Market Deeping
Lincolnshire
The practical days happen in the clinic itself, not a hired room. You train where the treatments actually get done.
- Address
- Unit 3, 1 HorsegateDeeping St James, LincolnshirePE6 8EN
- Parking
- Free, on site
- Phone
- 07734 821778
Course
VTCT Level 3Access to AestheticTherapies
The way into advanced skin and laser training when you have no beauty background. Theory online, practical here in a working clinic.
Ofqual regulated
Experience needed
At a glanceWhat this qualification
What this qualification
actually is.
The standard way into advanced beauty treatments with no beauty background: Level 2 and Level 3 units in one certificate, instead of a full beauty therapy course first.
- Qualification
- VTCT (ITEC) Level 3 Certificate in Access to Aesthetic Therapies
- Awarding body
- VTCT Skills, regulated by Ofqual
- Centre
- True Skin & Laser Academy, an approved ITEC and VTCT Skills centre, with internal and external quality assurance through VTCT Skills
- Entry requirements
- No previous beauty qualification and no experience
- Delivery
- Theory online, practical training and assessment in the clinic
- Assessment
- Written assignments, online theory tests, and practical assessment observed in person
- Where you train
- Deeping St James, near Market Deeping
- Price
- £1,695 + VAT
Who this course is for.
And who it isn't.
For you if
You want to work in advanced skin or laser and you are starting from nothing. It folds the units you actually need into one certificate, instead of a full beauty therapy course you will never use.
- You have no beauty qualification and no salon background
- You are heading for advanced skin or laser work
- You would rather not sit a full beauty therapy course first
- You want the theory online and the practical in a working clinic
Not for you if
You want to work in a salon doing waxing, nails and massage. This one is narrow on purpose: it points at skin.
- You want to do waxing, nails and massage in a salon
- You already hold a Level 3 in beauty therapy
- You want to qualify in one treatment and start earning straight away
What it unlocks
Where this one leads.
This certificate does not let you treat anybody on its own. The question is not which Level 3 is cheapest, but which gets you where you came for.
The route most students are on
You are here
VTCT Level 3 Access
to Aesthetic TherapiesWhat it lets you start
Advanced skin training
Both taught here, by me, in the same clinic you did your practical days in. Most students go to microneedling first, because it is the treatment clients ask for by name. Together they make up the Advanced Skin Practitioner pathway.
See the Learning Pathways at True Skin and Laser AcademyWhere it gets you
A specialist skin
menu of your own
Where Level 3 can take you next
VTCT Level 4 Laser Hair Reduction
The laser qualification, taught here across Alexandrite, Nd:YAG and Diode systems. Ring me before you book this route: which Level 3 the Level 4 asks for depends on what you already hold, and I will check yours rather than let you buy the wrong one.
Manufacturer-led advanced skin training
Radiofrequency, microcurrent and other advanced skin technologies. Most manufacturers will not take a student without a Level 3 behind them.
What you'll learn.
Five mandatory units, and they are the same five wherever you take this qualification. What changes is how much of it you get to do with your hands, and who is watching while you do it.
Skin, Anatomy & Physiology
- The structure and function of the skin
- Anatomy, physiology and pathology relevant to skin treatment
- How skin ages, and how it responds to treatment
- The conditions and contraindications you have to recognise before you touch anybody
Facial Skincare & Treatment
- Skin analysis, and reading a skin type properly
- Professional facial skincare treatments and protocols
- Consultation, client care and treatment planning
- The aftercare that decides whether a result holds
Working safely
- Electrical science, and the principles behind the equipment you will use
- Safe operation of aesthetic devices
- Health, safety and hygiene in a clinical environment
- Infection control and preventing cross-contamination
How it runs.
Much of the theory can be completed online, but the practical element needs to be taught in person. That's why you complete the underpinning knowledge before coming into the clinic, so your face-to-face time can focus on practical skills, feedback and hands-on experience.
Practical training is kept deliberately small so you have plenty of time to practise, ask questions and receive individual feedback. You'll work hands-on throughout the clinic sessions, rather than spending most of the day watching demonstrations.
The theory, in your own time
Work through the learning modules and written assignments online, at whatever pace your week allows. This part is finished before you come in.
Practical days in the clinic
Here in Deeping St James, on real skin, in a clinic with paying clients in the diary rather than a training room built to resemble one.
Assessed while you work
Your practical assessment happens on those days, observed in person, once the theory is complete. Consultation forms and treatment records are part of it, because they are part of the job.
Why it is taught, not just delivered
I genuinely want them to succeed, not just complete the qualification.
Sarah, founder and trainer
The qualification is the same everywhere.
The centre isn't.
Before you pay for any Level 3, the thing worth checking is not the price. It is whether the academy is approved to deliver it, and who will teach you.
- Centre approval
- Approved ITEC and VTCT Skills centre, with internal and external quality assurance through VTCT Skills
- Teaching qualification
- PGCE with Qualified Teacher Status
- Assessing
- CAVA qualified, Certificate in Assessing Vocational Achievement
- Qualified to Level 4
- VTCT Level 4 Laser Hair Reduction and Level 4 IPL Skin Rejuvenation, both held and both taught here
EnrolThe usual course.
The usual course.
And ours.
The same certificate sells for £570 to £1,700 plus VAT across the UK. Ours is at the top of that range, so the only useful question is what the difference contains.
The usual Access course
- A class of ten to twenty
- You practise on the person sitting next to you
- A training room fitted out to look like a clinic
- Registration and assessment fees added separately
- Taught by whoever is rostered that week
- It ends the day the certificate is printed
Training at the Academy
- A clinic that treats paying clients every week
- Practical assessment observed in person, by me
- Taught by Sarah, from the first module to your assessment
- An approved ITEC and VTCT Skills centre, quality assured by VTCT Skills
- The next course on your route is taught by the same person
- Questions still answered once you have clients of your own
Easy to reach fromPeterborough, Stamford, Bourne, Spalding, Lincoln, Grantham, Rutland, Oakham, Boston, the East Midlands.
Before you enrol.
If your question is not here, ask it on the call. It comes straight to me.
Can I do this without a Level 2 in beauty therapy?
Yes, and that is the entire reason the qualification exists. It combines units from Level 2 and Level 3 into one certificate, so you do not have to complete a full beauty therapy course before you start advanced skin training. No previous qualification and no experience are needed.
Can I do it online?
The theory, yes. The practical, no. You are assessed by someone watching you carry out a consultation and a facial treatment on a real person, so those days happen here in the clinic. Be careful with anything sold to you as a fully online Level 3 in aesthetics.
What can I actually do once I have it?
On its own, nothing clinical. It is an access qualification, not a treatment one. What it does is meet the entry requirement for advanced skin training, so you can go on to microneedling, advanced electrolysis and blemish removal, and manufacturer-led skin technologies you would otherwise be turned away from.
Is a Level 3 the same as a degree?
No. On the Regulated Qualifications Framework, Level 3 sits alongside A levels and BTEC Nationals. A degree is Level 6. What matters in practice is that this one is Ofqual regulated, which is what training providers and insurers check when they ask what you hold.
What qualifications do I need to work in aesthetics?
It depends entirely on the treatment. For advanced skin work a Level 3 like this one is the entry requirement and a Level 4 is what you treat from. Injectables sit in a separate world with its own rules. Tell me what you want to offer and I will tell you the shortest honest route to it.
Should I do this, or a full Level 2 and Level 3 Beauty Therapy?
If you want a salon career doing waxing, nails and massage, do the full beauty therapy route. If you want to specialise in skin, this is faster and it points where you are going. It is a narrower qualification on purpose, and narrower is the advantage here.
Before you enrol
Start where you actually are. Nobody starts qualified.
Most people who ring me about this course open by apologising for having no beauty background. You do not need one, and you are not behind. Ring me on 07734 821778 and I will tell you which route fits what you want to do, even if it is not one of mine.