Professional cosmetologists use a wide array of equipment to achieve desired looks – equipment they begin to acquire the very first week of beauty school.

After you begin your cosmetology training, it’s time to start investing in everything from shears, clippers and brushes to mannequin heads and more. Many of the professional items included in your student kit can stay strapped to your tool belt years into your professional cosmetology career.

Most cosmetology schools provide student kits and simply include the cost in your tuition. Other schools give you contact information for trusted beauty vendors so you can make your purchase directly. In either case, you will occasionally need to purchase miscellaneous items that are not already included in your kit.

Here is a handy list of sites you can count on to supplement your beauty supplies throughout your training. You can find everything from extensive student kits to smocks and bottles of hair dye.

•    Burmax
•    Jazz-z
•    Universal
•    Sally Beauty Supply
•    My Cosmetology Kit
•    Beauty Kit Solutions
•    Professional Beauty Network
•    Makeupart.net
•    Universal Techniques
•    Marlo Beauty Supply

Unveiling the contents of your student kit is really exciting – it’s kind of like unwrapping your future. It also means that you’ll have at least one mannequin head of your very own!

So what’s in your cosmetology kit? What did you need to purchase that wasn’t in the original package? And if you’re already a professional licensed cosmetologist practicing in the field, what did you get in your original cosmetology student kit that you still use today?