A client gets her first gua sha facial contour.
KEY TAKEAWAYS: You're wondering: what is facial contouring? Offering facial contouring services can help grow your beauty biz and further your career as an esthetician. From learning the basics to getting certified, you’ll find everything you need to know about facial contouring here.


Adding new services to your beauty business is beneficial on many levels. From giving your current clients more options and attracting new customers to keeping you engaged and pushing you to learn new skills, growing your beauty biz with services like facial contouring is a great idea.

Of course, there’s more to expanding your skillset and beauty biz than choosing a new service or two to offer. You need to evaluate the market, pinpoint your target audience, go through education and training, and likely get certified or licensed to perform your new service.

Read on to learn why facial contouring is the perfect addition for any esthetician, as well as the steps you need to take to start offering it to your clients.

What is Facial Contouring and Why Should Estheticians Offer It?

Facial contouring has gained popularity in recent years as a way to reshape facial features and achieve the aesthetic visions clients have for themselves. From enhancing natural characteristics to chasing a more youthful complexion, facial contouring can work wonders without relying on invasive procedures.

This is an important part of the conversation for estheticians who are considering adding facial contouring services to their business. While some facial contouring treatments are invasive and involve everything from injectables to surgeries, you can choose to forgo these more aggressive techniques for non-invasive alternatives.

"While some facial contouring treatments are invasive and involve everything from injectables to surgeries, you can choose to forgo these more aggressive techniques for non-invasive alternatives."

The Best Non-Surgical Facial Contouring Treatments

While surgical facial contouring and injectables have grown in popularity, you can offer your clients tremendous results through non-invasive alternatives. Not only do these options reduce the licensing burden on you, but they also encourage more current and potential customers to try your new services.

There are many non-surgical facial contouring treatments that you can offer, so it’s important to do your research, think about your target market, and be selective.

Ultrasound Facial Contouring

Using ultrasound waves to encourage collagen production, tighten the skin, and reduce wrinkles is one of the most effective non-invasive facial contouring techniques. While it does take multiple sessions to be maximally effective, many clients find the trade-off well worth it.

Radiofrequency and Microneedling Facial Contouring (Morpheus8)

By combining radiofrequency (RF) energy and microneedling, estheticians can help their clients see tremendous facial contouring results. The microneedling stimulates the natural production of both collagen and elastin, while the RF penetrates deep into the skin, boosting and maximizing the effects. The result? Tighter skin, better skin texture and tone, fewer wrinkles, and more.

A client gets her first round of facial contouring after asking her esthetician "what is facial contouring?"

Laser Treatment for Facial Contouring

By using a laser to stimulate the body’s production of collagen while simultaneously targeting fat cells, facial contouring can be achieved. Because laser treatments help superficially improve skin texture and reduce wrinkles while also eliminating fat cells, the results can be quite pronounced.

How to Offer Facial Contouring as an Esthetician

If you are interested in offering facial contouring services to your clients, there are a handful of key things to consider. From receiving training to investing in the right equipment, ensuring that you are properly prepared for the journey ahead is essential to your future success as a facial contouring expert.

Facial Contouring Education and Training

The first step to becoming a facial contouring expert is to pursue a proper education in the craft. This means taking specialized courses that include niche topics such as facial contouring and sculpting.

Be sure to choose a reputable program that sets you up for long-term success. You should also look to receive some hands-on training from an experienced expert. Learning in a real environment in addition to an educational context gives you the comprehensive background you need to thrive.

Facial Contouring Certification and Licensing

A client shows off her facial contouring results after her what is facial contouring consult.

If you don’t plan to offer surgical or injectable facial contouring services, you may not need to secure specific licensing. However, the rules vary state-to-state, so you should verify the requirements of your location and ensure that you receive the proper certification and licensing you need to practice your craft legally.

Tools You Will Need for Facial Contouring

Depending on the type of facial contouring you choose to offer, you will need to invest in different equipment. Some of this equipment can be quite costly, so be sure to do your research and factor the price of your tools into your decision to offer certain services!

Marketing Facial Contouring Services

Once you have done everything you need to do before officially adding facial contouring services to your beauty biz, you will need to effectively market them. This starts by identifying your target audience and discerning how to reach them.

Leveraging social media, offering your current clients promotional opportunities to try the new services, networking within your local community, and more are all excellent ways to spread the word and encourage people to embrace your facial contouring expertise.

Invest in Esthetician Insurance

Protecting your reputation, your business, and your future as an esthetician is essential, especially as you venture into new markets. By investing in body contouring insurance, you ensure that accidents, mistakes, and other unfortunate circumstances won’t derail your career.

Now that we’ve answered, “What is facial contouring?” it’s time to pursue your dream of expanding your skillset and growing your business as an esthetician. You can give yourself the boost you need by subscribing to Elite Beauty Society and checking out our blog resources.

An image is shown of the EBS copywriter Hanna Marcus from Boundless Copy.
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Meet Hanna Marcus, the Founder and Head Copy Gal behind Boundless Copy, a one-of-a-kind copywriting agency that specializes in big, bold brand voice and industry-disrupting copy that’s all about resonating with the right audience. 

Hanna has proudly teamed up with Elite Beauty Society for several years as their go-to copywriter on all things beauty, small biz marketing, and brand voice development. She’s big on feeling-first writing–her personal soapbox is that the best copy starts with telling a story. 

When she’s not writing cheeky, converting copy for clients, she’s mentoring other aspiring copywriters and creating digital copywriting resources designed for service pros and focused on taking the stress out of DIY copywriting.