Disillusioned with the state of the Nail Industry? - here's one for us ALL to debate!

[clara doon]

Wow what a great thread sass,

I have spent the last hour reading this thread and have a hundred views running around, My own views and concerns about our industry have been covered so I wouldn't like to repeat them.

I do think the way forward is with education (yes that old chestnut!!) and raising our own game a little and I don't just mean our prices (but why not start there!!) but our standards as a whole, as as already has been said aim for a different clientèle. By improving our standards with better education, hygiene and customer care (yes be nice to them!! ) we can attract a better type of client, and in return can expect to receive a better income.

I have many 'nail techs' near me who have done 2,3,4 day course's because they liked the look of it and thought it looked so easy, could just do their friends after work,save money doing there own (hey thats how I got hubby to pay for my first course!!) etc blah blah we've all heard it but I have stopped worrying about to much,as I'm THEIR nail tech !!!

I too ONLY work from home and ONLY work part time, I say ONLY because I thought for a long time that this didn't make me a 'real' nail tech.......
well I don't think I was. I had only completed my foundation course with creative and I do think it is just that, a beginning and a start. our training should be continuous and on going.

none of us can chance the world but if we all do our own bit in our own back yard we might get some where xx

aim high geeks xx

 

[Tiger Jay]

Wow what a great thread sass,

I have spent the last hour reading this thread and have a hundred views running around, My own views and concerns about our industry have been covered so I wouldn't like to repeat them.

I do think the way forward is with education (yes that old chestnut!!) and raising our own game a little and I don't just mean our prices (but why not start there!!) but our standards as a whole, as as already has been said aim for a different clientèle. By improving our standards with better education, hygiene and customer care (yes be nice to them!! ) we can attract a better type of client, and in return can expect to receive a better income.

I have many 'nail techs' near me who have done 2,3,4 day course's because they liked the look of it and thought it looked so easy, could just do their friends after work,save money doing there own (hey thats how I got hubby to pay for my first course!!) etc blah blah we've all heard it but I have stopped worrying about to much,as I'm THEIR nail tech !!!

I too ONLY work from home and ONLY work part time, I say ONLY because I thought for a long time that this didn't make me a 'real' nail tech.......
well I don't think I was. I had only completed my foundation course with creative and I do think it is just that, a beginning and a start. our training should be continuous and on going.

none of us can chance the world but if we all do our own bit in our own back yard we might get some where xx

aim high geeks xx

With you there
on a slightly lighter note...........hey may be it's a good idea to have these stick on nails and "acrylic home kits" in the shops for the public to have a go at. That way they can experience actually doing nails themselves and experiencing them all falling off by the end of the night. I don't think I've ever met anyone who has done a successful set yet!!!!

Long live the professional nail tech!

 

[mum]

Hi Geeks

(Well done Sas!!!)

Heven't been here for a few days and can't trawl through all these great posts. I have to put my bit in though and an SO sorry if I've missed points by only sampling the posts.

Once again, I could write a 'textbook' as a 'comment' but will refrain!

One of the many things I would like to say:

This thread (and most others) seems to focus on artificial/enhanced nails and this is the main area for a 'nail technician'. WHY??????????

How many of you have looked at the growth of natural nail treatments and compared them with enhanced nail services??

How many of you have looked at the growth of professional nail services...period??????

The focus is always on 'enhanced' here. In that 'focus' it is so often 'permanent french' or long and square with hard white tips. The percentage of the public that want these services is tiny!!!! The percentage of the public that are more 'natural' is still tiny but is, at least, 10-20 times more than 'hard white, square/squoval enhanced'.

I am truly not blowing my own trumpet here but, if anyone cares to count, I get more 'column inches' and quotes and 'titles' in the media than anyone. I have had a 'salon' team' for a while now and promoted 'enhanced' (traditional and Custom Blend) and natural at the 'extreme' skill level.

Stastistics show that the media (magazines) have the most influence and, yes, of course I've been successful with my approach but........what is growing???..............skillful, knowledgeable and effective natural nail care! Trust is slowly growing with the 'enhanced' but not nearly enough to make this the focus!

Now, with the ears, eyes, attention and trust of the most influential media 'movers and groovers' with a 'smattering' of celebrity endorsement, on my side and I still struggle to put any real focus on 'enhanced', how can anyone else? Outside of the salon, those that 'know' are perfectly aware that I 'naturally enhance' when I need to and can see it does not need to be 'page 3' but does it help.............?

Just a part of what i would love to say (and I haven't even touched on education!)

 

[Sassy Hassy]

Thanks Marion and great food for thought, and my new year marketing has been on promoting manicures and pedicures as I feel there is a bigger market for it ... and less perceived maintenance on the part of the client!

However do you think that the enhanced market would do better if people realised that when well applied you shouldn't be able to tell if they are real or not? Do you think it is the French unnatural look that has been the downfall? Or do you think it goes deeper than that? .... and please we'd love your input on training!

 

[phoebe_cat]

How many of you have looked at the growth of natural nail treatments and compared them with enhanced nail services??

I agree 110% with this. I for one am very interested in natural nail care. There are so many people that don't bite their nails, have good strong nails or maybe nails that just need a little help.

However, I've found that the majority of training providers focus more on the enhancement side of things. I have recently enrolled on a VTCT course, as this was all I could find in my area (and I will have to travel 90 mins for that) and after speaking to a few geeks, I have been told that I will learn very little that I didn't learn through my various Creative courses.

Enhancements aren't for everyone and I would love to further my education in this area, but it's not easy to find the training out there!

 

[geeg]

I agree 110% with this. I for one am very interested in natural nail care. There are so many people that don't bite their nails, have good strong nails or maybe nails that just need a little help.

However, I've found that the majority of training providers focus more on the enhancement side of things. I have recently enrolled on a VTCT course, as this was all I could find in my area (and I will have to travel 90 mins for that) and after speaking to a few geeks, I have been told that I will learn very little that I didn't learn through my various Creative courses.

Enhancements aren't for everyone and I would love to further my education in this area, but it's not easy to find the training out there!

Training providers focus on what is damanded of them and there is more demand for enhancement training than natural nail training.

At the Creative Nail Academies, we offer training in every aspect of nail care and the manicure and pedicure courses are in depth and now even more so.

I think it is very easy to find quality training. Certain training providers have a REPUTATION. It is there for all to see. Trouble is many will not pay for it.

Technicians all complain they do not get paid what they THINK they are worth and then themseves go for the cheapest training available (instead of a course that is worth every penny spent on it) and then complain when they find it is not up to par.

 

[mum]

However do you think that the enhanced market would do better if people realised that when well applied you shouldn't be able to tell if they are real or not? Do you think it is the French unnatural look that has been the downfall? Or do you think it goes deeper than that? .... and please we'd love your input on training!

YES.....YES.......and YES!

Yes it has been the downfall and.....yes, it does go deeper than that!

This industry needs to have a really good look at its potential market. By really looking it will discover that the potential market will NOT follow what technicians 'like to do'!! It will only follow what it want to have done!

Sas, if I get on to education, Samuel will have a problem with his bandwidth! (sounds vaguely unpleasant!!)


Pheobe_cat

You're right! Where do you find really good education addressing what it is we 'do'......nails? Who truly teaches a deep understanding of 'the nail'?

Can't answer in a sentance! Sorry. It's taken me a whole career to even come close to understand and one of the best things I've done is gain some trust in the media that I tell it like it is and don't follow a marketimg story.

 

[phoebe_cat]

Geeg, whilst I agree that there is fantastic training to be had from a lot of the manufacturers (and I have done my CreativeSpa course and LOVED it) I am thinking more along the lines of prescriptive manicure.

I can give someone a lovely relaxing SpaManicure that will do their nails and skin the power of good, but if someone were to come to me with a specific problem, say, brittle nails, bendy nails, nails that split vertically, ridges suddenly appearing etc.

At the moment all I could advise is use of SolarOil, and in certain circumstances Toughen Up.

What I would like to be able to do, is, book them in for a course of treatments specific to their problem, which hasn't been covered in any of the courses I've done so far.

 

[Sassy Hassy]

Actually adding to my last post I guess my sales background has always made me push the enhancements side because I see an open market, I've said this before but here goes, I learnt this on one of my many sales training courses ...

Two men join a shoe company to go and sell the products in a hot, under developed country. The first man comes back from his initial trip abroad and says "terrible nobody wears shoes, nobody wants our products" and disillusioned leaves the Company.

The second man, never afraid of a challenge, takes his initial trip abroad and comes back with more excitement than he has ever had before and with such enthusiasm says " unbelievable, it's fantastic, nobody wears shoes, everybody needs our products, we have an open market"

So maybe we need to be more focussed in out marketing at why clients NEED our product rather than waiting for them to WANT it! We need to create that NEED!

That goes for anything you are selling - features and benefits!

 

[geeg]

Melody Jayne mentioned this in a reply about 100 pages back in the thread.

She said she blamed the white tip and To a huge extent I agree.

Ugly aggressive square out-of-balance pink and whites (in other words, competition nails) have somehow (maybe because that is all most companies show in their advertisements) become the yardstick for many nail technicians of what a good nail enhancement should look like and it is so wrong!

Do you know what? WE WERE MORE ADVANCED THAN WE ARE NOW 20 YEARS AGO. Twenty years ago my charge for a full set was 35.00. People were happy to pay that THEN and there was a depression on in the UK.

When I see what people are charging now I just think they are deranged.

Let's get back to doing beautiful nails that look real. THAT is the biggest thing that will set YOU apart form your competition. AND offer ALL services to your clients and all kinds of different 'looks'. NOW ........... how many of you can do that??

 

[bling nails]

Training providers focus on what is damanded of them and there is more demand for enhancement training than natural nail training.

At the Creative Nail Academies, we offer training in every aspect of nail care and the manicure and pedicure courses are in depth and now even more so.

I think it is very easy to find quality training. Certain training providers have a REPUTATION. It is there for all to see. Trouble is many will not pay for it.

Technicians all complain they do not get paid what they THINK they are worth and then themseves go for the cheapest training available (instead of a course that is worth every penny spent on it) and then complain when they find it is not up to par.

So true Gigi, so true!
This I learnt after training with Creative, even with the creative products i could see the difference in my nail enhancements. Beautiful to work with.

I have a rep from a local nail distributor who visits me in salon, everywhere ive worked she comes to see me and have a chat, it was only yesterday we were discussing this thread, & about training, & would you believe, a customer rang her up asking if she could do gel training but not with her company products, but with Brisa instead !!?
The caller said she got her hands on creative products off a web site selling cheaper than hyperion, but she could not afford the training. What next? This so makes my blood boil.

 

[Vetty]

Let's get back to doing beautiful nails that look real. THAT is the biggest thing that will set YOU apart form your competition. AND offer ALL services to your clients and all kinds of different 'looks'. NOW ........... how many of you can do that??

This is what I try to do! I'm not yet a truely full service tech (I don't offer Fibreglass yet) but I always ask what look they want, and usually get met with a blank face!! When I elaborate and say, well do you want P&W or Soft White or more natural..... oh, and btw do you want square or oval or softly rounded?? The majority of my new clients say 'I didn't realise there were options other than long, square and white'!!! Plus, none of my clients have encountered custom blending and nail bed extending before......

I still get asked for P&W a lot, but often once a client has become a regular they become willing to try something different and that is usually a more natural look......

I am proud to say (1) I never use white tips and (2) I customise the look for EVERY client.

 

[claireamy]

Phew! I made it to the end!

Only taken me about 3 days to read all the posts on this thread!!

I agree largly with what has been said. I've fromulated lots of responses as I've been reading through then forgotten what I was going to say as the subject changed and developed!

Anyway, I pay good money for my (on going) training and I do believe its worth every penny. I spend the whole day learning about how to improve. I spend the whole night thinking and dreaming about nails then I get up the next day and put into practice what I've just learned. Isn't that the sign of terrific training?!

I am mobile and certainly do not see myself as a hobbyist. Many mobiles might be but we all seem to be lumped into the same category a lot of the time by salon owners and are almost seen as second class techs. (NOT being specific to anyone here). I work part-time due to child care issues. I LOVE my job and am extremely passionate about being the best I can be and love furthering my career with great training. I do charge reasonable - not too low, not too high - prices and have been considering an increase. This thread has convinced me to believe in my skills and do so.

I was going to say a lot more but its probably already been said 30 or 40 times over!!

 

[Clairet]

Let's get back to doing beautiful nails that look real. THAT is the biggest thing that will set YOU apart form your competition. AND offer ALL services to your clients and all kinds of different 'looks'. NOW ........... how many of you can do that??

I completely agree with this. I know many techs get new clients by wearing long nails with nail art - it attracts attention and if it works for you - fab.

However, in recent months, I have had more comments about my nails when people say to me how lovely my nails are, and are shocked when I say they are enhanced.

I think sometimes the general public don't realise that false doesn't have to mean they look false. People don't have to know you are wearing enhancements, you can just look like you have beautiful, natural nails.

This is what I try to encourage my clients to do, and I think I have managed to get , at least , half off the french square to a more natural looking enhancement.

 

[beautynails]

Well for my opinion I don't speak for myself as I don't charge anyone since I am UNTRAINED. I just mean in general, Why does it mean that just because someone charges less than you that they are using cheap materials and are doing "shoddy" work?? What if it is soley hobby and they only charge enough to make a bit of extra spending money, or pehaps it is a second job to them, or their spouse works and they do this for extra grocery money?? When in fact say they use a quality product that charges $25 for a bottle of monomer, $15 a piece for the powders. Thats $55 and if they can do at least 20 sets of nails (most starter sets go for aroung $40 and claim there is enough product to make 25 sets) at $15 a set with that then they make $245 profit. Thats not bad for someone who doesn't use it for their sole income. Now as for my thinking resembling NSS nowhere in my statement did I say that their quality didn't matter. I think that they should use safe practices and that they should use quality products, my opinion is just that if they do and they still can AFFORD to charge less than you thats your problem not theirs.

BTW I wouldn't expect and apology a debate is just that. I wouldn't think about giving neg rep for it. I always say you never really know a person until you know their views.

I think when people undercharge it is everybodies problem. Every person who has a passion for nails should be doing what they can for the industry.

There is so much focus on oneself (in all things, not just nails), why shouldn't we all focus on the larger picture. The selfishness of the world is something everybody complains about, but never does anything about it.

To address the point about the amount of profit. What about your time? Reguardless of wether it is your sole income or not, why would anyone want to place a low value on their time?

Someone who is working mobile doesn't have the overheads of a shop, but what about all the other expenses?
Just a few that should be taken into account

1. Fuel
2. vehicle depressiation
3. vehicle insurance
4. vehicle maintanence
5. wages for travel time
6. wages for set up time
7. phone costs

And the list goes on.

Instead of being a hobbyist, why not work part time? As a hobbyist you would have to work alot of hours to pay for the groceries (at least you would with my food bill:lol: ), but working part time, charging proper rates you could pay for the groceries, or have that bit of indepence that so many women need.



The whole state of the nail industry makes me very sad. At the moment I'm working on building the beauty side of the business, solely based on financial reasons.

Doing beauty I earn at least twice as much hourly, if not 4-5 times as much, with alot more potential for retail income.

Up until now my business has been based on nail enhancements, & I truly love them, but the industry is so undervalued.

While I do enjoy doing beauty treatments, there is nothing like the feeling of achievement when you create a beautiful set of enhancements.

 

[Sassy Hassy]

Bernadette I couldn't agree more, we live in a vey selfish world, doesn't mean we have to join it though. Also I don't know how it works in other countries, but in the UK a hobby is only really a hobby if you don't get paid at all - as soon as you start to take any money at all it is classed as an income and HAS to be declared to the tax man even if you have another "regular" job.

 

[beautynails]

Bernadette I couldn't agree more, we live in a vey selfish world, doesn't mean we have to join it though. Also I don't know how it works in other countries, but in the UK a hobby is only really a hobby if you don't get paid at all - as soon as you start to take any money at all it is classed as an income and HAS to be declared to the tax man even if you have another "regular" job.

It's the same sort of thing here. Any income should be declared, although here it's very easy to not do the right thing. Many people with that 'pin money' attitude work on a cash basis, no insurance, blah, blah, blah, I'm sure you know how the rest of it goes.

It all degrades the industry. Anybody who cares about what they do should respect the industry as a whole, and I'm sorry to say I have very little respect for those who don't.

 

[nailsismygame]

I have been licensed for 16 yrs. When I first received my license, the NSS movement was just getting legs. It was very hard to find work here in Maryland to do nails so I only did it for friends and family. Eventually, I worked in a NSS salon for 3 yrs. The one thing I learned is that even thought your thread is not about them, most problems are rooted in their salons. The self doubt, the constant battle with people over good vs bad enhancements, etc. I repeat this alot....where you build your business is in service & sanitation & knowledge....if you are good at what you do, you are already above them and that is how you conduct your business. As if they are beneath you. I worked for them as a handpaint artist only. They would not let me perform other services and the reason is sanitation. A skilled nail technician is not going to do the things that they do as far as clealiness is concerned. Cutting sanitation is how they build their business. The salon I worked in had 13 techs and 11 spa stations. They MAY clean the spas once at the end of the day. During the day they only used alcohol to clean them, if that. And lets not talk about cleaning implements....rarely happened. They don't care about clients, when a person walks into their salon that person is money; nothing more than dollar signs. Charge what you feel your value is. Don't let them make you drop your prices. In dropping your prices you drop to their level. I don't know about you girls but my work is worth more than that to me.

 

[mynails13]

WOW! Great thread! Took me a while to get here, have to confess I did some page-skipping, too!

I totally agree with the rest of you...even though I've just started in the business less than a year ago. You really really have to be passionate about doing nails because just like everything else precious to you-you have to work at it all the time if you want it to improve. Even though I graduated from Nail School and received my license from the State I live in, I know I can't do a full set on someone yet that is worth the $60.00 we charge at the salon I work in. We were specifically told at school that the main goal for the instructors was to be sure we passed the state licensing exam! Thank God I am humble enough to know that I'm not the best there is out there and that I can start my own business! I would never make it!

Sticking with the original question, I hope/wish that there was more information out there for the Public to be educated with. Before I went to school, I didn't know what the difference was between acrylics, gels, fiberglass, tips etc. Now I try to educate the clients who come to me for manicures and pedicures about the difference between services and the difference between a regular salon and a discount salon.

Too bad there wasn't something we could use on the Internet to spread the message.........OR IS THERE??

 

[beckyboop922]

Hello Sassy, thank you for taking the time to write such a brilliant thread, I agree with every word you say.
I am 38 and I did manicure and pedicure straight from college when I was 16 followed by a lenghty stint with OPI for nail enhancements, the minute an NVQ became availabe in mainsteam college did that too followed by years and years of ongoing training with CDN. I am good at what I do, I have passion for it and have never known any other job my entire adult life, I was mobile for 15 years and very happy I earned a well above average wage doing something I loved then I had some kind of depression/breakdown due to domestic violence, it took me a year and a half to recover and feel 'normal' again, by the time I was ready to return to work the nail industry was on it's knees. I have spent over 20K trying to re-invent myself as a nail technician in the last 4 years since my illness, I have tried mobile, this included advertsing the fact that I am charging £30 for a full set, I did this deliberatley because the competition in the local newspapers was tough and they were advertising at the £15-18 mark for a full set I thought people would read it and it would dawn on them that I am charging more because of the experience and qualifcations I stated in my ad and they would realise you get what you pay for, I didn't get a single call just a huge bill for running the ad for so long. I have rented rooms/tables in a dozen hair, beauty and tanning salons and none have worked out for the same reason and that is the fact that there have been a couple of young girls from 2 day courses there before me and made a mess of people's nails, I do try at every opportunity to educate my clients but only one in one hundred will listen most want a quick fix for a holiday or special night out.
I am now working from home and charging £15 for a full set and £10 for infills and I am still using CND, I am doing this because I have a mortgage, a giant pooch and I have nobody to support me/help me financially but myself and pooch and I have to eat.
The only was forward the way I see it is to act and stop talking, if every person on here wrote letters to local papers, environmental health, BABTAC, trading standards etc and KEEP writing them then eventually something will be done, it might take some time and be hard work after all we all have other stuff going on in our lives, but I for one would be willing to go so far as to organise some kind or protest march and yes before you all dive on your keyboards I do fully realise how mad this sounds, the world might laugh and say "they are 'just' nail technicians" or the world might just laugh but we would be doing it to protect our living.
Here in Manchester the market is over-over saturated and not many have anything positive to say about nails, so many cheapo salons have come and gone and there are 2/3 NSS in each town for miles.
I feel if we organised a way to get heard and kept plugging away at it it would benefit us in two ways, first it would get the public's attention on a wider scale teach them there are techs and techs and second it would eventually do away with the 2 day courses and all they promise.
It sounds extreme I know but I feel the time has come to organise something, stand together and find a way to be heard, our livelihood is under threat, I am sick of it and sitting here posting letters to a nail forum where everybody agrees with us is great but it's not going to get anything done.
We have nothing to lose by trying, do you want to be president? lol and I will be spokeperson? We could start with letters to our MP's?

Much love

Rebecca xxx