Are Amateur/lifestyle Mistresses "safe" to play with? Do the large & in charge Ladies of the "munch" have the necessary training, and experience to Domme your world?
Interesting to bring this up on a forum for and by pros. It's kind of like asking a forum for professional bakers how everyone felt about asking that lady at church to do your wedding cake instead.
Anyway, I think it's like a Venn diagram of two, somewhat overlapping circles.
Yes, they may both do kink. Yes, they may both be women. Yes, they may both top -- maybe even Dominate -- you.
An amateur can absolutely be safe to play with, just as a "professional" may not be. (As we always say, "Due your due diligence!")
But the whole idea of a professional is that certain expectations are reliably met, including skill, options, safety, boundaries like confidentiality and "no strings". Some people need the assurance of those things.