I am new to the site and to the world of nails and would really appreciate some advice on training. I currently have a full time event management job. However, I have a personal passion for nails and so decided to complete a manicure course at the end of 2003. I thorougly enjoyed the course and already have a couple of clients. I totally love giving the manicures and people think I am mad as I do it for the love and not for the money that I can earn.

I am currently very confused about my current job and don't know whether it is what I want to do or not. The thought of working in the nail industry is very appealing however, I know there is a long way to go before I can achieve this. I am now looking to take the next step and learn about nail extensions. However, I am so confused by all of the different options that are out there. I have so many different brochures and information on different systems, courses etc.

Plus, there doesn't seem to be many courses around the Reading area (especially fustrating is that my local college does not run VTEC or NVQ type courses in extensions).

The other thing is money! My partner and I have recently brought our first house, and so, as you may imagine, funds are low! Most of the courses I have seen so far cost a fortune. It is very frustrating for that money is preventing me from getting the best training and that is may prevent me from continuing.

Sorry to have gone on but I am very frsutrated and confused about the next step that I should take - but I do know that I want to take it and am eager to do so. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you

Hi cj

I would reccomend the 4 day foundation course that creative run not quite sure on the price i think!! (sam or geeg can help you here) its around £400 BUT you get a training kit and a nail trainer! which if you bought them seperately would cost nearly as much as the course.
In my opinion creative is one of the best products and training acadamys in the industry.
I am not biased i also use biosculpture, LCN , backscratchers and creative.

whatever you decide i think you are better trained by people who know their stuff and not someone who is just reading from a book.

Just my opinion!!

good luck with whatever you chose!!!

Hiya,
I am sure if you try local colleges in your area, that one should run a nvq courses in nails If not then i would say carry on with the manicures and just charge for them. This way you will be able to save to do another course that requires a larger payment
Nail courses like the ones creative run are great value for money, You will be taught by one of the best educators and be using the best products Also you will get your kit in with the course cost.
So i would say save, i know its hard, but we all have to save if we really wont something so important.

Hi

I did my nail extension course in windsor it was only one day and showed how to do gels, acrylics and fibre/silk wrap extensions. When I attended if i booked with a friend i had quite a good discount. The course is quite basic but it does include the full nail kit to get you started. You also get a feel for which system suits you. Now i'm currently doing a VTCT course on nail extensions. It takes quite a bit of practice but if you enjoy it, it really is worth doing.
I worked in an office for 11 years and i left after having my second child and as i really didn't want to go back to working full time in an office, i wanted to do something i enjoyed and i get great satisfaction once a done a set of nails and my clients are really happy with them.

Hope this helps

Shelley

I wish there were simple solutions to your problem.
The fact is that nothing that has value comes cheap nor would you expect it to.

Over many years in the business of nails I have come across so many situations where people have wasted their time and where 'cheap' turned out to be very dear indeed.

My advice would be to work toward your goal and take the best course your money can buy, when you can affor it. There are so many discussions on this site that will give you good insight as to where you might find a course that is good value and it taught using the best products.

One of our geekets named ELLA went into the whole thing so studiously and thoroughly before she made her decision ... she would be worth talking to.
If you want it bad enough you will attain your goal.

It's great that you are researching your options!

When I started my training I chose the home learn option, because at the time I did not have any child care. Home learn is tough and I felt like I had to add to it in terms of theoretical knowlege. I bought a few books which really helped. The kit is great and gives you a start in the world of nails. I soon learnt that it is not the be all and end all of training, which is ongoing!

My daughter is now at nursery and if I were to start my training now I would go with a company that has a good reputation for quality products but also very importantly...an ongoing education structure.

I lurve nails and am keen to improve my skills, but now I have a very limited options I do, however, have a plan

Good luck!...let us know what you decide

Thank you all for your advice. It is greatly appreciated. I am going to have a good think about what to do next - although I know I definately want to take that next step!

Plus I am being encourage by friends as they all clubbed together and brought me a acrylic and gel set from Beauty Express for Xmas! I just need to learn how to use it now and am eager to do so as it's just sitting looking at me at the moment and I desperatly want to know what to do with it all!!

Might consider the Carlton Institue in Windsor as it is close to where I live - does anyone know if they are any good?

I am going to start considering whether to try and get a Saturday job in a salon - do salons tend to take on people if they only have manicure qualifications and not extensions? I think it would be good for me to gain more experience of the industry and the workplace.

Anyway, I must stop rambling and do some work! Thank you all again for all your support. I think this site is great!

Bye for now
Carole xxx

Might consider the Carlton Institue in Windsor as it is close to where I live - does anyone know if they are any good? Personally I have never heard of them, what system do they train in? CJ I would really really recommend you contact Designer Nails for their training plans. I took a cheaper option and have regretted it for a good 6 months now I will be re-training with Creative hopefully sometime in the summer (finance permitting and availability) but until then I will wait and would not consider anything less
On the manicure side why not do this mobile aswell as the salon, check out the competition in your area for prices and services and print some flyers through you PC (i do A5 and cut them in half) and hand them out to neighbours etc..its a start on the ladder and call the education team at Designer Nails on 0113 0113 275 0433 for advice and the training programme. trust me I am sure you wont regret it, and if you browse this site you will see all the CDN girls on here who all rave about the training and support.

Hi

I went to the Carlton Institute and did find them very good. They use their own beauty products. I did the nail extension diploma course first and now i'm doing the International VTCT Nail Extension course from home and can ring them up for advise.

I hope this helps.

Shelley

Hello again! Now I have found this site I can't keep off of it!

Shelly - are you doing the VTCT course through Carlton? I know they offer some kind of extensions to the courses but am not too sure what this consists of. What do you have to do to complete this? How long does it take? Does it cost a lot more than the course itself?

So many questions!

Thanks xxx

Yes the course is with Carlton but i had to complete the Nail Extension Diploma course first which was a one day course. Basically is showed you how to apply acrylic, gel, fibreglass and sculpting. You also got hands on on acrylic, gel and scultping the fibreglas was just shown. You also had to do a simple test on knowledge i.e. contraindications and showed you different types of nail infections. I found it great to start as i could see which system i liked best. It was only a small group aswell which was good and the trainer could view what you were doing and tell you where you were going wrong. The VTCT course is more indepth you have to produce a portfolio of your work and once finished attend an assessment at Carlton. They give you upto 3 years to complete the course which gives you plenty of time to practice.

Hope this helps
Good Luck
Shelley

Sorry missed out the cost of the course, it was about £200 but i had discount because i booked for two and the VTCT then only cost £62 on top which if you haven't got loads of money to spend out is a great was to start. I also think that if you love doing nails then you will pick up a lot from your own research as i've bought two NVQ books through Carlton which they advised to get and this is a great site to get info.

Shelley

HI Carole at last another person from Reading!!!!
I can totally understand your plight with all this training malarky and your lucky to have found this site before you go and waste all your money like so many of us!
I trained at Southern Beauty with Star Nails who seem to dominate Reading for nail extension training unfortunately! However all I can advise is, like already mentioned before, go mobile with your manicures and save for the best training you can get which I believe like many others is with Creative. They offer training from Maidenhead so nice and near and she's a brilliant teacher there. They are also offering a training college too now which means once you've finished the initial training you can get ongoing experince with them which is invaluable. I haven't heard too good things about the Carlton Institute and considered going there myself but to be honest I think it's just an expensive private college and the money you spend there you would benefit much more by putting towards the Creative coarse. No one can do a days training and learn much about nail extensions - to me it seems a waste of time but hey thats just my opinion.
Reading has alot of competition for Nails in general so make yourself one of the better ones and get it right first time!!
Good luck with what ever you decide
Allison ;-)

By the way I forgot to mention that Reading College are currently considering starting a nail extension coarse but they are also planning to use Star Nails products unfortunately, so again i wouldn't consider it.

Thanks Alison - also pleased to find another person from Reading! Thanks for your advice - I too was tempted by the Star Nails courses - and then I found this site and have seen all the negative comments around it. Am now so relieved that I didn't waste my time and money there!

I have heard both good and not so good things about Carlton so am indecisive about that! However, all of these amazing comments about Creative are also making me think about going to them! I think I will have to do it like you say and save the money I make from my manicures so that I can do a proper course!

Thanks to everyone for all of this advice. It really has helped!

xxx