Inaugurated in September 2004 to meet the surging demand for trained beauty professionals, CVISE offers the study programmes of America’s pioneer school of beauty and aesthetics 

America’s pioneer school of beauty and aesthetics worldwide has made its India debut. The Christine Valmy International School of Esthetics (CVISE) has set up shop in Mumbai and offers beauty and aesthetics study programmes that are its trademark, to Indian students.

With the annual revenue of the beauty industry in India estimated at Rs.1,500-1,800 crore and growing at a fast clip of 25 percent per year, there is surging demand for trained beauty professionals. With very few institutions offering high quality and proven beauty and grooming study courses in India, CVISE India intends to make good this lacuna.

Inaugurated in September 2004 and spread over 4,000 sq.ft the school is situated in Bandra, Mumbai’s most happening suburb. It offers the entire range of the parent company’s study programmes in the form of modules. The school’s prospectus includes study courses for facials, hair, makeup, nails, aromatherapy, spa treatment, grooming for men and women, skincare, Indian weddings, and ‘film special effects’. Prices range from Rs.5,100 for the personal enhancement course to Rs.168,500 for the international cosmetology licence programme.

“Indian women are very interested in beauty care but there aren’t any standardised beauty schools offering training. There is a crying need for a professional institute and this is where Christine Valmy has stepped in. Beauty schools operational in India are a cottage industry with little or no standardisation. This is what we provide, together with a holistic approach to beauty treatment and training. While in India make-up is big, skincare and treatment therapies are deficient. We intend to concentrate on skincare because it’s Christine Valmy’s special area of expertise,” says Marina Valmy, executive director of CVISE.

According to Valmy, qualifying in beauty treatments opens a whole new range of career options for women. “The possibilities are immense. They can start their own salons, work in the training or marketing department of big corporations, work in hotels etc. This is one business which empowers women and prepares them for vocations of their choice,” adds Valmy.

CVISE India has been promoted by the Vanity Case Group of companies driven by Samir Kothari, at a capital cost of Rs.2 crore. The school offers state-of-the-art equipment and the entire array of Christine Valmy signature products. “We have highly sophisticated equipment for skin treatments that most beauty parlours in Mumbai are unacquainted with,” says Firdaus Nariman, general manager of the school which has already enrolled 60 students between the ages of 21-55.

The course modules are divided into hours. For example the basic manicure and pedicure courses are of 70 hours each, while the hair styling and hair dressing course spans 560 hours. Not surprisingly, the tuition cost for the former is Rs.7,900 and the latter Rs.90,300.

By any yardstick the parentage of CVISE India is impressive. Christine Valmy International School of Esthetics, New York, USA, has trained over 500,000 professionals worldwide equipping them with best theory and practice of patented Valmy methodologies culminating in the CVISE diploma which is valued and recognised worldwide.

The CVISE India curriculum is divided into 18 career-oriented courses adapted to the demands of the Indian market as well as international beauty standards. Among the courses, the advanced paramedical esthetics programme enables students to qualify as assistants to dermatologists and cosmetic surgeons. The programme content at CVISE India is a 70-30 percent mix of practicals and theory. “The courses offered by most beauty schools and institutes in India are 100 percent practical with negligible theoretical input. This is the distinguishing characteristic of our programmes which offer a solid foundation of theory,” says Nariman.

Nalini Kalra the head instructor at CVISE India has worked for six years with the parent company in New York. She has been in India since July and is here specially to launch the company. “We are the oldest school in beauty and skin care in the US and we believe that India with its rapidly expanding middle class is on the threshold of a boom in the beauty and grooming business,” says Kalra.

The enthusiastic response of the student community to CVISE has prompted the promoters of the school to draw up plans to promote two more Christine Valmy schools in Mumbai and one in Pune in 2005. “We plan to open 20 such schools all over India within the next five years,” says Nariman.

 

Admission and fees

Christine Valmy International School of Esthetics (CVISE), India offers 18 diploma programmes in beauty and aesthetics.

Eligibility. The minimum qualification is Plus Two. Students who haven’t completed their Plus Two need to write the CVISE entrance test.

Study programmes. CVISE offers 18 separate modules covering different areas such as skin, hair, nails, etc.

Fees. Rs.5,100-168,500

Job options: Esthetician, nail technician, makeup specialist, wedding advisor, beauty product trainer, beauty consultant, dermatology assistant, beauty school instructor, salon manager, salon owner, makeup artist for film, TV and stage, spa technician, aromatherapist, cosmetologist, hair stylist.

For further infomation contact Christine Valmy International School of Esthetics, 2nd Floor, Landmark, Pali Naka Road, Bandra (West), Mumbai 400 050. Ph: 91 22 2640 32 96; e-mail: info@christinevalmyindia.com; website: www.christinevalmyindia.com.