How to Become a Cosmetologist in Mississippi

Cosmetologists are beauticians who provide personal care services on clients’ hair, skin, and nails.

The cosmetology industry employs hairstylists, barbers, estheticians, manicurists and pedicurists, and makeup artists.

Cosmetology Programs in Mississippi

The Mississippi State Board of Cosmetology offers two types of licenses for cosmetologists, a practitioner’s license and an instructor’s license.

The most prominent schools where the required education and training for the license achievement can be gained are: 

Popular Programs

• Academy of Hair Design Beauty and Barber College – Pearl.
• Blue Cliff College – Gulfport.
• Chris’ Beauty College – Gulfport.
• Corinth Academy of Cosmetology – Pontotoc.
• Delta Beauty College – Greenville.
• Hatfield’s Inc.
• KC’s School of Hair Design – Pontotoc.

To have the right to become a cosmetologist and get the practitioner’s license you need to be 17 years of age or older, read, speak and write English, have finished 12th-grade education, have completed 1500 hours of training in a cosmetologist training program and pass the necessary examinations.

On the other hand, if you want to get the instructor’s license then you have to be 21 years of age or older, hold a Mississippi practitioner’s license, complete 12 semester hours in Board-approved college courses, complete 2000 hours of instructor training in a Board-approved cosmetologist instructor training program, complete an additional 750 hours of instructor training in a Board-approved school, attend “Methods of Teaching” seminar and pass the necessary examination.

No matter which license you decide to take, the Board-approved programs which consist of both classroom and practical lessons, can be found in:

• Hattiesburg
• Gulfport
• Booneville
• Clarksdale
• Tunica
• Tupelo
• Columbus
• Cleveland
• Jackson
• Meridian

For the instructors, there are additional courses which will teach them about:

• School administration
• Record keeping
• Principles of student teaching
• Psychology
• Introduction to teaching methods
• Classroom management
• Practice classroom teaching
• Practice teaching salon floor

Cosmetology Exams in Mississippi

The formal education is followed and finished by the taking and passing of the Mississippi State Board of Cosmetology Exam which consists of Practical Skills Examination and Theory Examination.

To get the right to take it, you must submit the completed and notarized Examination Approval Form, two passport-sized photos, an affidavit/certification of completion of cosmetologist training, and certification of any other cosmetology licenses.

The required documentation needs to be sent to:

Mississippi State Board of Cosmetology,

P.O. Box 55689 Jackson,

MS 39396-5689.

The approval letter from the Board will inform you whether or not you are eligible for the examination and then you can register and pay fees through Pearson Vue testing centers.

The good thing is that the fees include both the exam application and a two-year license fee.

The Practical Skills Exam fee is $95 and the Theory Exam fee is $65.

Practical Skills Exam will test your skills related to

• Infection control and safety
• Haircutting
• Hairstyling
• Hair coloring, bleaching, highlighting
• Chemical relaxing
• Permanent waving
• Esthetics
• Manicure

The test can be done at the Pearson Vue testing center once a month in:

• Senatobia
• Gulfport
• Tupelo
• Meridian
• Hattiesburg
• Jackson

Only the testing center in Jackson offers the Practical Skills Exam twice per month.

It is obligatory to pass all parts of the Practical Skills Exam to pass the entire exam.

The theory exam lasts 2 hours and 15 minutes and consists of 110 scored items and 25 pretest multiple-choice questions about:

• Rules, regulations, and safety
• Trichology
• Shampoo/scalp analysis
• Styling
• Haircutting
• Hair color, bleaching, lightening, tinting
• Permanent waving
• Chemical straightening/relaxing
• Esthetics
• Nails

The Theory Exam can be done in:

• Mobile (3-4 days/wk)
• Decatur (3-4 days/wk)
• Birmingham (4-6 days/wk)
• Memphis (3-4 days/wk)
• Baton Rouge (5-6 days/wk)
• Metairie (4-6 days/wk)
• Meridian (3-4 days/wk)
• Tupelo (2-3 days/wk)
• Jackson (2-3 days/wk)
• Summit (5 days/wk)
• Hattiesburg (5 days/wk)

If you pass both the Theory and Practical Skills Exam, you can apply for a practitioner’s license in Mississippi and can expect to receive it by mail within six to eight weeks.

Keeping Your License Current in Mississippi

Even though you have gained the license, you are supposed to renew it every two years to continue your legal work.

The renewal fee is $50 and no further education is required.

Still, some people want to advance in the cosmetology field by achieving a Master Cosmetologist, but they need to meet certain requirements.

First, they need to hold a practitioner’s license for at least one year and complete 16 hours of continuing education.

After the finishing of the education, they need to collect the necessary documentation and send it to the Mississippi State Board of Cosmetology, P.O. Box 55689, Jackson, MS 39216-5689.

The obligatory documentation includes:

• the Master License Application,
• $70 fee,
• proof of your completion of continuing education,
• two passport-sized photos
• and your current cosmetology license renewal form.

Your master cosmetologist license also needs to be renewed every two years, by the completion of 18 hours of continuing education.

Average Annual Cosmetologist Salary and Job Prospects in Mississippi

Since you have become licensed, the next step is finding a rewarding and stable job.

You can always open your premises, but you need to meet requirements and file the Salon Application Packet to the Board.

You should also provide:

• a fee of $85,
• a list of minimum equipment your salon plans to have,
• two recent passports sized photos,
• the name and address of the proposed salon,
• names and addresses of any proposed owners,
• and their social security numbers.

The inspector will come to your salon and you can start working once the approval is given to you.

If you do not want to bother with all these legal requirements, you can look for a job in numerous salons and other beauty premises in Mississippi.

Examples of places where cosmetologist can find jobs include:

• Seva Beauty – Biloxi
• Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance, Inc. – Southaven
• Le-Maxim Salon – Meridian
• Barnette’s Salon- Jackson
• Tracy Perry Salon – Gulfport
• Kosmos Hair Designers, LLC Salon and Spa- Ridgeland
• Expressions Hair Salon – Natchez
• Senses Spa & Salon at IP Casino Resort Spa – Biloxi
• Pearl River Resort- Choctaw

As a cosmetologist in Mississippi, you should not worry about the job prospects as you will find opportunities everywhere.

Gulf Coast areas like Gulfport and Biloxi, salons located in Jackson, Oxford, and Tupelo are only some of the regions where the cosmetology field is flourishing.

However, when it comes to cosmetologist salaries in Mississippi, the entry-level cosmetologist cannot have the same salaries as the experienced ones, and cannot earn as many tips as well.

Cosmetologists of equal levels of experience in Tupelo earn only $ 22 014 while their colleagues in South Haven earn $ 24 650.

Regional Salary in Mississippi

Cosmetology by State