Training for Professional Make Up

To work in a professional makeup artist's job, you will need
• a high school diploma;
• experience in cosmetology or the theater
• a good eye for detail; and
• good artistic skills.

Informal experience with makeup is just as important as formal qualifications from a makeup school; so industry experience, whether paid or unpaid, is critical to professional development and to the ability to get makeup artist jobs.

Self-Education

Regardless of whether you pursue formal a formal make up school education or not, you should always be learning as much about makeup as possible. Read and learn about new products, new uses for products, and new application techniques and styles constantly.

Makeup and clothing fashions change with the seasons. Colors change in popularity, too. You will need to know what's hot and what's not, both in terms of colors and clothes. You must be prepared to adapt and change your looks constantly to keep up with the latest styles. That way, your makeup will always be evolving and improving.

Formal Makeup School Education

There are no formal education requirements beyond high school. Many make up artists have a bachelor's or master's degree in theater, art, film history, or a related subject. You should take makeup, drawing, painting, and drama courses in college. You should consider taking anatomy, chemistry, and photography courses.

Attending a Makeup School

Many makeup artists and designers want to develop or improve their skills to open up new job opportunities, to improve areas of expertise, or to produce better quality work within their own specialization(s). Makeup Artist schools and make up courses provide the opportunity to experiment, diversify or obtain the specialist knowledge desired.

If you want to study professional makeup, shop around. Look for a makeup artist school in your area. There are many makeup schools all over the world and there is likely to be one near you. Makeup schools offer theory and practical make up courses about different styles of makeup, history, tools and their care, and may help with finding makeup artist jobs.
Check the following things about any potential makeup course or makeup school you plan to attend:

Home Study

Another option is to complete a professional makeup school program at home in your spare time. Elite Makeup Schools of Madrid and Barcelona, Spain, offer a high-quality, newly designed program that matches their on-campus makeup courses. It is highly visual and includes all of the content of their regular make up school programs, along with professional makeup artist tutoring and free optional classroom classes. The professional makeup school program is available in Spanish and English.

If you can land a part-time job that allows you to work with professional makeup in one way or another, your experience will leap ahead, until you are ready to launch yourself as a full-time makeup artists. It is very helpful to have experience working in the theater or on the production of films. Assisting with make up and hair for school plays and Community Theater is a great way to gain experience. Find out if your state has a film commission and try to get involved in film productions in your area.

Professional makeup artists can also learn skills on the job from experienced makeup artists. Given the popularity of freelance work, training is often on the job, with individuals taking responsibility for their own continued professional development. You can take individual makeup courses for specific interests, such as character makeup or period make up. You can also take makeup courses from companies such as Mary Kay and Avon, which are more oriented towards helping their makeup artists achieve success with the company.