Getting started

[CeriBerry]

Ceri I feel the same, It Is hard isn't it, having the confidence to know your good and just go for it.
I Done my mani pedi course a few years bk and was so nervous I never started up, just practiced on my family and friends.
I've booked on Shellac course for Nov and am going to start up after that. So nervous.
I'm aiming to start just before Xmas as so many more people would like their nails done for xmas and new yrs.
My main reasons to start b4 before xmas are:
-I Don't have loads of colours & kit but can layer glitters for shellac mani to offer a variety, hopefully earn money to invest back in more stock.
-decent pics for social media to start up- getting a few pics of all the pretty sparkly nails.
-Also may get more referals as more people will be socialising at Xmas events and more likely to see any clients nails you have done.

Go on, try before xmas, its the perfect time , maybe just have a small goal to do 6 clients (family and friends) for xmas to help build confidence. X

That's a really good idea Missy. I'll squeeze in as many family and friends as I can before Christmas.

X

 

[Julsgels]

I have my first proper client tomorrow night!! I only qualified in gel polish a few months ago and haven't managed much practise of them since, so I'm nervous, but excited to finally "dip my toe in" and hoping that once this first one is out of the way it'll all get easier!
There's also been the added pressure as it's the first time I'v had a space for someone to come over- I've taken over our "second"/"spare" bedroom (more of a box room with a door to the communal garden!) so I got home from work and have spent the last three hours cleaning the whole flat! Then I've got to get through a whole day in work tomorrow before it!

I'm consoling myself in the fact that she was on the lookout for "someone cheap" and I can offer her a reduced "training" price so this'll be the only time she'll get this at this cheap a price; even if she comes back I'll add on a tiny bit to the price, and I've already starting selling IBX to her if she comes back to me as I'll have had the training by then!

So I feel your pain. But if I (laden with ridiculous amounts of not-sleeping-not-eating anxiety) can get through tomorrow, then with your confidence, I'm sure you'll be double as good as me!! x

Hi I@m just starting up too. Have 4 clients coming this week. Am nervous because two want French poand I find it a wee bit trickier!

 

[babybird54]

New starters....did you decide which system you wanted to go with before you trained or get the basics down then choose? I'm so confused with all the lamps etc and advice from others here!!! I've got my training next week and they are using gelish and acg which I'm cool with as I like both but the lamps cost a bloody fortune!! So much when just starting!!!

 

[Anna Ljungberg]

I did a generic gel polish course, and am now looking at conversion courses to further my education. If I could go back with the knowledge I have now, I would have just done a full course with a chosen brand, however I didn't know that was what I wanted 2 years ago, it's a tough situation, but education will never be wasted, whether you decide to go for another brand in the future, and both gelish and artistic are two good brands

 

[babybird54]

Thanks Anna. Think I'm in the same boat and only now do I get it!!! Typical. But if I do the gel training and get the certificate, can I still use those brands ? X

 

[Anna Ljungberg]

Most distributors only require you to hold a manicure cert to purchase gel polish so after your training you should have the require red qualifications to get yourself started. once you've decided to invest in a brand you can always later take a short conversion course to get you confident in the products and get taught how to use that particular system.

 

[babybird54]

Great. Thank you x

 

[Struckbyastar]

Hey guys sorry it's been a crazy week. After worrying she was going to be late, then early (before I'd had time to prepare myself after getting in from work) she was late.. she wasn't happy that I was in a flat, even though I always talk about it as my "home salon" and if you google-maps it you can clearly see its flats.. she had sworn to me she had shellac and not another brand on her nails; I look at her nails and the gel polish is so thick it could be a badly applied acrylic overlay! After 25 minutes in remover wraps I finally managed to get the gel polish off and she admitted the bottles of gel polish her previous tech had used looked different to my shellac... :/ she eventually decided on gel polish rather than the normal polishes she'd brought with her, although she went against my suggestions for rosebud (she wanted a plain neutral pink that would hide her free edge) and chose romantique. Two coats later (after her inspecting after every cure and being told NOT TO TOUCH THEM) she decided it was too sheer....!!! So I ended up putting a coat of rosebud over it. She ended up with small lumps where she'd been "inspecting" them and I think the black hairs from her black card I found the gel :/ the whole thing took about and hour and 40 mins and I hated most of it! I kept asking her not to just plant her hands on my wrist rest; that it was for WRISTS, she made clear her distaste for all things glittery, sparkly and anywhere near artistic (which is the route I want to take my nails..) and as she left she was saying her OH was texting complaining he was hungry because he was waiting for her for dinner. She refused to take my aftercare advice sheet and clearly didn't take anything about liking my fb page in.. I did get a fb message a day or two after thanking me though.

Feeling 50:50 proud of myself for getting through: disheartened; I don't have loads of people asking for appointments even though I'm embarrassed to even say how little I'm asking for for a gel polish, as I want to build my confidence and experience and hopefully earn enough to make up the difference after selling what I have of CND stuff, as even though I haven't had any major problems I'm slightly preferring my INK and OPI gel polishes colour wise. On top of a bad anxiety week (family funeral coming up and a BIG concert at a pro west end venue) this hasn't helped!!

On the plus side, looking forward to the IBX course next Monday; I have it on my nails atm win my first trial of my gelcolors! Thanks for asking guys xx

 

[babybird54]

Wowsers!!! Well done for sticking with it! She sounds like a tricky customer!!!

 

[Beauty Tips]

Hey guys sorry it's been a crazy week. After worrying she was going to be late, then early (before I'd had time to prepare myself after getting in from work) she was late.. she wasn't happy that I was in a flat, even though I always talk about it as my "home salon" and if you google-maps it you can clearly see its flats.. she had sworn to me she had shellac and not another brand on her nails; I look at her nails and the gel polish is so thick it could be a badly applied acrylic overlay! After 25 minutes in remover wraps I finally managed to get the gel polish off and she admitted the bottles of gel polish her previous tech had used looked different to my shellac... :/ she eventually decided on gel polish rather than the normal polishes she'd brought with her, although she went against my suggestions for rosebud (she wanted a plain neutral pink that would hide her free edge) and chose romantique. Two coats later (after her inspecting after every cure and being told NOT TO TOUCH THEM) she decided it was too sheer....!!! So I ended up putting a coat of rosebud over it. She ended up with small lumps where she'd been "inspecting" them and I think the black hairs from her black card I found the gel :/ the whole thing took about and hour and 40 mins and I hated most of it! I kept asking her not to just plant her hands on my wrist rest; that it was for WRISTS, she made clear her distaste for all things glittery, sparkly and anywhere near artistic (which is the route I want to take my nails..) and as she left she was saying her OH was texting complaining he was hungry because he was waiting for her for dinner. She refused to take my aftercare advice sheet and clearly didn't take anything about liking my fb page in.. I did get a fb message a day or two after thanking me though.

Feeling 50:50 proud of myself for getting through: disheartened; I don't have loads of people asking for appointments even though I'm embarrassed to even say how little I'm asking for for a gel polish, as I want to build my confidence and experience and hopefully earn enough to make up the difference after selling what I have of CND stuff, as even though I haven't had any major problems I'm slightly preferring my INK and OPI gel polishes colour wise. On top of a bad anxiety week (family funeral coming up and a BIG concert at a pro west end venue) this hasn't helped!!

On the plus side, looking forward to the IBX course next Monday; I have it on my nails atm win my first trial of my gelcolors! Thanks for asking guys xx

Oh my god I had a nightmare client like this last night!!! Hoping she won't come back..
First she decided she wanted a colour so I started applying the pink hard gel, then she decided she wanted french so had to stop and quickly try and sculpt the french on.
Halfway through she asked me if my work on my page was my own as her nails look nothing like the ones on my page; politely told her those were finished and these still need refining. She was on her phone the whole time so awkward when I needed her hand to work on. And to top it off she barely said a word, just sat there watching me work!
Normally, I'm quite confident and I'm happily chatting away but this one was horrible!! Worst one I've had in the last year or so and she was with me 2 hours
Just needed a little rant but well done on getting through your nightmare client though

 

[babybird54]

Hi newbies, i did my training this week so now wAnt to get some kit!!! Can I just ask did you all invest in the whole system of choice? The lamps are sooo expensive for gelish/artistic colour so I just wondered what you all doc when starting out? X

 

[Kirsty969]

Hi newbies, i did my training this week so now wAnt to get some kit!!! Can I just ask did you all invest in the whole system of choice? The lamps are sooo expensive for gelish/artistic colour so I just wondered what you all doc when starting out? X

Hi all I'm new too, didn't realise there would be so many of us out there all at once! I had my first client today and I think it went well. My problem is that I just don't feel I have enough kit/ look professional enough yet. I got a portable nail table (as I'm going to be mostly mobile/ at home), cnd shellac and led lamp, acrylic kit, brisa gels and China glaze polishes. I have about 11 shellac colours. 20 China glaze polishes and a variety of pinks and clears for acrylic and brisa. What do people find are their most popular colours (sorry if that's a stupid question), I don't want a load of kit that won't get used but really don't want to look like I've literally walked out of college either. Thank you in advance for any responses

 

[nixnax]

Hi newbies, i did my training this week so now wAnt to get some kit!!! Can I just ask did you all invest in the whole system of choice? The lamps are sooo expensive for gelish/artistic colour so I just wondered what you all doc when starting out? X

I bit the bullet and invested in a whole system i went with OPI GelColour personally as that's what my college used during my nail cert. From my understanding through reading Doug Schoons articles (thoroughly recommend!) each company specifically fine tunes their lamp to work with their product line and there is a risk that the product may 'harden' but not cure correctly if another brands lamp is used, which can cause issues. I've found it's been well worth the investment as i have peace of mind that my whole system is working in harmony. Hope that helps and good luck!

 

[nixnax]

Hi all I'm new too, didn't realise there would be so many of us out there all at once! I had my first client today and I think it went well. My problem is that I just don't feel I have enough kit/ look professional enough yet. I got a portable nail table (as I'm going to be mostly mobile/ at home), cnd shellac and led lamp, acrylic kit, brisa gels and China glaze polishes. I have about 11 shellac colours. 20 China glaze polishes and a variety of pinks and clears for acrylic and brisa. What do people find are their most popular colours (sorry if that's a stupid question), I don't want a load of kit that won't get used but really don't want to look like I've literally walked out of college either. Thank you in advance for any responses

I qualified 6 months ago and struggled with colour choices too! I started with around the same amount of gel polish as yourself and have just been adding on to my collection whenever i can. My clients tend to go for colours relating to the season and with those who don't red is always popular in my home salon, as well as pinks (bright and pale), a good nude and also black. Rose Gold seems to be on trend where i am right now too. I even had a client request a bright yellow for spring so now have that in my collection. I also use Lecenté glitters, their iridescent range is actually amazing at completely changing the look of colours, which can give you more options too. Don't know if I've been of much help but i wish you all the best x

 

[Kirsty969]

I qualified 6 months ago and struggled with colour choices too! I started with around the same amount of gel polish as yourself and have just been adding on to my collection whenever i can. My clients tend to go for colours relating to the season and with those who don't red is always popular in my home salon, as well as pinks (bright and pale), a good nude and also black. Rose Gold seems to be on trend where i am right now too. I even had a client request a bright yellow for spring so now have that in my collection. I also use Lecenté glitters, their iridescent range is actually amazing at completely changing the look of colours, which can give you more options too. Don't know if I've been of much help but i wish you all the best x

Thank you that's a really big help x