New CAPS Subjects: Personal Care

Personal Care is something that everyone needs to attend to. It is a subject that affects every one of us. Our nails, body and hair need our attention daily

Personal Care is one of the 13 new subjects that was introduced to the Curriculum Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS). The 13 new subjects are known as Elective Occupational Subjects. This means that the subjects can prepare you for a career in the personal care industry. 

You can choose to study a maximum of two of these subjects. Here are the rest of the subjects:

What Subject Is Personal Care: Hairdressing, Beauty And Nail Technology?

The Personal Care Subject will equip learners with skills and knowledge to offer Beauty, Hair and Nail Technology services. This includes the following:

  • Giving personal care guidance
  • Performing massages
  • Performing personal care treatments
  • Planning, implementing and marketing treatments to paying clients
  • Creating a sense of well-being amongst clients 
  • Making clients feel good
  • Motivating and giving pleasure to the mind through relaxation and resting
  • Ensure safety in a salon
  • Performing salon reception duties 
  • Developing entrepreneurial skills

What Is The Aim Of Personal Care?

The aim of the subject is to develop learners who, upon completion, will be skilled for entry into the Personal Care industry. During the two years of study,  students will learn about the following concepts:

  • The Personal Care industry
  • Maintaining a clean, safe and sanitised working environment
  • Professional conduct  
  • Communication with clients  
  • Receiving and attending to clients and solving complaints  
  • Time Management  
  • Offering a service to paying clients

Why Is Personal Care Important?

Good personal hygiene is important because it involves keeping all parts of the external body clean and healthy. Personal care is also important for maintaining both physical and mental health. Poor personal hygiene provides an environment for germs to grow, leaving the body exposed to infection.

What Topics Will I Study Personal Care?

The study of the Personal Care subject is centred on the following:

Beauty

You will study the following topics in Beauty:

Nail Technology

You will study the following topics in Nail Technology:

Hairdressing

You will study the following topics in Hairdressing:

  • The Hairdressing Industry
  • Sanitation and Hygiene
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Professional Behaviour in the Salon
  • Hair Technology

What Will I Learn?

Here is what you will learn in the following:

  • Beauty Technology
  • Nail Technology
  • Hairdressing Technology

Beauty Technology

TOPIC

CONTENT

 

GRADE 8

GRADE 9

  • The Beauty Industry
  • The history of the Beauty Industry
  • Employees and duties
  • Beauty products, tools and equipment 
  • Safety in the salon 
  • Disposal of waste material
  • Décor of a salon 
  • Career opportunities 
  • Safety
  • Sanitation and Hygiene
  • Working environment Sterilisation 
  • Disorders and diseases
  • Personal hygiene 
  • Sterilisation 
  • Anatomy of skin and hair 
  • Disorders and diseases cause by poor hygiene practices
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Reception and administration
  • Service offerings
  • Reception and administration 
  • Retail 
  • Professional Behaviour in the Salon
  • Posture 
  • Communication

Time management

  • Beauty Technology
  • Beauty workstation 
  • Face preparation 
  • Day makeup
  • Advanced facial cleansing 
  • Brow and lash tinting
  • Evening makeup

Nail Technology

TOPIC

CONTENT

 

GRADE 8

GRADE 9

  • The Nail Industry
  • Décor of a salon 
  • Career opportunities 
  • Safety
  • Sanitation and Hygiene
  • Working environment
  • Sterilisation 
  • Disorders and diseases caused by poor hygiene practices
  • Personal hygiene 
  • Sterilisation 
  • Anatomy of skin and hair 
  • Disorders and diseases caused by poor hygiene practices
  • Entrepreneurship

Reception and administration

  • Reception area
  • Retailing
  • Professional Behaviour in the Salon
  • Posture
  • Communication

Time management 

  • Nail Technology
  • Nail workstation 
  • Anatomy of the nail 
  • Nail preparation and painting

Hairdressing Technology

TOPIC

CAUCASIAN HAIR – CONTENT

 

GRADE 8

GRADE 9

  • Generic Salon Skills
  • Health and safety 
  • Personal effectiveness
  • Personal presentation
  • Reception
 
  • Customer Services
  • Consultation and advice 
  • Anatomy of hair and skin 
  • Promoting of services and products

Promoting of services and products

  • Hairdressing Technical Services
  • Shampooing and conditioning hair 
  • Style and dress hair

Colouring hair

AFRO HAIR – CONTENT

  • Generic Salon Skills
  • Health and safety 
  • Personal effectiveness
  • Personal presentation
  • Reception
 
  • Customer Services
  • Consultation and advice 
  • Anatomy of hair and skin 
  • Promoting services and products

Promoting services and products

  • Hairdressing Technical Services
  • Shampooing and conditioning hair 
  • Style and dress hair
  • Straightening of hair 
  • Style and dress hair

BARBERING – CONTENT

  • Generic Salon Skills
  • Health and safety 
  • Personal effectiveness
  • Personal presentation
  • Reception
 
  • Customer Services
  • Consultation and advice 
  • Anatomy of hair and skin 
  • Promoting services and products

Promote services and products

  • Hairdressing Technical Services
  • Shampooing and conditioning hair
  •  
  • Style and dress hair

What Skills Can I Develop With Personal Care?

Here are skills that you can gain when you study Personal Care:

  • Communication skills
  • Listening skills
  • Observation skills
  • Planning skills
  • Interpretation skills
  • Analysing skills
  • Creative design skills
  • Self-discipline skills
  • Time-management skills

What Are The Career Opportunities In Personal Care?

There are a variety of careers in Personal Care. Here are some of them: 

  • Nail Technician
  • Barber
  • Hairdresser
  • Manicurist
  • Makeup Artist
  • Artistic Director
  • Aromatherapy Specialist
  • Lash Technician
  • Spa Assistant
  • Holistic Therapy Specialist
  • Cosmetic Sales Person
  • Facial Therapist

How Will I Be Assessed?

Here are some of the tools that will be used to assess you:

  • Tests
  • Examinations
  • practical tasks
  • Projects
  • oral presentations
  • Demonstrations
  • performances

The examination will consist of 25% of the total mark, while 75% will be made up of the School-Based Assessment (SBA).

Practical Assessment Task (PAT)

Practical Assessment Tasks aim to achieve the following:

  • Provide a measure of your ability to perform a specific task
  • Measure your skills or knowledge
  • Assist to determine the level of achievement of your achievement
  • Prescribes specific criteria for the efficient performance of a skill

Author: Collin Wilbesi
Editor: Sive Ncanywa
Date : July 11 , 2022