What got you into NAILS???

[geeg]

As this came up under the education thread, I thought I would pose the question in a new thread.

In 1986 ish my step mother treated me to my first set of enhancements while I was staying for 6 weeks with her and my dad in Florida.

I had a rather ugly thumb nail as a result of an accident as a child and was always conscious of how yucky it looked. After the enhancemnt, it was NORMAL looking!! Changed my whole atitiude to my hands. I couldn't bear to be without my nails so I was taught how to use the products and flew home with $150 worth to keep my nails going until my next trip to the USA.

Well naturally Mrs Geek (who was 15 then - sorry sam) and all her friends and their mothers, were queing up for me to do their nails and I was running out of product. I phoned the US found out where to obtain the proucts, took more classes and the rest is history.

What's your story?????

 

[naturalnails]

My story goes like this:

I worked for many years as a secretary, then I decided I had had enough of the stresses and decided it was time for us to start a family - 8 years later, I was still working as a secretary - I then decided if I could not have my own children I would train as a Nursery Nurse - I did and at the end of my course and after a course of IVF I was expecting twins (they are now 7) - sorry if this is too much information LOL.

As the girls got nearing nursery and school age, I looked for something to do that I could fit round their school days - a friend of mine suggested nails as I had always looked after my own. I looked into courses but wanted only to do natural nails - I didn't want to do those horrible damaging falsies LOL.

I trained in manicure and pedicure at college, then went to the Natural Nail Company and did a one day Jessica course and set up as Natural Nails by Fiona. After a year, I had a reasonable business but turned away lots of people as I did not do enhancements.

Through lots of research and badgering my internet friends, I finally thought I had admitted defeat and would train in enhancement and boy look at me now LOL.

I got the usual comments about maybe I should change my name to "Not So Natural Nails by Fiona" LOL but I think I do very natural looking enhancements LOL

Along the way I have made some faux pa's and needed a bit of a kick up the backside to keep me on track LOL.

I have moved from using an ironing board sized piece of wood which I clamped to my dining table all the way to spending mega bucks on a house extension which gives me a separate room with ensuite and its own external door which would put a lot of high street salons in the shade LOL.

So that's me.

 

[Mandi]

I first had my nails done when I was about 18 (am now 31..eeekkk), in Australia. I was a poor student but managed to find money for this until I started my nursing degree and had to take them off

I had my first child and didn't have the time nor money to have nails, but whould get a full set put on for special occasions....generally charity balls. so this continued for about 10 years 'till my partner and I decided to fianally get married (6 days before we were due to migrate to the UK). Obviously I wanted fab nails for my wedding so about a month before my wedding date I got a full set put on. I fell in love with them all over again and desperatedly wanted to maintain them cause them made my hands look so good! So had 2 fills wiht this great tech but them moved to the UK.

When I arrived I was shocked at how much a rebalance was so I let them go. After a few months I missed my nails so much I got a mobile tech to come to my place to put a full set on. She charged me 60 pounds for P&W and a 5 pound call out fee. I thought that she must be a great tech to charge so much...I was willing to pay well for great work. Unfortunatley she was not a great tech. I asked her back to do my rebalance as I was willing to give her another chance (though she may have had an off day?) but no..nails still no t fab!! I got them soaked off at a hight street beauty salon.

I decided that I would do my own nails because at least I know I woudl do a good job! I trained with Essentail Nails home learn because I had a small child and no child care. I initially wanted to do only my nails but love it so much I want to do everyone elses too! I now have child care and am looking to launch myself soon )

 

[gracy]

my story goes back 33 years, we left school at 15 then, i went into hairdressing then qualified, also trained in make-up and facials the product then was by bud westmore if you look who the makeup artists were on the old films it was he who did the make-up etc and today you will see his great granchildren using his products on new films. i then had 3 children did`nt do any hair at all, then my mum 20 years ago bought a little box from usa with all sorts in to create your own nails on a form, they were a disaster lol, i was fascinated but just could`nt find any information anywhere about nails, no salons round here then at all, i then ran pubs, and went into selling new houses for 10 years, then 15 years ago a salon opened, i think geeg would know who it was, i was fascinated how my hands could be transformed i loved to have nice hands when meeting the public, but the salon techs kept any information close to there chest.
but then alas high powered selling and stress got the better of me.
my world opened up when hubby bought me a pc, i could`nt believe the information that was in front of me, i started to search for nails, and that started the juices flowing again, i thought i would go to college to learn how to do a mani/pedi then this site opened up called nail geek someone told me from nailtechuk, and that was it i was totally HOOKED. i think my first message was to the geek asking if i was too old to learn, the reply was your "never to old to learn" and he was right, YOUR NOT.

 

[*JOANNE*]

i have always been interested in medical stuff i worked in nursing homes from the age of 15 then i joined the royal navy at 18 and became a medic(whats this got to do with nails eh)which i loved.
i got a city in guilds in anat and phys and in clinical and emergency care which has helped me understand the envolvment of nails and product
i had my first child in 95 and for the reason i was a sea going medic i applied to leave the navy as i could not bare leaving my boy so another 2 boys later and a full time house wife i needed to do something with my hands, as i was allway stencilling cupboards.
i made salt dough and sold it at craft fairs.
then i studied with the new age foundation "tarot".
then one day 3 years ago i got my first set of nails done. by paula1973
it fascinated me the chemistry and structure so i decided to do the ent home learn courses and haven;t looked back scince
little did i know i would become addicted to it and it would take over my life and bank account.
paula1973 has been really supportive and a good educator.
i am moving house to mersyside in 6 weeks, a new life and love as my 3 boys are all at school and my money is saved to do a foundation course.
i am only just on my first step of the ladder and really excited at all the learning i will be doing on a subject i adore

 

[cmynails]

simple..... as with many others..... I had them done and thought, WOW - that's cool.... I'm sure I could do it.... bought the stuff, got into a right mess and then trained properly. Was a hobby that's gone a bit further than that!! LOVE IT LOVE IT LOVE IT :biggrin: :lol: :biggrin: :lol: :biggrin: :lol:

 

[grace]

My story is one of ups and downs really, I remember having my first set of nail enhancements god i don't know how many moons ago, but i do know it was a full on set of mma's you remember the ones that no bugger will ever get off. I also remember catching my finger and ripping my natural one up, gaining an infection and walking about for god knows how long with a green stinky finger. (it put me off doing nails)

I met my son's father at 17 and his mother was a therapist, constantly telling me how I was waisting my tallents as I was always in ore of her and i should go and train to be a beauty therapist, well a few years later 1993 I believe it was I took her advice and booked my place on an NVQ beauty therapy course, evenings as i worked in the day, total cost then was £1500.00 I had taken a bank loan out and was very excited. I went for around 3 months, looked forward to it every week and was enjoying every min of it, until I went one night and saw that all the door plaques had gone! the whole place was empty and no one was around, the whole place had disapeared so to speak.

The chap running it had cleared of with my £1500 and around 9 other girls money, so we were left all with massive bank loans and nothing to show for it, no qualifications. I contacted babtac and cibtac and just about everyone but to no avail. Again put right of the idea once again.

A few years later I was thinking about it all and decided to name and shame him in the newspapers in fact it was 1996 3 years on, my son was born and creeping up to around 10moths old and my sons fathers mum the theraoist sadly lost her life to cancer, i wanted to follow her passion in the beauty world in memory really. I had a call from a local salon who had said they were so discusted with what had happened they would fund my tuition and I could sit my exams and training with them. So I decided it would be good, paid for a child minder 3 days a week and went back, however I was to work two and a half days for this salon free of charge in order to have one evenings worth of training.

I gained my NVQ level 2 qualification and also did all the training for level 3 and baby massage, however things were not so great, i was being used badly running about and doing things I should not have been for absolutly no wages at all, being talked to like dirt in front of clients and treated like a cheep slave, it is a long story but I obtained the nvq and tried to ask for the rest I had trained so hard to get but again to no avail, so left. Again well put off.

Things went from bad to worse I split with my sons father after a terrible time to include more abuse and gave up on nearly everything to be honest. Then last year I was just plodding about trying to find a career path and decided that I would try again 3rd time lucky and all that, so from home under no one else I set up a tiny weeny little home based business doing the bare minimum. Consentrating on Nails but with the view to slowly expanding and introducing my other qualifications along with hoping to gain more. 8 months on and a whopping 4 regular clients on LOL and a mother in law that is forever needing a nail repair I am finaly feeling comfortable and almost like I have found my path.

I intend to stick with it this time and yes I love nails and the biggest reason that I have the will to suceed now is this site and the great people on it, I have had such lovely comments great advice and met up with Denise whom I think is just a great inspiration, along with many others of course. I will suceed and I will do my self proud well and my lovely son, so thank you to all you fellor geeks and geekettes you have certainly made my third attempt in this world worth while.
Grace x

 

[Nailsinlondon1]

WEll years ago I had my nails done, as I was a real canibal, and I mean canibal with a big C!
I stumbled across a nail salon at Lakeside, well that was when Lakeside first opend it's doors and was amazed at what they could do....
So,I sat down, had my nails done and it gave me that instant wow factor..........
My little stubs had been transformed and that feeling stayed with me........
But what made me want to learn this, was the fact that theses girls actually had fun!!!
They loved their work and it was a pleasure to listen to them........They made a difference to how women feel!!!
Then after a long sit and think, I thought now this is something I would love to do....I wanted to make a difference too, if I could make just one person feel the way I felt that day, I knew it would be worth it.................
I knew it took more then just sticking things on........so I found a brill educator with the help from my Nail Tech at Lakeside and the rest is history.........
I am so glad I did, because now over a decade down the line, I make a difference and love my profession and all that comes with it with a passion I never thought I could!!!!!

 

[pinkshell_nails]

Ive always really loved nails, and always had my own nails done, whether it be by a professional or a DIY kit myself!! I did things a bit back to front and had my babies before i had any career, but im happy ive done things this way. My youngest was just 6weeks old when i started a mni-pedi course at highbury college, and it really was quite a difficult time. I was still breatfeeding (too much info i know!!) and the journey from my home in the isle of wight to cosham for an evening course really did take it out of me, i was travelling from 3pm till 5pm to do an evening course for a few hours and wouldnt get home till 11pm. Anyway..... did my mani-pedi, then did my IHBC in advanced nail techniques, and i just absolutely adored it!!! I really really loved doing the IHBC course and could not wait to get qualified and to be able to provide this fantastic treatment to people, who like myself really didnt like the way their hands looked. At the same time as i did the nail course, i also did a full time beauty therapy course, and am almost finished my level three (only 10 weeks to go!!!). I did my creative conversion at the beginning of march, and am hooked!! I want to do every single creative course going, and want to work my way up to doing my masters, i want to be the best nail tech on the sunny isle of wight, and i will be - watch this space!! The thing i love about nails is when my ladies come to see me, they really loathe the way their hands and nails look, and when they leave they are like different people, i just love the look on their faces, they are so happy and walk out the door waving their hands and nails at everybody!! Lol!!

I dont advertise, only through word of mouth, and have 8 regular clients for nails and about 10 regular clients for beauty treatments, so i am now beginning to feel like im getting somewhere!!! Im extremely happy with my choice of career and wouldnt change it for the world.

 

[parkyojin]

my "story". Not really a story, but.. oh well... I've had an interest in nails since I was about 14. I had over heard someone somewhere explaining how much you can learn about a person by the appearence of their hands. I became obsessed with keeping my hands looking perfect. While in high school my mother noticed how often I would be doing my nails (mainly painting them) and commented about how I should look into cosmetology. She, at that time, didn't know that you could go to a school only for nails. So as high school wore on the thought remained with me. I was always complimented on my hands and how nice my nails looked. In college I was always doing my friends and roommates nails and hair. I was busy literally everyday with someone wanting their hair or nails done. I met my husband just after running out of tuition money and I had started working at a dry cleaners. Well, I just ended up working for a couple of years and then moved back home to plan the wedding. Just as I started to plan I found out that there was a school I could go to and learn just nails. I was thrilled beyong belief and even though I had major problems with my parents about funding I was so deteremined to go to this school. I was so lucky to have my husbands full support during those months before the wedding. That class was one of my favorite times in my life. I would wake up at 5 in the morning and travel for 2 hours on train and bus to get to class. I would stay at class and then be home at 5 in the evening and study until I went to bed at around 12. During the last couple of months of the training I ended up staying at class from 8 in the morning to 8:30 at night just so that I could stay with my friends who needed to make up hours and play with our nails. I don't know how I could of done all of my training without the full support of my husband and my friends in the class. At our graduation I had no family members attend, only the congrat's from my friends. To this day I always love pulling out my acrylics and my heavy box of polishs to play and experiment. Finding this website is a wonderful daily reminder of why I love doing nails. So thank you to the creator and his lovely wife!

 

[mui]

Geeg sawasdee ka

This how i am now Nail tech .

B4 i grow Nails long natural but after i break 1 i go to salon to make Acrylic nail 1 and if i break 1 more i go again and i like .

I like painting nails some time i change color 2 or 3 times 1 day and i do nail art for me so i think i enjoy this so i have Nails in my salon so now Beauty & Nail salon .

And now learn everyday some thing new .

Thank you mui from The Land of smiles

 

[Sharon Green]

I have been in Admin for about 20 years and have always felt that it was not right for me but didnt know where I was going to head. After being over weight for more years than I can remember I joined Weight Watchers, subsequently lost 2 stone in weight and gained loads of confidence :biggrin: . I was reading a womens magazine one day when I came across an article on learning to do nails at home and as I am in the middle of rural Herefordshire I decided to ring for the brochure to see what it involved and how much it was going to cost. I sent for the gel kit and worked really hard (or so I thought) and submitted my nails for marking. Unfortunately I didnt pass . On 1st Jan 2003 I got all the kit out again and had another go at it. I did all my exam nails on that day (didnt go out night before as hubby had to work). This time I passed with distinction. I then progressed to the airbrush course which I passed first time and gained another distinction (96%). Next I bought the Bio Sculpture kit and did the 1 day training (passed). I did my Creative Four Day Foundation course in Feb this year and passed on March 2nd just days before my 37th birthday.

I now have to decide wether to stay as Production Control Analyst for M & M Sports Ltd or to go and do nails full time. It is quite a choice as I now really like my Analyst job (I was stuck for 3 years in the warehouse as a clerk!). I am being 'sponsored' by a husband & wife team to start my nail business (weekends & evenings) and have got a really good deal. I am registering the company and buying a domain name (sorry cant tell you the name until I have registered it) so that only I can use it.

So now we are right up to date with how I came into nails, and I am so pleased that I 'went for it' as I love doing nails and want to go on to do spa manicure & pedicure and maybe sculpting.

Sharon

 

[crazy'n'creative]

simple..... as with many others..... I had them done and thought, WOW - that's cool.... I'm sure I could do it.... bought the stuff, got into a right mess and then trained properly. Was a hobby that's gone a bit further than that!! LOVE IT LOVE IT LOVE IT :biggrin: :lol: :biggrin: :lol: :biggrin: :lol:

Same here for me had them done thought WOW so booked onto a course although it wasn't until i did my creative course that i really started to love doing nails I was ready to give it up until i met Jane Cook and creative and look at me now I run my own salon,enter competitions and i am now doing my masters

So thank you to jane and creative you have changed my life

 

[Jenny-Nails]

I was on a working holiday in Australia about 10 or 11 years ago now, and was introduced to a 'nail tech' by my friend out there.

I was absolutely fascinated by the whole L&P procedure, I cannot explain it, but I REALLY wanted to learn how to 'do nails!'. The nail industry in Australia was HUGE and I wanted to re-create that glamorous (ahem...well that's what I thought!) lifestyle back here in the UK.

Well, 10 years ago it was a l-o-n-g hard slog to get a new customer, explaining the whole process of L&P, answering questions like "You put what on your nails????"......and......"What happens to your nails underneath??? Do they still grow???"

Of course these days, ladies in the UK are alot more clued up on nails, and I now have a loyal customer base...even my first ever customer from 10 years ago comes every fortnight!...bless her!

I am now a CND Master Tech, looking to open my own salon in the near future...it's taken a long time, but my dream has always been to re-create something similar to the trendy little salon I first learned to do nails in back in Australia in 1994. Patience, passion and determination.....and the goal is now in sight!

For me...nails is a passion, an absolute, necessary part of my life!!

Jeny - Nails

 

[riosol2001]

my story .. worked in a smelly kitchen for ten years knew the woman who had the nail salon. she said one day she had had enough ,so i just said i'll buy it off her ..... went and did the course and the rest is history...if only it was that easy . i was lucky to have been taught by a good teacher and after some months of losing all the regulars because i was crap ,and lots of one to one trainning, 2 years later i am now a master ,and have a pretty nice clientel thank god xxxxxxxxxxxx

 

[cndguru]

mine's just a little different.....my mom had a salon when i was growing up,and i knew i wasnt ready for college.......so i just figured i would work the malls or something .about that time my moms nail tech got ill and she needed a new tech so she asked me to go to beauty school,and of course i said no .(sorry i was a 17 year old cocky little #@$% and i just knew there was nothing in the salon 4 me.so she had my uncle talk me in to it.....working with all the women ,making all the money , working with all the women....lol. so i enrolled in beauty school and loved it ,not because of all the women ,but because i enjoyed making people happy. before my state board test i had a one on one with a cnd educator and i was blow away , and hooked from that moment on.....

guru

 

[smiler13334]

Successfull Sewing magazine, QVC and a broken heart!!

Sounds odd eh!!

Always used to bite my nails, then when do dressmaking training the pictures in the above magazines had ladies with beautiful nails and hands while sewing - (scary aren't l)

My lovely Mum when l was little used to make me tiny plastercine nails and l would walk around, acting like royalty LOL - until they fell off - well obviously when older and sewing they wouldn't do (plastercine is a sod to get out of fabric) :biggrin: l decided to grow mine and bite my toe nails to help with my withdrawls. No more now!

Then got QVC first show was nails by fx - wow the nail art kits blew me away and l decided nails were even more cool!

Broken heart - need l say more - so without the use of Anthony Robbins tapes (mind you wouldn't mind getting them to help me with some aspects f my life, but thats another story) i got the edge on life and started my first course got 93% and got the 'learning bug' then many others then NVQ and IHBC units. Soon to do Creative yipppeee. That was 5 years ago and l adore my work - along with being a single Mum of two - wohhhhhhhooooooooooo!!!

 

[lindag]

I used to get my nails done in a creative salon in dublin and told the girls that I was planning to travel OZ and would have to find creative salons over there, because I couldnt do without even though I was cramming it in a hostel of the red light district on Sydney I still wanted nice nail, they told me about the course so I deceided to do it before I went away and the rest is history

 

[Jinxx]

I had always been interested in both nails and beauty since i was a little girl, but i left school at fifteen to work in a hairdressing salon for £10 a week that lasted a while but unfortunately the owner deciced she was selling up and i i decided hairdressing wasnt for me anyway! Well by then i was 16 and living on my own and i got a bit lazy decided i had plenty of time to go to college so i did'nt! Anyhow got preggers with my gorgeous son a year later so i then waited until he was at school full time, which is when i also met my hubbie! So i finally went to college for my nvq in beauty, it was abit daunting at first as i was the oldest in the class with a child and the other students were 16 and 17 year old school leavers but i had a fantastic time and met my best friend who was on the same course there.
Even though i loved the course i knew i eventually wanted to specialise in nails but in order to do the nail course at college i had to wait till the next year as it was booked up! soooooo i rang Creative but they had a few months waiting list in leeds so they suggested Creative in Manchester but i had just passed my driving test a couple of days before so i wasnt sure if i dare drive all that way on the motorway by my lonesome :lol: . But i rang manchester anyway and they had just had a cancellation so i colud go on the foundation course on the folllowing monday! So i did the course after managing to get there in one piece and finished my nvq2 in beauty but deciced not to go back for the second year as my passion was nails and i wanted to concentrate on them!
I worked mostly on my trusty trainer, friends and family before finally having enough confidence to go "Public" :lol: when i went to the princes trust for a loan to help me get started (they ended up giving me a grant!), I found a local salon to work from, i had a few problems at first with timing and lifting but eventually the more nails i did the better i was, until i found i wasnt dreading the infills hoping that the nails had stayed on anymore :lol:
Unfortunately i had to leave the salon because of other commitments so i worked from home for a while. It was then i decided to go back to college and do my nvq 3 in nail technology so i did! I was still working from home but was missing the salon invoiroment so when my friend from college rang to ask me to come and work at the salon she was managing i jumped at the chance, and thats where i am working now and i have never been as busy, plus most of my clients who have been with my from the start are still with me now!
I love it!!!!!

 

[geeg]

Oooooooooooooo!! I just love reading this thread.

It's so much better than a short Bio. I'm feeling like I really know some of you now ... and my admiration grows and grows as to just how strong we women are sometimes. No offence at all to the men who have contributed, or should I say Man!!