Why Choose NASI if You’re Searching for a Beauty School in Chicagoland
- Commute-friendly location near major expressways [I-90 (Kennedy Expressway), I-294 (Tri-State Tollway), and the Elgin-O’Hare Expressway (IL-390)] and Metra.
- Small class sizes
- Free on-site parking
- Live demos & Hands-on training
Tour the school, meet your educators, and explore financial planning options
Visit www.newagespainstitute.com or call 847-759-0900 to explore enrollment options today.
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Beauty School: Esthetician Training & Massage Therapy | Education Spotlight
Why Choose NASI for Esthetics & Massage Training?
- CIDESCO-Accredited — the global elite standard in esthetics
- Hands-On Training with real clients
- Clinical Aesthetics Certifications Included
- Science-focused curriculum taught by experts
- Small class sizes + supportive community
- Located in Des Plaines and serving all of Chicagoland
NASI Programs include:
- 750-Hour Esthetics Program
- 635-Hour Massage Therapy Program
- Master Clinical Aesthetics
- Clinical Aesthetics Certification
- Professional Makeup Artistry
- Continuing Education (CEUs)
Whether your goal is to become an esthetician in Chicago or elevate your current practice, NASI offers a pathway for every stage of your career.
Ready to talk details and tour the campus? Call 847-759-0900 or visit New Age Spa Institute to get started.
Why Students Choose NASI as their Beauty School:
- Illinois’ only CIDESCO-accredited esthetics school
- Small, adult-focused class sizes
- Hands-on education with supervised clinic experience
- Clinical Esthetics Certification included
- Professional Makeup Artistry Certification included
- Advanced devices, modalities, and ingredient education
- Convenient location near I-90, I-294, IL-390, and Metra
- Free on-site parking
- In-house financial planning options
Considering Esthetics School in Illinois?
At the New Age Spa Institute, students receive structured, hands-on esthetics education designed to develop professional confidence from the beginning.
NASI’s 750-hour Illinois Esthetics Program includes advanced educational opportunities in clinical esthetics and professional makeup artistry, along with supervised practice, science-based theory, client consultation, sanitation, business development, and state examination preparation.
Located in Des Plaines, Illinois, NASI serves students throughout Chicago and the surrounding suburbs.
Considering Beauty School in Illinois?
Your esthetics or massage therapy career starts with the right school—one that invests in YOU.
Conveniently located in Des Plaines, NASI serves students from across Chicagoland including:
- Lyons, IL – approximately 50 minutes to 1870 Busse Hwy
- Mundelein, IL – approximately 45 minutes to 1870 Busse Hwy
- Naperville, IL – approximately 1 hour to 1870 Busse Hwy
- Richton Park, IL – approximately 1 hour and 10 minutes to 1870 Busse Hwy
- River Forest, IL – approximately 30 minutes to 1870 Busse Hwy
Whether you’re searching for:
- Beauty School near Lyons, Illinois
- Beauty School near Mundelein, Illinois
- Beauty School near Naperville, Illinois
- Beauty School near Richton Park, Illinois
- Beauty School near River Forest, Illinois
NASI is a professional, adult-focused learning center for esthetics, massage therapy, nail technology, and advanced clinical beauty education—all just a short drive from home!
To explore enrollment options, schedule a school tour, or speak with an admissions representative:
Visit www.newagespainstitute.com
Call 847-759-0900
The New Age Spa Institute
1870 Busse Highway
Des Plaines, IL 60016
Will Illinois Beauty Apprentices Be Paid?
Yes. The law states that apprentices must be employed under a formal apprenticeship agreement between the apprentice and the sponsoring salon or shop.
Apprentices must be paid at least the Illinois minimum wage. The agreement must also include provisions for wage increases as the apprentice develops greater competency and experience. When feasible, the sponsor or supervising professional should offer employment or employment-opportunity assistance after the apprenticeship is completed.
AN APPRENTICE IS NOT AN UNPAID STUDENT WORKER.
The apprenticeship pathway is intended to allow individuals to earn income while completing practical training.
However, apprentices should also understand that a salon employee’s daily responsibilities may differ from the carefully sequenced curriculum, classroom theory, clinic experience, examination preparation, and advanced certifications provided through a licensed school.
Who Can Supervise an Apprentice?
The law establishes several minimum qualifications for supervising beauty professionals.
A supervising professional must:
- Hold an active license in the same profession the apprentice is pursuing
- Have at least three years of licensed professional experience or hold the applicable teacher license
- Maintain an active license while supervising the apprentice
- Have no disciplinary history on the license during the previous 10 years, with limited exceptions involving taxes or child support
Apprentices may perform only services that fall within the supervising professional’s legal scope of practice.
For example, an esthetician apprentice must be supervised by a qualified professional who is legally permitted to perform and supervise esthetic services.
The salon or shop and the supervising professional will be responsible for ensuring that the apprentice receives appropriate education, training, skills development, and competency instruction.
What Will Participating Salons and Shops Be Required to Do?
The law already identifies several responsibilities for apprenticeship sponsors.
Participating salons and shops will be expected to:
- Enter into a formal apprenticeship agreement
- Employ and compensate the apprentice
- Provide supervised practical training
- Ensure supplemental instruction is completed
- Train the apprentice in all branches of the profession’s scope of practice
- Maintain qualified professional supervision
- Protect client safety
- Display a sign notifying clients that an apprentice works at the location
The law places responsibility for the apprentice’s education, training, skills, and professional competency on the salon or shop owner and the supervising licensed professional. This is a significant responsibility.
PROVIDING SERVICES IS NOT THE SAME AS TEACHING A PROFESSION.
A skilled esthetician, cosmetologist, nail technician, hair braider, or barber may be highly successful with clients but may not automatically have the curriculum, lesson-planning, assessment, documentation, sanitation-education, or examination-preparation experience needed to train a new professional comprehensively.
That is one reason the forthcoming IDFPR regulations will be so important.
Can Salons Apply to Become Apprenticeship Sponsors Now?
At this time, final instructions have not been published. On July 23, 2026, the president of the New Age Spa Institute contacted IDFPR requesting clarification regarding:
- How a salon or shop may become an apprenticeship sponsor
- Which applications sponsors must submit
- What requirements will apply to each profession
- How practical and supplemental hours will be documented
- Where prospective apprentices can find official instructions
In its response, IDFPR stated:
“Rules have yet to be adopted for this new provision.”
Therefore, beauty professionals and salon owners should not assume that they may begin an apprenticeship informally or begin counting hours without official IDFPR authorization.
The law authorizes IDFPR to establish minimum standards and requirements for apprenticeship programs through administrative rules.
Until those rules, applications, and procedures are released, questions remain about:
- Sponsor approval and registration
- Apprentice applications
- Required contracts and forms
- Training records and hour reporting
- Required curriculum topics
- Supplemental instruction providers
- Supervisor-to-apprentice ratios
- Transfers between salons
- Attendance and employment interruptions
- Inspections and audits
- Credit for previous education or experience
- Procedures when a sponsor closes or a supervisor leaves
- State examination eligibility documentation
IDFPR maintains a page for proposed changes to professional rules and explains that proposed regulations are not in effect until the rulemaking process is completed.
Does This Mean Beauty School Is No Longer Required?
Beauty school will remain one recognized pathway to licensure. A person may eventually choose between an approved apprenticeship and an approved school program, but those two experiences will not necessarily be identical.
A licensed esthetics school provides a structured learning environment that may include:
- Skin anatomy and physiology
- Cosmetic chemistry and ingredient science
- Sanitation, infection prevention, and blood-exposure procedures
- Skin analysis and client consultation
- Contraindications and medical considerations
- Facial techniques and treatment sequencing
- Hair removal and waxing
- Makeup artistry
- State laws and professional ethics
- Business education
- State examination preparation
- Supervised practice with different clients and skin conditions
- Access to multiple educators, products, devices, and treatment methods
An apprenticeship may offer valuable employment experience, mentorship, and exposure to the daily operation of a salon. However, the quality of the experience may depend heavily on:
- The knowledge of the supervising professional
- The variety of services offered at the location
- The supervisor’s teaching ability
- The salon’s client population
- Access to theory instruction
- The sponsor’s commitment to complete education—not simply workplace productivity
WHERE YOU TRAIN WILL SHAPE HOW YOU PRACTICE.
For future professionals, the question should not be only, “Which option is available?”
The more important question is:
“Which type of education will prepare me to work safely, pass my examination, understand the skin or body, build a sustainable career, and provide excellent client care?”
What Should Licensed Professionals and Salon Owners Do Now?
Licensed professionals who are interested in sponsoring an apprentice should begin considering whether they are prepared for the responsibility.
Ask yourself:
- Do I have the required license and professional experience?
- Is my license active and in good standing?
- Can I provide consistent supervision?
- Can my business pay an apprentice for all required training hours?
- Do I understand every part of the profession’s legal scope?
- Can I teach sanitation, theory, consultation, contraindications, and safety?
- Can I maintain detailed attendance and competency records?
- Can I prepare the apprentice for the state examination?
- What happens when I am absent, on vacation, or treating another client?
- Does my salon offer enough service variety to cover the complete required curriculum?
The apprenticeship law may create new opportunities, but it also creates substantial professional, educational, financial, and legal responsibility for sponsoring businesses.
