Beauty & Personal Care

find in salons, day spas, clinics, hotels, cosmetic brands, film sets and home studios.

Training routes are more varied than most people expect. At one end, the National Occupational Certificate: Beauty Therapist (NQF Level 4) covers skin, body and nail treatments, and includes a Nail Therapist part-qualification for people who only want to do nails. Neither needs a matric to enrol — SAQA lists an NQF Level 3 qualification with Mathematical Literacy as the entry requirement. At the other end, universities of technology offer a three-year Diploma in Somatology (NQF Level 6), which goes deeper into the science of skin and body therapy. Many people also train through private beauty academies and short product courses, so always ask a school to show you its accreditation before you pay.

Here's something important to know upfront: there is no compulsory professional register for beauty workers in South Africa. You don't need a personal licence to be a nail tech or beauty therapist, and somatology is not regulated by a statutory council. But that doesn't mean there are no rules. City health by-laws — like Johannesburg's and Cape Town's — set hygiene rules for salons, including nail work, and the sector has its own bargaining council. Its 2020 agreement set wage grades and required salons with staff to have a qualified person.

Beauty careers reward people who are patient, detail-focused, friendly with clients and comfortable with long hours of close, physical work: standing at a treatment bed, or sitting bent over a nail table. Weekends are often the busiest days, and some products (like nail acrylics) mean you need good airflow, gloves and a mask. On the plus side, this is one of the most realistic categories for running your own business — many beauty workers build a home studio, mobile service or salon once they have experience and a loyal client list.

If you love trends, colour and making people feel confident — and you'd rather be doing than sitting behind a desk — beauty and personal care is well worth a look.

Browse the beauty and personal care career profiles below for each role's qualifications, entry requirements, workplace rules and what's genuinely known about pay.