-up specific program... i think it is silly. to the person who wrote this post... its really easy to tell if the person you hired is not sanitary... do you see them dip straight into a product? do you see them use mascara right out of the tube? do you notice that their brushes appear to have residue on them? its pretty easy to spot an "unclean" artist. i also think its funny that being licensed is STILL not a requirement for IATSE and most of the Union MUAs on the eastcoast are not cosmetologists or eastheticians... May 16 06 12:16 pm Link I'm not a licenced Esthetician but I am Certified to do Makeup and I practice sanitation everytime that I do a shoot. I carry brush cleaner with me whenever I have more than one model to do and I use different sponges on different faces. Right after a shoot I go home and clean my brushes with soap and water. I wash my hands when I get to the shoot and everytime my hands touch anything that is NOT the models face, I spray 70% alcohol on my hands to disinfect. May 16 06 01:37 pm Link I went to Esthetician school for 625 hours. Then realized that with what I wanted to do I would not be doing facials or waxing on the Talent. I guess i'm glad I went for the time that I did. I learned to be very clean, When someone has a skin condition that I shouldn't touch and what to do if makeup causes a reaction. However I am not bummed-out that I didn't finish. If needed I can go back for the 75 hours I have left but I doubt I'll have to do it. May 18 06 01:26 am Link In many places the whole licensing thing is pretty much a scam to protect industry folks, especially the beauty school industry (yes they have lobbyists!). Here in California recently (last couple of years) it became illegal to paint murals in someone's home without a contractors license. Now, why someone would need to know basic plumbing in order to paint a faux finish in the hall or put some nice stencilled trim in the bathroom is beyond me. Then I looked into how the law came into being. It seems that some painters industry folks were upset at faux finishers and muralists making money that they wanted to do a regular paint job...they got their lobbyists on it. Now to "protect consumers" on issues like "durability, safety, and proper materials handling" muralists must be licensed. Oh yeah...doesn't the state get MONEY from granting licenses? May 18 06 01:39 am Link wow this is a good one! With todays crazy people trying to get money any way they can...has any MUA's thought about having a consent form of some type for the model to sign agreeing that you were sanitary and you are not liable if the model has some sort of allergic reaction to the makeup? After all, if you go to the mall to get your ears pierced, even though the "piercer" is liscenced and clean (hopefully) they still make you sign something saying they are not liable if you get an infection or have a reaction to the metal, so why don't MUA's do this as well? Just a thought... Jun 01 06 01:19 am Link There is a lot of misinformation in this thread, but I've put a lot of research into this, so let me put it out here for you folks: In most states, if you are working on the *civilian* population (salon work, brides, proms, etc) you MUST be licensed as an esthetician for makeup, or cosmetologist for hair and includes makeup as well. To work in the entertainment industry - photoshoots, film, video, theater, etc - you are not required to be licensed. A few states, like NY, require licensing no matter who you are working on. There are no exemptions. NY has actually a lot less hours for full cosmetology than other states. They require 1000 hours, while states like CO require 1500, and CA 1600. At least one state, perhaps more, actually has a makeup artist license. I believe it's Maryland, but certainly in that neighborhood. I don't know the requirements for it. In CA, there is no exemption for how long you've been working in the field. To get some agencies attention (makeup and hair), and to get into the union (hair), you need to be licensed. The reason counter people get away with not being licensed in most or all states is simply that they are "product testers" representing a line, and are not charging for actual services rendered (nevermind that MAC will charge if you don't buy product). It has nothing to do with them using sponges while we might not. Please check your specific state for the actual law. You can find contact info and most websites to the State Boards at www.beautytech.com, and should you end up having to call your state, ask them to snail mail you the rules and regs. If you ask the question about whether you should be licensed, you will always hear "yes" because the person on the other end usually doesn't know better. Actually READ the documents, and specifically look for the term EXEMPTION. If that term doesn't show up, you are required no matter what. Back to regulating... it's just about impossible to regulate the freelance end of the industry. The only way anyone gets in trouble is going to be after the fact when an unhappy client actually knows to complain to State Board. Most don't. However, there are benefits to being licensed. One, of course, learning sanitation to the point of being drummed in and it becomes second nature. If you are doing hair, you will learn a lot about hairstyling even if they go through the other aspects like cuts and colors. Your clients will ask you about these things, so it's handy to be able to discuss them. You also get to save 50% by shopping at wholesale beauty supplies, and many times it can help you get the artist discount with makeup lines. It will get you in the door of some beauty shows as well. The additional benefit is just not having to worry about whether you are legal to work in your state. You can also look into reciprocity so that you are legal in other states, perhaps without having to take more hours and another exam. As stated previously, many artists are not licensed, and so you will have to weigh for yourself whether you wish to pursue it or not. Jun 01 06 11:50 am Link Yes EmElle, Maryland is one. I recieved my Make-Up artist Liscence here. I completed an advance course at a cosmetology school and there wasn't a test for the liscense...I got it just to have it. I've never been asked to show it on the job either. I use it frequently at the beauty supply stores and for wholesale purchases. Jun 01 06 12:04 pm Link thank you much for all this information!!! I still have a few questions though... EmElle wrote: I know it is not OFTEN, but just incase, has anyone thought to have models sign something before you do their make-up (even if you ARE liscensed)? I mean people are CRAZY...remember the lady that sued McDonalds because she was driving with HOT coffee between her legs?? Now, the coffee cups say caution: hot! And the fact that the lady WON is simply hilarious to me... Jun 01 06 03:46 pm Link kudos to emelle alot of good and legit info in your post... btw i AM from upstate NY which is where i beleive the origional poster was from right? and yes in ny you do need to be licensed to be "touching" people. and in some cases someone may practice makeup artistry unlicensed in NY if they have been legally doing it in another state or country for atleast so and so years - i forgot how many i think its like 5 or something. Jun 01 06 06:31 pm Link I think that having a contract is necessary for the civilian population. Absolutely necessary, and I do have brides sign one. Outside of that, I always ask if they are sensitive or allergic. If they have a reaction (which has only occurred to me once in 11 years), I will take it off right away, and let the area calm down. Then we try a different product. If you make an effort, it is hard for them to successfully sue. Infections happen, and unless there's a pattern of others also getting pink eye or other reactions, then the model has the burden of proof, and it may be too difficult to prove. I suppose a photographer might have to have a model sign a release saying he's not responsible if a light accidentally falls on her, or her pictures look bad because he tried something new. While this is a legitigous society, I think most people would rather move on and switch crew members. But, yes, civilians need to sign a contract. Jun 01 06 07:45 pm Link Thank you so much for this, would it be possible to post an example of this contract? That would be great! Jun 02 06 02:33 pm Link bump Jun 14 06 07:13 pm Link rachelrose wrote: You don't see why? Why is because Cosmologist and Esthetician's are trained professionals. We learn about Disinfection, Sanitation, infection, diseases, and OSHA requirements. Its not just about "well my brush is clean...." It's not silly at all. Jun 14 06 09:16 pm Link Loretta Kendall A Salon wrote: My point was not that cosmetologists or estheticians are silly, so you clearly misunderstood me. My point being if you want to do make-up, you don't need to know how to cut hair or give facials. Jun 14 06 09:47 pm Link rachelrose wrote: Well said! As I like to say it, a cosmetologist is a cosmetologist. A hair stylist is a hair stylist, and a makeup artist is a makeupartist, etc etc. You can be one or all of them and therefore be liscenced as none or all of them. But if you are only a makeup artist and are only focusing on makeup as Rachel stated, you are just that, an ARTIST who does makeup. As an artist you can create things that won't be taught in school. It is the creativity and originality that makes the makeup ARTIST. Now, I'm not saying that sanitation is not important. Of course ANYONE that is messing with someone's face should always know how to keep clean. Being liscenced just doesn't make one any better than someone who is not. I mean it really comes down to the person. Just because someone has taken a class on sanitation doesn't have to mean they are clean. For this reason you cannot really compare it to a doctor because just because he went to school and knows what he is doing, doesn't mean he always washes his hands! We are talking about completely different things. And even still, a doctor may or may not be an ARTIST, but when i'm on the table, I definitely don't want him/her expressing any "creativity" with their knife... Jun 14 06 10:58 pm Link Sooo about that contract... Jun 14 06 11:00 pm Link It's pretty easy to write one yourself. Be sure to clearly state your terms, payments, cancellations, that they agree to hold you harmless should something go wrong, etc etc. Jun 15 06 01:02 am Link yeah, I don;t even know if I'm going to have one. I just wanted to see what others looked like. I don;t know if I could make it sound proffesional enough anyway. do you have one? Jun 15 06 02:47 pm Link yeah, I don;t even know if I'm going to have one. I just wanted to see what others looked like. I don;t know if I could make it sound proffesional enough anyway. do you have one? Jun 15 06 02:47 pm Link I do have one, but I made it specific for me. It probably isn't all that helpful for you. Jun 15 06 02:55 pm Link |
