From French manicures and facials to pedicures and perms, the City College cosmetology academy offers almost every beauty treatment imaginable.

Students and faculty also receive 10 percent off all services and 25 percent off all facial products.

Sherry Davis, a member of the cosmetology academy’s faculty, said she knows what it’s like living on a student’s budget. The academy offers students an alternative to pricey salons.

“I want students to know they don’t have to pay full price.” Davis said.

Because the academy is located off campus, many students don’t know it exists. Davis is hoping the discount will grab their attention.

“There aren’t signs or anything on campus advertising our services, so people just don’t know about us,” Davis said.

The cosmetology academy is located on Hollister Avenue, between Turnpike and Patterson in the Magnolia Center.

The Academy tries to uphold a professional atmosphere to make clients feel like they’re in a real salon, Davis said. The salon offers hair services including coloring, skin care services and nail services.

Forty students work the floor as hair stylists and manicurists, and 37 working as estheticians do facials.

For those who are apprehensive about getting any kind of service done by a student, Davis assures that the students who work on the floor are more than qualified.

Most beauty schools have students complete approximately 160 hours of training before working on clients. But students at the cosmetology academy are required to complete more than twice that amount.

“Our students have to complete 600 hours before they can work on clients,” Davis said. “We want to make sure they are confident. We want them to feel more than ready.”

It takes about a year to fulfill the required 1,600 hours of training needed to complete the cosmetology program and be eligible to take the California State Licensing Examination.

For the esthetician program, students need 600 hours, which takes about four months to complete.

After graduation, the cosmetology academy works in conjunction with the City College Career Center and local salons to try and get the graduates working as soon as possible.

Salons also contact the Academy if they need employees.

Freddie Berumen graduated the City College cosmetology academy eight years ago and is now back as a teaching assistant.

“When you stop learning, you might as well hang up your scissors,” Berumen said.

Berumen works at Attitude Salon in Oxnard. He commutes here to teach at the salon two days out of the week.

“I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t worthwhile,” Berumen said.

He would like to get a younger clientele at the salon, so the students have a little more freedom to be creative.

“We take it serious. Bobs, highlights, long layer haircuts, it’s academic,” Berumen said. And it’s a win-win situation for you, you get a great cut, and you’re giving time to aspiring students.”

The cosmetology academy is also planning to offer a manicuring program next year.

“It would be exclusively for a manicuring certificate, so it wouldn’t take students longer than six months to complete the program,” Davis said.

The academy also offers monthly specials that take even more off the already student and faculty discounted prices.

To find out more about the comsmetology program, this month’s specials, or to make an appointment with a student-or “professional in training” as Davis referred to them-call the appointment desk at (805) 683-4191.