Ever wanted to help others feel beautiful? With a beauty course at a new multicultural esthetics school, you can. Champions Beauty Institute, located at 424 NE Killingsworth, is Portland’s first multiculturally owned, influenced and led esthetics program. It offers training on beauty services for all skin types and its first cohort of students began the program in February.
Jamal and Christina Lane spent seven years learning barbering and launched Champions Barbering Institute earlier this year. The curriculum prepares students to have their own businesses and provides mentorship before and after obtaining certification.
The program is designed so students can keep their obligations to jobs and family; classes run two evenings and Saturdays for 28 weeks. The cost of the program is $15,000 with $4,000 scholarships available. The curriculum includes treatments such as facials, waxing, the use of facial devices, chemical peels, hair removal, makeup, lash tinting, brow tinting, lift and extensions and also provides certification in eyelash extension, lamination, sugaring, and dermaplaning, a treatment to treat deep acne scars.
Concordian Amantha Hood of Lash Lab PDX is the Lead Educator at Champion. Hood holds a B.A. in Mass Communication and Media Studies from Linfield College. After graduating from college, she obtained her esthetic certificate and license in 2018 and has been working in the industry since then.
A woman of color, Hood realized there was a lack of training in the industry on multicultural differences and a lack of treatments serving people of color.
“Champion is filling an equity gap in esthetics curriculum standards. By molding and graduating students educated in all skin types, we increase the number of estheticians that can confidently service all of Portland’s population. It starts with this program, but my hope is to eventually influence the standards for curriculum requirements statewide, and nationally. It should be a requirement that students know how to consult, service and educate clients in all skin types in the field of esthetics,” says Hood.
Of the Champion program, Hood says, “Our students learn how to confidently service melanin-rich skin, atypical to most curriculums. As Oregon’s first multiculturally driven esthetics program, we are setting a new standard in what it means to be a licensed esthetician.”
After living east, south, north and west, Marsha Sandman is home at last. And she wants to hear your story. Contact her at MarshaJSandman@gmail.com.