Essential nails course!

[GillyGirl]

Ive been on this forum for a few years, have not been on for ages, lost my password and blah blah blah have had to register again.
I did see the professionals thoughts on EN over the months but I chose to start the course as being offered to pay it off was handy and I could afford it this way.
I recieved the kit, started watching the DVD's, started using my products and then had some problems that really could never be sorted over the phone or email, I started thinking how will I be able to offer any kind of service to a client when I have not been shown how to use my product correctly. The nail on my trainer may have looked well after buffing the hell out of it, so what would a real person feel when I would be trying to achieve a good enhancment????
I put everything back in the box, called EN and told them my fear of hurting, damaging or infecting a clients nail, after some calls I sent it back and got my first payment back.
I decided that the geeks where correct, you need a class based training to be knowlegable in all area's of the nail and nail enhancment.
I saved and have now a few wee courses done, got proper quailifications and I am training in Bio in March.
I feel that if I had not have done basic course's classroom based that I would not have had the knowledge to give a client a full, sufficiently qualified service.
This is only my opinion and my dealing with EN

its a helpul opinion to be honest. its good for the discussion for someone who has tried both to put their comments on..

 

[naturalnails]

I apologise first because I havent read all of the thread but it appears to have got a bit heated as nearly every EN thread.

My take on the Home Learn courses is as follows:

They are in the most a good way of finding out if you have a passion for nails however how does the assessor know whether the trainee floods the cuticle with monomer, does she wipe primer everywhere, is the brush being wiped all the way to the first knuckle etc. etc. This will not show on the cards.

We can all do nails that look fabulous on day one, but what are they like on day 2, 3, 4, 5 and hey what is that whitish bit that appears at the cuticle end - lifting - and if you were in a classroom you could ask that LOL.

I agree at the end of the day it is all about practice makes perfect - but it has to be perfect practice! Keep doing what you're doing and you will keep getting what you have got.

To all those people who are happy with doing the Home Learn courses - fine - however dont dismiss advice from seasoned technicians and educators who have real life experience of employing and teaching technicians who have started with Home Learn courses.

 

[user 25446]

Home study courses will never be as effective as teacher led training for the simple reason that it's unidirectional communication as opposed to bidirectional.

What I mean is with home study you have to assume that the material is clear enough to explain or you have to call someone but they can't see what you are doing wrong on the phone. In a class, an experienced teacher will immediately pick up what you are doing wrong and correct you.

 

[Mikey dee]

Theres a lot of misunderstandings going on on this thread methinks!!!
First of all The Nail Trainer. The Nail Trainer is the most popular, widely used practice and training tool used in the global nail industry with hundreds of thousands sold over the last ten years to colleges, academies, schools, and nail technicians and students, including CND, NSI, OPI, Professionails, etc etc. It is NOT there to replace a model, its there first and foremost for the use of a student who does not have easy access to a model who wants to spend 5 hours with someone practicing nails on them, filing their fingers etc etc!! The Nail Trainer, unlike a human model, is always on time, doesnt bleed, or complain, and is available 24/7. Top educators the world over like the nail trainer because it increases real practice time. Anyone in nails knows that technique and skill are important but when you've finished that course what do you need more than anything? Practice practice practice. Hello, Nail Trainer!!!

Next, Home Learn courses are NOT there to compete against Classroom courses. As someone on this thread said, for some people, they simply CANNOT attand a classroom course ( full time mums, those in school or full time education, those in rural areas where travel is a problem, those who have fears of classroom environment etc etc, and those who want to dip their toes in the water to see if nails is for them!)
Distance learning has expanded greatly over the past years in all industries and nails is no different. Many find that they can complete an EN course, do another and another and learn this way, start a career, and even go on to win nail competitions. Others use the EN course as a starting point, then go into a classroom environment to continue their learning. Either one has its place, so please stop trying to compare the two!! If you cant physically get to a classroom course, then its worthless isnt it?
As far as support is concerned, I suggest any doubters view the hundreds of positive comments made regarding this on the EN facebook site. Thankfully we all have our own opinions in this world. Its a little rude to criticise anothers choice simply because their views dont agree with ours dont you all think? Thats not the idea of a blog!
Like them or not, thousands, yes THOUSANDS of people every year learn nails with Essential Distance Learning courses, and in a time of worldwide financial hardship, Essentials sales have grown significantly, worldwide,yet again. They must be doing something right!!??
All the best to ALL nailtechs everywhere:lol:.

 

[ellewopter]

I know this is only going to inflame the situation, but having started my career with an EN course i can tell you that there is no way you have the knowledge to do nails or real people! for a start you have no idea about proper prep as you have no experience of removing non living tissue from the nail plate, fair enough you may be able to produce a nail that looks good but will it last? it is no substitute for classroom based education and IMO only serves to let you discover whether you would like doing nails. Then you have the fact that you are using products designed for use on a training hand and what real use is that to anyone, you only have to go out any pay out for proper products and training.
Sorry about the rant but i had to have my say!!!!

 

[loreli1981]

I wasn't aware that students are expected to do 30 sets of nails in their class room based training in their 3/5 day course... :grr:

Or is that just Essential nails course expectations - even if it takes you 3 weeks or 3 months??

 

[GillyGirl]

It seems like we'll all be 'discussing' this until we are blue in the face...... or possibly green like this poor thing :green:
I think Mikes post was a worthy one. Home learning is on the increase as people now work harder, do longer hours etc and dont always have the chance to get into the classroom. I think good techs will come from either source if they try hard enough and continue learning throughout their career, those who treat a home learning course as a get rich quick sheme will be dissapointed!
I also think this thread will be very helpful for people considering the course, it shows both very long sides of the argument for them to view!!
I'm personally finished discussing this now as i dont need to prove anything, hopefully my nails will do that for me one day!!!
Happy posting eveyone!!!

 

[ellewopter]

and what is the point of doing that many nails if you are not actually gsing the knowledge you need? i have done numerous courses ranging from day courses or over many months but what actually counts is that you are learning something worthwhile, i just dont want to see people wasting money and time and dare i say it damaging the industry ( not directed at anyone before i start an argument!!)

 

[Rubia]

Ok so everyones getting very heated on here. :irked:

FOR ALL YOU ENP STUDENTS OUT THERE!

please ignore all these silly comments and concentrate on getting your ENP NVQ reconised qualification. In the nail industry there are many very unprofesional people who, without any basis what so ever, feel the need to talk badly of other companies to protect there own. Sad really isnt it!! What you need to keep in mind is that you can find very postive help, with no limits on the ENP facebook page and the links that are availalble from there. ALSO REMEMBER YOU HAVE CONSTANCE STUDENT SUPPORT AVAILABLE FROM QUALIFIED EDUCATORS, BY EMAIL AND TELEPHONE, USE IT , ITS THERE TO HELP YOU!!

As a nail technician and international educator, originally CND trained, i have had the privilige to work with some of the industries best, and i can fully recommend the ENP courses as a starting point. But as with ANY talent, nails is something that you must work hard to develop to become one of the best. Any nail tech, wether shes been trained with cnd, enp , nsi or any other company must continually carry on learning new skills and keeping up to her education.

ENP have a fab product range that provides beautiful results and those that havent had those results are obviously not using it correctly! maybe they need to do one of the courses and improve theyre skills instead of been so narrow minded!

good look to all you fab students and please make sure you keep in contact with me ..
kind regards
Your ENP Educator!! BG xx :lol:

 

[ellewopter]

Have to say lack of support was never an issue, lack of experience on a HUMAN was

 

[misteza]

WHOA!

It's sure getting a lil heated in here. Whole point of the post was to ask for peoples opinion and such and I sure did get it. :green:
Well anyhow thankyou for the advice.

Just to clear things up, everyone has valid points. I won't say I can't go college, I will say I won't right now because of my financial situation and the fact I am working TOO many hours trying to save up some money to go to university and do my social work degree (very irrelevant to beauty I know).
So EN seemed the way to go for me, so far I've been getting frustrated with not having someone there to watch over me and deal with my queries straight away, but then again, I find it a challenge to research why I am going wrong, the right way to do it etc etc. (which I found I was doing in college the majority of the time anyway)

I have already passed my man & ped unit. I know the anatomy and physiology of the nail, hand and arm and how to give a manicure. But to be fair EN doesn't offer much about this.

I think that EN is a good start for me, it has got me straight into the swing of things, practising on applying tips, building up the gel etc etc. I want to first master the art of applying it beautifully, then master the art of taking it off and dealing with problems, queries and so on.

Practise will make perfect here, the nail trainer is a brilliant invention and I couldn't get this much practise on a human hand, even my dearest friend would not sit there for hours watching me buss a sweat and swearing whilst I do all sorts to her nails.:green: I like the fact that I can spend 24 hours practising if I wish compared to a minimum time in a class. Before I get my head biten off there is pros and cons in both.

After this course I will take a short course though, with someone watching over me and tell me if I am doing anything wrong and as I will already know the basic techniques it will give me more time to learn if I am going wrong and how to fix it. Then my many willing volunteers (friends and family) will let me loose on them.

Anyways I shall be investing in another adhesive (thanks for the recommendations ladies) and will keep practising until I got it.

O and I do think it's a little unfair for anyone to say they wouldn't respect someone who took a home learning course or would never employ someone who done a nail training course. A bit snobby for my liking. If your excellent at what you do, you will get somewhere regardless of where you started.

Happy thoughts all lol!

x

 

[ellewopter]

in my salon i would not employ someone who had only done an EN course, because speaking as someone who has done one, you do not cover everything you need to know for me to be comfortable to have someone woring in my salon, just my oppinion, no disrespect if you understand that you will need to do more to have a realistic chance of being an amazing tech and getting the most from your career.

 

[misteza]

in my salon i would not employ someone who had only done an EN course, because speaking as someone who has done one, you do not cover everything you need to know for me to be comfortable to have someone woring in my salon, just my oppinion, no disrespect if you understand that you will need to do more to have a realistic chance of being an amazing tech and getting the most from your career.

I can respect what you say, I myself would take more courses and further my knowledge in order for me to confidently perform a variety of nail treatments on a variety of clients, I mean I have only started the EN course and from doing a little research on products etc I've found 100's of products and courses out there, there's so much to learn and so many possibilties.

I just hope that me having done an EN course will not put off potential employment without considering what I have learnt and what I could do and my willingness to learn more.

 

[loreli1981]

I can respect what you say, I myself would take more courses and further my knowledge in order for me to confidently perform a variety of nail treatments on a variety of clients, I mean I have only started the EN course and from doing a little research on products etc I've found 100's of products and courses out there, there's so much to learn and so many possibilties.

I just hope that me having done an EN course will not put off potential employment without considering what I have learnt and what I could do and my willingness to learn more.

It won't put off employment don't worry, there is just a few people who think the worst of us... remember how big the industry is and how many of us are doing this course:lol:... I'm in exactly the same boat as you but i have 8 years experience of working in a salon F/T and this was the the best option for me, i know how hard you all work, we all strive for the same, we dont do the course and intend to to do crap nails!! its obvious we are going to work as hard as we can.

I mean whos gonna pay for a full set then come back for a rebalance if we dont know what we are doing! xx

 

[loreli1981]

and what is the point of doing that many nails if you are not actually gsing the knowledge you need? i have done numerous courses ranging from day courses or over many months but what actually counts is that you are learning something worthwhile, i just dont want to see people wasting money and time and dare i say it damaging the industry ( not directed at anyone before i start an argument!!)

I have 8 yrs experience being a nail tech, albeit unqualified but salon trained under my boss who was creative trained in the states.. he refused to pay to put me through courses and expected me to buy the business from him. I realised without a qualification this was so stupid that i left the salon and took up a 9-5 'normal; job.

What do you think about someone like me taking this course? am i wasting money getting a qualification in something i truely have a passion for?:irked:

 

[Carole.B]

I embarked on the En course after doing a year at college gaining my City & Guilds level 2 in nails, so knew all about health & safety, anatomy & physiology very important learning to the nail technician, that EN don't go deeper enough into.

I had all the problems you see in threads on here. But taking classroom courses after qualifying with En made me realise I'd made the wrong decision, yes it is a matter of choice but this site is here to guide you and give you information to make you a great nail tech so please don't take it the wrong way when they give their advice and opinion, you have the choice to take or leave it. My advice would be think very carefully, if its for financial reasons its doesn't save you in the end. As for child care reasons I can understand that but treat it as just the very first step.

What does amaze me is that a lot of these courses let people lose with hazzardous chemicals without any basic prior training.

I do not wish to offend anyone just my thoughts..xx

 

[julia_james]

I wasn't aware that students are expected to do 30 sets of nails in their class room based training in their 3/5 day course... :grr:

Or is that just Essential nails course expectations - even if it takes you 3 weeks or 3 months??

how many full sets do you have to do to be CND qualified

how do you fit in 30 sets of nails in a 3 or 5 day course if you only take 1 model in?

 

[Bagpuss]

Its not about how many sets you have to do...its about showing with the set you apply on your model that you have understood what you have been taught....its so that they can see your prep and application and guide you through that set.....its up to you afterwords to practice the skills you have been shown. Its not a case of not being qualified until you have done x amount of sets in the classroom.

No-one is expecting anyone to leave the classroom and be producing perfect nails.....you are given the skills and knowledge required....the perfecting those skills is up to you.

I personally couldn't have done a home learn course because i know myself.....i know how i learn...i know that i need to be personally shown something for it to make sense.....thats why i did my training in class.

 

[ellewopter]

I have 8 yrs experience being a nail tech, albeit unqualified but salon trained under my boss who was creative trained in the states.. he refused to pay to put me through courses and expected me to buy the business from him. I realised without a qualification this was so stupid that i left the salon and took up a 9-5 'normal; job.

What do you think about someone like me taking this course? am i wasting money getting a qualification in something i truely have a passion for?:irked:

Possibly, but i would rather you had a more recognised qualification, i would have no way of knowing that you had received the correct creative training from your boss (im not questioning you btw )and i couldn't afford to take chances with my business sorry if that sounds harsh but its just my opinion, i just wouldn't want anyone to make the mistake i did, which was to do a en course and spend out again to gain the education i needed, if that is all you can do to begin with then fair enough, but make sure you realise that it is only a basic starting point.
Your situation is clearly different and not a starting point, but i still wouldnt spend out twice to get the qualification i needed.

 

[Vetty]

how many full sets do you have to do to be CND qualified

how do you fit in 30 sets of nails in a 3 or 5 day course if you only take 1 model in?

There is homework each night of the CND Foundation Course which when I did it was done on a Nail Trainer..... That is combined with working in class on firstly a NT then a live model so your educator can see what you're doing and how you're doing it so she can correct all the mistakes. As Angie said it not a numbers game with CND it's about working correctly and showing the educator that you have grasped the process. Don't forget you also have to pass a written exam to pass the CND Foundation Course.

I've said this before but I'll say it again, I don't understand how anyone can class themselves as 'qualified' when no-one has seen them work face to face. There is so much more to doing enhancements than the end result, for example, correct prep, preventing over-exposure, sculpting with your brush not your file....... That can only be taught face to face and then practiced under a watchful eye.

If I discovered that my hairdresser had only worked on a plastic head before cutting the hair of paying customers I would be horrified - how is that different with Nail Techs?