SEMI-PERMANENT MAKE UP COURSES
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★ 1,345 reviews · Teaching since 2008 · Lifetime course access · Pay in 3 with Klarna
Browse by course type, or skip straight to advice and FAQs.
Semi-permanent make up is a set of treatments clients research carefully and book on the strength of the work they can see. Our SPMU courses take you through the theory, colour and skin knowledge behind each treatment, then you practise on synthetic skins and your own models and submit photographic case studies for a tutor to mark. Study online at your own pace, with lifetime access to your materials and unlimited resubmissions if an assessment needs another go.
Not Sure Where to Start?
Pick the option that sounds most like you.
I Want to Start With One Treatment
Each of our four SPMU courses stands on its own at £245, with the same theory foundation behind it. Brows are where most people start, because they are what clients ask for most.
I Want to Offer Them All
The Ultimate Semi-permanent Make Up and Microblading Course covers all four treatments for £595, against £980 bought separately. Work through them one at a time and certify in each.
I Already Work in Beauty
Adding one SPMU treatment to an existing treatment menu gives you something clients book at a higher price and return for as it fades. No previous SPMU experience needed.
SPMU Course Packages
Learn all four treatments together in one package. Microblading, ombre and powder brows, lip liner and eyeliner, each assessed and certified separately, so you finish with four qualifications rather than one.
- Lifetime Course Access
- Tutor Feedback & Support
- Tutor-Assessed Diplomas
- Private Student Group
Was £200
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Learn all four semi-permanent make up treatments in one package, with tutor feedback on your practical work until you feel ready for your first clients.
4 courses in one package.
Free Bonus 10-book Beauty Business eBook Bundle
- Instant access: start as soon as you enrol
- A separate certificate for each treatment
- Unlimited resubmissions if an assessment needs another try
- Business training included to help you launch
- Optional professional kits, or use equipment you already own
- 14 days to cancel before you access your course materials (see terms)
Most of your time goes on practical work, so how long the course takes is up to you.
After doing so much research on how to get started to becoming a nail tech after 23 years nursing and counting.. I found next step. You can learn in your own time and its very easy to follow along. Its informative and the support is next level. I am committed to doing this and have found it so much fun. Its very reasonable cost wise. Don’t wait, just do it.. absolutely over the moon with next step 💅
I recently enrolled in a nail course with next step beauty and it exceeded my expectations. The course is well structured easy to follow and packed with valuable knowledge. Victoria explains every technique clearly and attention to detail in all areas. I would highly recommend the next step beauty courses it’s a worthwhile investment that delivers real skills, knowledge and confidence.
Purchased the nail tech course, there’s a lot to learn & I am slowly working my way through I can learn at my own pace & time & this fits in with my current job & kids etc. The videos are full of information, I have learnt so much already. There is always someone to help if needed. So far I am very pleased & would recommend.
I have just passed the gel nail course on next step beauty, the course was great because I could take my time and go at my own pace. It’s easy to get in touch if you need any help and your problem is solved straight away.
I decided to sign up to complete my gel nail courses through next step due to a friend recommending it! I would not look back! Everything you need to get started is all available to you when you sign up, endless workbooks, step by step guides and videos! The team are also so incredibly helpful
I have recently completed the E file course with Next Step Beauty and this is the 4th course I have studied with them. I am a nail tech of 17 years and find the courses great for expanding my knowledge and keeping up with new techniques. Victoria’s videos are enjoyable to watch and informative. I would highly recommend.
I really enjoyed this course. I did my nail technician one with next step. I loved learning new things and if I needed to speak with anyone they got back to be right away. I like I can look back over my workbooks and any training material if I need to.
Meet Your Tutor
Victoria Arpels BA (Hons), Cert Ed
Victoria trained in beauty therapy, worked in a busy spa and lectured in further education colleges before founding Next Step Beauty in 2008. Since then, Next Step Beauty has taught more than 100,000 students, with learners in 65 countries and territories across six continents. Victoria demonstrates the techniques in our course videos and, with our tutor team, supports students through personal feedback on their case studies and our private student groups.
SPMU Treatment Courses
Take one treatment on its own, or build up over time. Every course shares the same foundation in skin anatomy, colour theory and hygiene, then goes deep on its own technique. Your practical work is assessed by a tutor with written feedback.
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Kits and Equipment
SPMU is practical work, so you will need a machine, needles, pigments and practice skins before you can complete your case studies. You can use equipment you already own, or add the matching kit to your course and have everything delivered in one go.
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What's Included with Every SPMU Course
Lifetime Access
Study at your own pace with no deadlines and keep your course materials for life.
Tutor Feedback
Submit case studies and get personal feedback from our tutors.
Tutor-Assessed Diploma
Receive a diploma certificate once your written work and photographic case studies have been marked by a tutor.
Unlimited Resubmissions
If an assessment needs another go, resubmit as many times as you need at no extra cost.
Optional Kit
Add a professional SPMU kit to your course, or use equipment you already own.
Private Student Groups
Join our private student groups to ask questions, share your work and learn alongside other students.
After Your Course: From Diploma to Your First Clients
Finishing your course is the start of the next step. Here’s how students go from learning to working with clients.
1. Practise on Skins, Then Models
You will work on synthetic skins first, then on your own models, photographing each treatment as you go. This is the bulk of an SPMU course and the part that builds real technique.
2. Get Your Diploma
Pass your assessed case studies and receive your diploma certificate. If an assessment needs another try, you can resubmit as many times as you need.
3. Check Local Requirements
Requirements for offering semi-permanent make up professionally vary depending on where you are. Check what applies in your area before you take paying clients.
4. Plan Your Business
Business training is included with every course to help you set your prices, present your work and find your first clients.
5. Keep Growing
Add a second or third treatment as your client list grows. Clients who trust you with their brows will often book lips or eyeliner next.
Why Choose a Career in SPMU?
Semi-permanent make up sits at the higher-value end of the beauty industry. It is appointment-based, it brings clients back as the pigment softens, and it is work clients choose a practitioner for rather than shop on price.
- Repeat appointments: pigment softens over time, so clients return for a top-up rather than booking once.
- Higher-value treatments: an SPMU appointment takes longer and is charged accordingly, so fewer clients fill a week.
- Consultation-led: clients choose an SPMU artist on the strength of healed results, which rewards careful work over volume.
- Low overheads: the treatments need a couch, good light and your kit, so a room at home works as well as a salon chair.
Popular SPMU Techniques Explained
Not sure what the difference is? Here are the treatments clients ask for by name, and what each one actually involves.
Microblading
Fine hair-like strokes drawn into the brow with a hand tool rather than a machine, building a brow that reads as individual hairs. Clients ask for it when they want definition that still looks like hair rather than makeup.
Ombre and Powder Brows
A soft, shaded brow built up with a machine using a dotting or pixelation technique. The finish reads like a lightly pencilled brow, softer at the front and more defined through the tail.
Lip Liner
Pigment worked into the lip line and, where the client wants it, blended inward to add colour and definition. It reshapes an uneven lip line and gives definition that does not wear off during the day.
Eyeliner
Pigment placed along the lash line, from a fine enhancement between the lashes to a defined liner. Results last up to three years.
Microblading vs Ombre and Powder Brows
Both build a fuller brow and both are semi-permanent. The difference is the tool, and what the finished brow looks like.
| Microblading | Ombre & Powder Brows | |
|---|---|---|
| Tool | A hand tool with a fine blade of needles | A semi-permanent make up machine |
| Technique | Individual hair-like strokes drawn into the brow | Dots of pigment built up into soft shading |
| Finish | Reads as individual hairs | Reads as a lightly pencilled brow |
| Shape of colour | Even, following the natural hair pattern | Ombre fades light at the front to darker through the tail; powder is even throughout |
| Clients ask for it when | They want definition that still looks like hair | They want a defined, made-up brow without daily pencil |
| Course | Microblading Course — £245 | Ombre and Powder Brows Course — £245 |
Many practitioners train in both, so they can match the technique to what the client wants. Both are included in the Ultimate Semi-permanent Make Up and Microblading Course.
SPMU Courses UK: Train in Semi-Permanent Make Up Online
Our online SPMU courses let you train in semi-permanent make up from home, at your own pace, with a tutor marking your practical work. You will study the skin anatomy, colour theory and hygiene behind each treatment, then practise on synthetic skins and your own models and submit photographic case studies for assessment.
Four treatments are available as individual courses: microblading, ombre and powder brows, lip liner and eyeliner. Each costs £245 and certifies separately, so you can start with one and add others as your client list grows. The Ultimate Semi-permanent Make Up and Microblading Course brings all four together for £595.
No previous experience is needed to start. You will need your own models to practise on and either your own equipment or one of our SPMU kits. Every course comes with lifetime access to the materials, unlimited resubmissions if an assessment needs another go, business training and a private student group.
Next Step Beauty has been teaching beauty courses online since 2008.
Mastering Your Beauty Business Launch
Training gives you the skills. This free guide shows you what comes next, so you can take on your first paying clients with confidence and do it properly from day one.
- Getting set up properly – registering as self-employed and choosing the right business structure
- Protecting yourself and your clients – the insurance, hygiene standards and licences you may need
- Deciding where you’ll work – mobile, from home or renting salon space, compared side by side
- Pricing your treatments – working out your start-up costs and setting prices you can sustain
- Winning clients who come back – consultations, trust and turning first bookings into regulars
- Workbook exercises after every chapter – so you finish with a plan, not just notes
SPMU Course FAQs
Do I Need Any Experience to Start an SPMU Course?
No. Our SPMU courses start from the beginning, covering skin anatomy, colour theory and hygiene before any technique work. No previous beauty qualification is needed.
Can I Really Learn SPMU Online?
The theory and the technique are taught through video demonstrations you can rewatch as often as you need. The practical work is done in your own time on synthetic skins and your own models, and photographed for a tutor to assess with written feedback.
What Equipment Do I Need?
A machine, needles, pigments and practice skins, plus models willing to be treated. You can use equipment you already own or add one of our SPMU kits to your course.
How Long Does the Course Take?
There are no deadlines. Most of the time goes on practical work rather than the theory, and you keep access to the materials for life, so you can work at whatever pace fits around your commitments.
Do I Need Models?
Yes. Your case studies are photographs of treatments you have carried out on real people, so you will need models before you can complete the course.
What If I Fail an Assessment?
You can resubmit as many times as you need at no extra cost. Your tutor’s feedback tells you what to change.
Which Treatment Should I Start With?
Brows are the most requested, so ombre and powder brows or microblading are the usual starting points. If you want all four, the Ultimate course works out at £595 rather than £980 bought separately.