Career Overlap Transition record
RecordMove

Masseur/masseuse to aesthetician

A masseur/masseuse already meets 39% of what the aesthetician role asks for. The move turns on 10 required skills not yet in the profile.

Fig. 1 · Skill transfer ESCO v1.2.1 · directional
From masseur/masseuse
39 % overlap
Distant match
To aesthetician
15 You already bring
10 Still to learn
41 Skills in the target role2
Learning distance Substantial retraining

64.7/ 100

1 How much of what an aesthetician is expected to do is already part of a masseur/masseuse’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the aesthetician role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.

Why

Why this move works

An aesthetician role treats 7 of its required skills as things a masseur/masseuse already does. You would walk in with these on day one.

  • cosmetics
  • give massages
  • identify customer's needs
  • maintain customer service
  • maintain equipment
  • perform facial treatment

What stands in the way is 10 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.

Table 2

Table 2 · What you already bring

Of the 15 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. An aesthetician role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a masseur/masseuse background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area
  • already held perform facial treatment assisting and caring
  • already held cosmetic manicure services
  • already held hydrotherapy health and welfare
  • already held give massages assisting and caring
  • already held cosmetics services
  • already held manage a small-to-medium business management skills

All 15 carried skills, including the 7 the aesthetician role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you may need to learn

The 26 missing skills fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.

Skill to pick up Tier
01 assisting and caring 4 required, 3 supplementary
  • still to learn perform body wrapping required
  • still to learn use hair removal techniques required
  • still to learn use laser therapy for skin conditions required
  • still to learn determine skin type required
  • optional, not held apply permanent make-up optional
  • optional, not held treat facial hair optional
  • optional, not held comply with legislation related to health care optional
02 services 4 required
  • still to learn cosmetics industry required
  • still to learn cosmetics ingredients required
  • still to learn cosmetic skin treatment required
  • still to learn make-up techniques required
03 communication, collaboration and creativity 1 required, 8 supplementary
  • still to learn advise customers on usage of cosmetics required
  • optional, not held maintain relationship with suppliers optional
  • optional, not held manage indoor tanning sessions optional
  • optional, not held offer cosmetic beauty advice optional
  • optional, not held offer free samples of cosmetics optional
  • optional, not held recommend cosmetics to customers optional
  • optional, not held sell cosmetics optional
  • optional, not held support individuals on nutrition changes optional
  • optional, not held train employees optional
04 information skills 1 required, 3 supplementary
  • still to learn test make-up required
  • optional, not held keep up to date with spa products optional
  • optional, not held monitor stock level optional
  • optional, not held keep personal administration optional
05 handling and moving 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held manufacture cosmetics optional
06 management skills 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held issue sales invoices optional
Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries an aesthetician role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.

Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.

Appendix

Appendix · The rest of the record

All 15 skills that carry over
Skill Type
  • already held cosmetics knowledge
  • already held give massages skill
  • already held identify customer's needs skill
  • already held maintain customer service skill
  • already held maintain equipment skill
  • already held perform facial treatment skill
  • already held work ergonomically skill
  • already held administer appointments skill
  • already held communicate with customers skill
  • already held cosmetic manicure knowledge
  • already held hydrotherapy knowledge
  • already held maintain professional administration skill
  • already held manage a small-to-medium business skill
  • already held order supplies skill
  • already held process payments skill
16 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
Skill to pick up Tier
  • optional, not held apply permanent make-up optional
  • optional, not held issue sales invoices optional
  • optional, not held keep up to date with spa products optional
  • optional, not held maintain relationship with suppliers optional
  • optional, not held manage indoor tanning sessions optional
  • optional, not held manufacture cosmetics optional
  • optional, not held monitor stock level optional
  • optional, not held offer cosmetic beauty advice optional
  • optional, not held offer free samples of cosmetics optional
  • optional, not held recommend cosmetics to customers optional
  • optional, not held treat facial hair optional
  • optional, not held comply with legislation related to health care optional
  • optional, not held keep personal administration optional
  • optional, not held sell cosmetics optional
  • optional, not held support individuals on nutrition changes optional
  • optional, not held train employees optional
33 held skills the aesthetician role does not ask for
Skill Type
  • not needed by the target role accept own accountability skill
  • not needed by the target role administer hydrotherapy skill
  • not needed by the target role apply acupuncture skill
  • not needed by the target role apply aromatherapy skill
  • not needed by the target role apply deep tissue massage skill
  • not needed by the target role apply massage therapy skill
  • not needed by the target role apply sports massage skill
  • not needed by the target role apply thermotherapy skill
  • not needed by the target role balneotherapy knowledge
  • not needed by the target role conduct pregnancy massages skill
  • not needed by the target role contraindications knowledge
  • not needed by the target role cosmetic pedicure knowledge
  • not needed by the target role develop a collaborative therapeutic relationship skill
  • not needed by the target role develop personalised massage plan skill
  • not needed by the target role electrotherapy knowledge
  • not needed by the target role energy therapy knowledge
  • not needed by the target role etiopathy knowledge
  • not needed by the target role fasciatherapy knowledge
  • not needed by the target role give shiatsu massages skill
  • not needed by the target role kinetics knowledge
  • not needed by the target role liaise with industry experts skill
  • not needed by the target role maintain personal hygiene standards skill
  • not needed by the target role maintain privacy of service users skill
  • not needed by the target role manage personal professional development skill
  • not needed by the target role massage theory knowledge
  • not needed by the target role massage types knowledge
  • not needed by the target role musculoskeletal anatomy knowledge
  • not needed by the target role pluck hair skill
  • not needed by the target role provide individual exercise programmes skill
  • not needed by the target role reflexology knowledge
  • not needed by the target role shiatsu knowledge
  • not needed by the target role skin types knowledge
  • not needed by the target role use hair removal lasers skill
4 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice

Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.

Skill to pick up Tier
  • still to learn cosmetics industry required
  • still to learn cosmetics ingredients required
  • still to learn cosmetic skin treatment required
  • still to learn make-up techniques required
Index

Other moves recorded from masseur/masseuse

Full index of moves from masseur/masseuse

FAQ

Common questions about this move

Can a masseur/masseuse become an aesthetician?

Yes, and it is a substantial move. A masseur/masseuse already covers 39% of what an aesthetician is expected to do: 15 skills carry over, 7 of which the aesthetician role treats as required.

What skills does a masseur/masseuse need to become an aesthetician?

10 required skills are missing, plus 16 optional ones. They fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by assisting and caring. The single most important is perform body wrapping.

How hard is the move from masseur/masseuse to aesthetician?

Its learning distance is 64.7 out of 100, which is the substantial band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.

Note

How this record was compiled

Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.