With the interruption to regular beauty and business operations in 2020, there has been an explosion of online training courses in every industry. If you haven’t already had a look our online microblading course information is available here.

It’s great that there are so many options available now for beauty therapists and eyebrow artists to expand their skills and add new services to their menus, through online microblading courses.

But should beauty treatments be taught online? Of course, there is a wide range of different brow and skin treatments these days and many of them are suitable to be taught online, but online learning may not suit every learner.

When it comes to learning, it’s important to remember that not every student starts from the same place, and not everyone learns the same way. This is a well documented and researched area, that has proven that different learning styles suit different people.

Kinesthetic learners need to be actively involved in the activity to properly understand the skill being taught. Just 5% of the population are kinaesthetic learners.

By their nature, beauty treatments (especially microblading) are hands-on skills that require repeated practice and muscle memory to master. So how come there are so many cosmetic tattooing and online microblading courses? And what are the pros and cons of learning these skills online?

If you are an experienced brow artist or beauty therapist you may do very well with learning online-only, and fee confident enough to self evaluate your competency and skills. However, it’s important to be aware of something that is called the Dunning-Kruger effect. This is a fancy word that basically means ‘thinking your skills are better than they are’. It’s a common phenomenon that even competent professionals can fall victim to when learning a new skill.

Why does it happen? Well, essentially it happens because you have not learned how to self assess your work yet, in order to identify areas of improvement.

How can you avoid falling victim to the Dunning-Kruger effect? The easiest and quickest way to learn to self assess your work is by looking at and critiquing other people’s work. Once you can be an impartial critic of a stranger’s work, it becomes easier to apply those same standards to your own work.

This is one of the main reasons that the SCHB online microblading course includse images of incorrect microblading. It’s much easier to identify flaws in someone else’s work. But once you practice this skill it becomes easier to apply it to your own work.

Even the expert trainers and leading brow artists continue practicing and improving throughout their entire career.

One of the downfalls of online learning is that you must be able to self-assess your skills to become a good artist. 80% of what makes a good microblading artist is being able to draw a great eyebrow. The other 20% is the hands-on application, and learning how to work with the skin.

Fortunately, it is possible to learn how to draw a great brow by yourself using the learning tools we provide in our online microblading course, however it is essential to get feedback from an experienced artist and trainer to help you identify where you can improve. Especially in the beginning, as you will not have developed a self-critical eye yet, and are vulnerable to the Dunning-Kruger effect.

Cons of online learning:

– need to self assess

– does not allow for hands-on learning

– trainer cannot guide you as they would in person

⁃ not ideal for auditory learners or kinaesthetic learners

For all the above reasons our online microblading course cannot be completed online 100%.

Instead, we take an approach that covers all types of learners. Our online cosmetic tattooing and online microblading course modules are designed to be COMPLIMENTARY to hands-on, in-person training. We love that our students can access our learning resources online, and learn as much as they can before they visit our college for practical training.

This gives our students time to understand how the treatment is carried out and what to expect before they arrive. It also allows the learner to identify any areas that they feel they do not understand properly, and to take note of any specific questions they have for the trainer.

There is so much new information to absorb that if you are only spending 1 or 2 days with a trainer you might miss something or forget to ask until you have already completed the course. By completing the onlinevmicroblading course modules before you arrive, it takes some of the pressure off the student during the hands-on training. It allows the student to separate the facts and technical requirements of setting up and operating safely from the hands-on and design parts of the training.

In conclusion, the best type of learning is the type that allows for all learning styles and all levels of learners. Online training is not bad – but it is not a complete solution and should be used as a supplementary learning tool.

Virtual training can never fully replace hands-on learning!

What is your opinion? Have you had a good or bad experience with online learning?

Let me know in the comments below!