Most people who come to Lancaster Beauty School are not looking for a hobby class. They want a California license, a chair to work from, and a route there that does not mean leaving the Antelope Valley. The cosmetology program is built for exactly that: the broadest license the state issues, earned in a working salon on 10th Street West.
A week here looks less like a lecture hall and more like a shop. Theory sits alongside floor time, and the floor is a student salon where guests from Lancaster, Palmdale and Quartz Hill book real appointments. You learn to hold a schedule, read a consultation and finish a service in the time a paying client will accept, which is the part of the job no textbook teaches.
Classes start every week, so you are not waiting on a semester calendar to begin. If you are weighing cosmetology against barbering, esthetics or nails, the sections below set out what the program covers, how the 1,000 hours are structured, and what the state asks of you before you can sit for the examination.
Train for the broadest license California offers — hair, skin and nails — on 10th Street West in Lancaster, in a working student salon that serves real guests from across the Antelope Valley.
Cosmetology is the licensed practice of hair, skin and nail care — cutting, coloring and chemical texture services, facials and skin care, and nail services, along with the sanitation, ethics and business skills that go with them. In California a cosmetology license requires 1,000 clock hours of training, and the license itself is issued by the State Board of Barbering and Cosmetology after you pass its examination.
At Lancaster Beauty School those 1,000 hours are taught hands-on in a student salon that serves real, paying guests — so you finish with speed, timing and client experience, not just a certificate. We are enrolling now and classes start every week. Talk to admissions on (661) 948-1672.
What You Will Learn
Cheveux
The fundamentals of cutting, styling, coloring and chemical texture work — the core of day-to-day salon income and the largest part of the course.
Facials and Skin
Facial treatments and skin care fundamentals, so your cosmetology license covers services many stylists never learn to offer.
Nails
Manicuring and nail services, rounding out the hair-skin-nails credential that makes the cosmetology license the broadest in California.
Safety and Sanitation
All safety and sanitary measures related to patron protection — the part the state examines closely and the part clients notice first.
Marketing and Sales
How to build a column, retail well and keep guests rebooking. Technical skill fills a chair once; this fills it again.
Professional Habits
Job training, ethics, responsibility, creativity and the self-assurance to work confidently in front of a paying guest.
Your Path to a California Cosmetology License
- Talk to admissions and enroll. Classes start every week, so you are rarely waiting long for a start date.
- Complete 1,000 clock hours. Theory plus supervised practical work, moving onto the salon floor as your skills build.
- Meet the course requirements for graduation. The 1,000 hours plus the course’s minimum practical operations.
- Apply to the State Board of Barbering and Cosmetology and sit its licensing examination. The Board, not the school, sets and administers licensing.
- Get licensed and go to work — behind the chair, as a specialist, renting a booth, or later as an instructor.
How Long Does Cosmetology School Take?
The requirement is 1,000 clock hours. How long that takes in weeks or months depends entirely on the schedule you enroll on — a full-time student reaches 1,000 hours considerably faster than someone attending part-time around a job. Because our schedule changes through the year, we do not publish a fixed month count: contact us for the current class schedule and admissions will give you a realistic completion timeline for the timetable you would actually be on.
Life on the Student Salon Floor
The part that separates a school from a classroom is the salon. Ours is open to the public Tuesday through Friday, and Saturday from 8:30 a.m., and is closed Sunday and Monday. Students work on booked, paying guests under supervision — which means real consultations, real timings and real recovery when a guest changes their mind halfway through. That is where speed comes from, and speed is what a salon hires. You can see current availability on our salon hours page.
What Cosmetologists Do After Licensing
A California cosmetology license is deliberately broad, and graduates use it in very different ways. Common directions include working as a salon stylist, specializing in color, moving toward men’s grooming and clipper work alongside our barbering graduates, focusing on skin or nail services, renting a booth and running an independent column, or — once licensed and experienced — returning to teach through our instructor training. Admissions can talk through which direction suits you before you enroll.
Serving Lancaster & the Antelope Valley
Students travel to the 10th Street West campus from across the Antelope Valley — Lancaster, Palmdale, Quartz Hill and Rosamond. If you have been searching for a cosmetology school or a beauty school near you, this is the campus: 44646 10th St W, Lancaster, CA 93534.
Proximity matters more for a clock-hour program than it does for most training. California requires 1,000 clock hours for a cosmetology license, and every one of them is earned in person on a salon floor — so the trip to campus is one you make many times over, not once. Training in the Valley also means the first guests you work on come from the community you are most likely to work in once you are licensed.
Cosmetology is not the only path taught here. The school also trains barbers, estheticians, manicurists et instructors, so you can change direction without changing schools. The school office is open Monday to Friday, 9 AM to 5 PM; the student salon serves the public Tuesday through Friday and Saturday from 8:30 a.m., and is closed Sunday and Monday. For directions, see the map and directions page.
Cosmetology Program FAQs
What does cosmetology actually cover?
Cosmetology is the licensed practice of hair, skin and nail care. At Lancaster Beauty School the cosmetology course covers the fundamentals of hair, facials and nails, together with safety and sanitary measures for patron protection, job training, ethics and the self-assurance you need on a salon floor.
How many hours is cosmetology school in California?
California requires 1,000 clock hours of training for a cosmetology license. Lancaster Beauty School’s cosmetology course is built around those 1,000 hours, and graduation requires completing them along with the course’s minimum practical requirements.
How do I enroll in the cosmetology program?
We are enrolling now and classes start every week. Call admissions on (661) 948-1672 or request an information pack, and we will walk you through start dates, the schedule and what enrollment involves.
Can I work while I am enrolled in cosmetology school?
Many students do, but it depends on the schedule you are placed on and how quickly you want to reach 1,000 hours. Please contact us for the current class schedule so admissions can match a timetable to your situation.
What is the difference between cosmetology and barbering?
Both are 1,000 clock hour California programs at Lancaster Beauty School. Cosmetology is the broader credential, covering hair, skin and nails. Barbering concentrates on clipper cutting, fades, razor shaving and men’s grooming. If you are undecided, admissions can talk you through both.
What is required to get licensed after I finish the hours?
Licensing in California is handled by the State Board of Barbering and Cosmetology, not by the school. After completing your required clock hours you apply to the Board and sit its licensing examination. We recommend confirming current requirements and exam format directly with the Board.
Is there a cosmetology school near me in the Antelope Valley?
Yes. Lancaster Beauty School is at 44646 10th St W, Lancaster, CA 93534, and trains students from across the Antelope Valley including Lancaster, Palmdale, Quartz Hill and Rosamond. Alongside cosmetology the campus also offers barbering, esthetician, manicurist and instructor training, and the student salon is open to the public Tuesday through Friday and Saturday from 8:30 a.m.
Talk to Admissions
Not sure whether cosmetology is the right license for you? One short conversation with an advisor covers the program, the weekly start dates and how students plan for the cost of school.
English 
Spanish 
French