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Learn classic and advanced facials, dermaplaning, chemical peels and microneedling at the MSTA academy: hands-on, on real clients, taught by medic-led educators inside Ofqual-regulated pathways. Whether you’re starting from zero or adding advanced skills, this is facial training done properly.
Medic-led · VTCT-approved centre · Ofqual-regulated qualifications · 1,000+ students trained
What you’ll learn
At MSTA, facial training sits inside a complete skincare education: the skin science first, then the hands-on craft, then the advanced treatments that build on both. And if you arrived here searching for a facialist course, you’re in the right place: same craft, different name.
Cleansing, exfoliation, massage and mask work, then the advanced protocols that turn a lovely hour into visible results.
Read the complete guide →Reading skin properly before you touch it: the consultation craft that separates professionals from enthusiasts.
Read the complete guide →Precise, safe blade exfoliation, one of the most requested facial add-ons in UK clinics.
Read the complete guide →From entry depths to advanced protocols, taught with clinical-grade brands including Dermaceutic.
Read the complete guide →Collagen-induction treatments on real clients, under supervision, in real clinic conditions.
Read the complete guide →Building courses of treatments that keep clients coming back, safely and ethically.
Read the complete guide →Every treatment above has a full chapter in the MSTA education library: free, in-depth guides written by our educators, so you can understand the craft before you ever book a course.
Routes, levels & prices
Four ways in, one standard throughout. Every route below is taught hands-on in Liverpool by the same medic-led team.
| Route | Best for | Qualification | Duration | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aesthetic Skincare For Beginners | Complete beginners starting a skincare career | Ofqual-regulated VTCT qualifications | Multi-day intake · 5-day core weeks | Priced on your discovery call |
| The Ultimate Skincare Professional | Qualified therapists going clinical | VTCT Level 4, routes to Levels 5–6 | Multi-day intake | Priced on your discovery call |
| Access to Brands | Therapists unlocking professional skincare brands | VTCT Level 3 | 3 days | Priced on your discovery call |
| Executive short courses | One-treatment mastery for working professionals | CPD certificates | 1–2 days | From £549 inc. VAT |
Pathway pricing is agreed on your discovery call, because the right quote depends on where you’re starting from; finance options are available on every route. For context, UK facial courses range from £49 online-only certificates to £1,400 regulated programmes, and the difference matters: our Ofqual guide explains why.
Liverpool · Chapel Street · 5 days
Mon 24 – Fri 28 Aug
Accredited facial courses, explained honestly
Here’s what nobody selling a one-day certificate wants you to know: in the UK, anyonecan run an “accredited facial course.” Accreditation is a private arrangement with an accreditation body; it means an insurer will probably cover you, and not much more. Quality ranges from genuinely excellent to an afternoon with a certificate at the end.
An Ofqual-regulated qualificationis a different thing entirely. It sits on the government’s Regulated Qualifications Framework, is awarded by a recognised awarding body, and is checked, moderated and quality-assured externally. It is the same regulatory framework as GCSEs and A Levels: a qualification that means something to insurers, employers and clients for the rest of your career.
MSTA delivers accredited facial training and Ofqual-regulated VTCT qualifications from Levels 2 to 6, through our approved centre. Which one you need depends on your goals, and we will tell you honestly, even when the honest answer is the cheaper one. If you want the full picture first, read our plain-English guide to Ofqual regulation or browse the VTCT qualifications we deliver.
Your route in
Complete beginners
Our flagship pathway teaches facials from zero as the bedrock of a complete treatment menu, then builds to chemical peels, microneedling and beyond. Ofqual-regulated VTCT qualifications, hands-on training in Liverpool, and support through to your first clients.
Existing professionals
Already trained? Take facial skills into advanced, results-led practice with VTCT Level 4 and routes on to Levels 5 and 6. Built for therapists and beauty professionals who want clinical depth and consistent outcomes.
Not sure which fits? Book a free discovery call and we’ll map your route honestly, even if that route isn’t with us.
Advanced facial courses
For therapists and beauty professionals, our advanced facial course options move you from lovely-hour facials into clinical facial training: treatments that change skin, priced like it, backed by VTCT Level 4 qualifications and beyond.
Chemical peels, microneedling and dermaplaning at Level 4: the Ofqual-regulated standard insurers increasingly expect for advanced facial work.
See the VTCT ladder →The Ultimate Skincare Professional takes you from qualified therapist to advanced practitioner, Levels 2 to 6, with business training built in.
Explore the pathway →Focused, one-treatment mastery days for working professionals: BioRePeel, skin boosters, polynucleotides and more.
Browse executive courses →Medical facial training
A lot of academies borrow the word “medical.” Here is the honest version: facial treatments are not medicine, and no facial course makes you a medic. What medical facial trainingshould mean is that the people teaching you think clinically: contraindications taken seriously, skin conditions recognised rather than guessed at, and the confidence to say “that needs a referral, not a facial.”
That is exactly how MSTA teaches. We are a medic-led academy: our educators deliver these treatments in working Liverpool clinics every week, our protocols are built with clinical oversight, and our advanced routes carry Ofqual-regulated VTCT Level 4 qualifications, the standard insurers increasingly expect for clinical facial treatments like chemical peels and microneedling. If you have been searching for medical facial training or clinical facial training, this is it, without the borrowed white coat.
Real students, real words
“Had such a great week training with MSTA! The course is amazing. No question is a stupid question and you get so much support... Making sure you leave with as much knowledge as possible and continued support forever, with a great community!”
“I trained with MSTA just over a year ago, on their 5 day advanced skin specialist course. After having my little girl I really wanted to carve out a career for myself which offered work life balance... this is honestly the best decision I could have made for myself and my family.”
“Literally the best week of my life. Being my first ever course and new to the skincare world I was so nervous, but by the end of the first day it was like second nature. The one thing that has stuck out is just the support.”
Read hundreds more on our student results page.
Where you’ll train
Your hands-on training happens at our academies in Liverpool, including our home on Rodney Street, the city’s historic street of medicine. You train in real clinic conditions, on real clients, alongside a small cohort who usually leave as friends. Every practical hour is in person, with theory supported around your sessions, because facials cannot be learned from videos alone.
Students travel from every corner of the UK, and many make a week of it. If you’re local, our skincare courses in Liverpool page covers the academies, the area and the practical details.
Why train facials at MSTA
MSTA is a medic-led academy. The people teaching your facial techniques deliver them on real clients every week, in our own Liverpool clinics, and they teach the way the industry actually works now: results-led, consultation-first, clinically careful.
Since 2018 we’ve trained over 1,000 students and helped launch more than 500 skincare careers. Most started exactly where you are: no experience, plenty of questions, and a feeling that this could be the thing.
Want the deep theory first? Start with our free complete UK guide to facials and advanced facials, part of the MSTA education library.
And if you’re still weighing up the career itself, our guides to becoming a skincare specialist in the UK and what UK skincare specialists really earn give you the honest numbers before you spend a penny.
No. Most MSTA students start as complete beginners. Our Aesthetic Skincare For Beginners pathway teaches facials from zero, including the skin theory, anatomy and physiology that underpin safe practice.
Depending on your route: classic and advanced facials, skin analysis and consultation, mask peels, dermaplaning, chemical peels and microneedling, taught hands-on at our Liverpool academy on real clients.
Yes. MSTA training is fully accredited and recognised by insurers, and we deliver Ofqual-regulated qualifications through our VTCT-approved centre, spanning Levels 2 to 6.
'Accredited' means a private accreditation body has approved a course for insurance purposes; anyone can set one up, and quality varies enormously. Ofqual-regulated qualifications sit on the government's Regulated Qualifications Framework and are awarded by recognised bodies like VTCT. MSTA delivers both, and we'll always tell you honestly which one your goals actually need.
Yes. Our advanced facial course options take qualified therapists into clinical facial training: advanced protocols, chemical peels, microneedling and dermaplaning, with VTCT Level 4 qualifications and routes on to Levels 5 and 6.
Hands-on training takes place at our academy in Liverpool, on the historic Rodney Street. Students travel from all over the UK to attend, and we are happy to recommend places to stay.
Yes. The Ultimate Skincare Professional pathway takes existing therapists and beauty professionals into advanced, results-led facial practice, with VTCT Level 4 and beyond.
Across the UK you'll see everything from £49 online-only certificates to £1,400 VTCT programmes, which tells you how much the label 'facial course' can hide. At MSTA, executive one-day courses start from £549 inc. VAT, and our full learning pathways are priced on a discovery call so we can match the route to your goals, with finance options available. We'd rather quote you honestly for the right course than advertise a teaser price for the wrong one.
Level 2 is the foundation: facial massage and skincare, the core treatment routines and the anatomy underneath them. It's where complete beginners start. Level 3 builds on that with more advanced treatments and the deeper science that unlocks professional brands. Level 4 is where facial work becomes clinical: chemical peels, microneedling and dermaplaning. MSTA delivers the ladder through our VTCT-approved centre, so you can enter at the level that matches your experience and keep climbing.
You can learn the theory online, and plenty of websites will happily sell you an online-only facial certificate. We won't. Facials are a hands-on craft performed on real skin, and no insurer-ready standard of practice comes from watching videos. At MSTA, theory is supported around your training, and every practical hour happens in person at our Liverpool academy, on real clients, under supervision.
In practice, yes. 'Facialist course', 'facial course' and 'facial training' all describe the same education: learning to analyse skin properly and deliver professional facial treatments. 'Facialist' is simply the job title many skin professionals prefer, and MSTA's pathways take you from your first facial to advanced clinical work, whichever name you arrived searching for.
Thirty minutes with our team and you’ll know exactly which facial training route fits your life, your timeline and your goals. Free, honest, no pressure.
