I think that if one untrained person comes onto this site (which a while ago we voted about whether it should be for professionals only...I think the resounding anwer was no), and goes out and gets themselves some training, then that's a good thing....and it's happened already.

Some of the training courses supplied by wholesalers and other places leave something to be desired and would someone who 'trained' there be able to identify a bacterial infection, pocket lifting, onycholysis, even though they would be able to get insurance to cover them. Having said that if something terrible ever went to court, I'm sure a clever barrister would also bring the training provider into question.

It's a tricky one because we here are the minority of nail technicians and there are loads out there who have only done one course and won't pick up on stuff like nail plate damage and pocket lifting and a myriad of other things we have learned about during our experience and training.

On the converse I am sure there are loads of lurkers out there whose nail skills have improved just by reading and not participating....although I do think they should try and 'give something back'

It's funny - I never knew about this site until after I had been on my Creative Nail L&P Foundation course - and that was only then because I had seen an advert in the Scratch Mag (I Subscribed when I booked the course)

In whatever I do I like to put 110% effort into it and IMHO you can not achieve this by reading and practising by yourself - it helps and what you can get with that is a bit more confidence, feel for the product etc but it doesn't make up for the experience, tuition, knowledge and expertise you receive on a course, and more importantly the ability to ask what you are doing right/wrong etc.

I understand perfectly what the peeps who have a passion for nails say when they haven't the funds to pay for a course but will as soon as poss - I have been there - when you don't have any money it is really frustrating when you can't achieve your passion - but like (I think it was Angie/Bagpuss) said in another post - when I wanted something I asked for cash for birthdays and xmas and also saved all the coins (not the £1 coin) which were left in my purse at the end of each day so that I could pay for and achieve my goals.

As for using this site as a learning resource for non professionals, then yes I do get very hurt for all the geeks who have put in so much effort into it and I try to add some benefit back in return for all their hard work.

The unfortunate thing in life is that there will always be:

unscroupolous peeps who will take everything they can for nowt and not bat an eyelid,

those who would love to give back something when they can,

peeps who give willing all the time and get walked all over

The problem comes when the genorous peeps have given all they can and can give no more - then the takers start to fail - and then yup you guessed it - they blame the genorous caring helpful peeps!

OOps sorry didn't realise I had waffled on so much

I think that the matter will soon be out of our hands (hopefully) with all the rave lately in the press about hygeine it must suly only be a matter of time before the nail industry is regulated and then techs will have no choice but to get the appropraite training.

It is not just our industry that suffers like this. My hairdresser says it drives her mad that anyone can walk into Sallys and buy professional perming lotions without knowing how to correctly apply the products.

I think that the manufacturers should tighten up who can buy their products and where from. However as someone new to the industry I would have appreciated the chance to try before having to spend loads of money on a course as it might not have been my thing and I was really worried that I was not artistic enough for nail enhancements (I still might not be)
Perhaps if there were more "taster" courses with manufacturers this would help somewhat.

In answer to the question yes I think you are silly to try and do this job professionally wthout some sort of training.

I know that I am new to the site but I feel that as an 'untrained newbie' I should speak up... We don't all have £850 to pay for a foundation nail course right now. I have just moved to Scotland from South Africa (meaning it would cost R8500) and that is a lot of money. I got the Essential Nail home course and most of what I read now on the site is that without insurance you cannot work on peoples nails (and I believe that you need to be assessed in person to get insurance) so what good is the EN course? So after the course (EN) how do you get to make the money to pay for a different course. We are trying to make a living as well.

We ask questions because we want to better ourselves. (not just spunge off the site). You know - I can sit for hours just going over and over the gallery and wish that one day maybe I could do nails like those.

I have done a course in Bio but I had to leave South Africa just before the exam. Now I have to pay the full price again and travel hundreds of miles for the course. Is that right?

I am sure that most of you will ignore this post as I am 'untrained' but how about helping us out. You have all been in the same position I am sure.
As for the website - if you don't want untrained people in your website why don't you make it for professionals only?

Jacky

Jackie,correct me if I'm wrong but you have done some training,with Essential Nails????I think you have missed the point here,sorryBy the way I voted stupid.

Why would we want to ignore this post because you are untrained. It is great to see that your aim is to get professional training - i also did the essential nails course and it gave me great background skills whilst i was waiting to further my training (and the cost).

As long as untrained people dont tell paying clients they are professionals
and charge a professional price.

Dont forget we have all been there - and have gone through the financial pain barrier before we became professionals.

I am in the middle of training with EN and have done the full Bio course in SA. But as I said I had to leave early. I also worked in a salon in SA and got a certificate with them. But only once I did the Bio training did I realise that the salon training was pathetic.

I do apologise for lashing out but some of the post were just really harse when there are people out there who are genuinely trying to get something sorted.

Jacky

*~* You know, in all the years I worked on my nails (before I went to school) it was on "My Nails Only" I would have never thought of doing a set etc. on "others" (didn't even do any family members) - there is So much to learn and that I know I will continue to learn throughout my nail career. And that's what Irritates me Now is when I see comments from gals that post that either they haven't gone to school/trained At All or "oh, I just took a day class" and now they think their ready to go into a salon/mobile tech or Whatever Yeh, I know there are techs that even with schooling and all aren't that great (I know from what I Speak) BUT at least they got the Basics (sanitation, diseases, etc.) and so on and so on** I'll get off of my soap-box now

I believe you can get insurance if you have passed the EN course.

Jacky, if you go back and read through what has been said in previous posts properly, you will see that we have gone out of our way to say that we are happy to help geeks in training or looking into training, but not those who dont wish to train, I think its pretty clear.
Will bio sculpture uk not honour the trainin you started in South Africa, that seems a bit mean to me.

I might sound like i'm totally mad, but I aren't training to do enhancements to make money, I genuinely want to be the best at it. I aren't bothered if my nail career doesn't make as much money as my boring office job really (although it probably will, I'm so badly paid ). I have a real passion for it, I want to compete and do maybe one day train people. I cannot understand people who dont get the proper training no matter where its from. How can they have any pride in their work, it would be like me turning up to plaster someones walls, i'd have a rough idea but still make a b******s of it. How can people be so flippant about letting people work on a part of their body and how can these people get any pleasure out of doing their job, knowing they don't really know what they are doing, obviously they are just after the money. I feel a bit sorry peeps like this, they won't ever strive to be better like trained/trainee techs will, they won't ever have a passion for their career like we will so i suppose they are to be pitied.

and you can also add to that list, that they will never get anywhere either!! They never do ... because to get anywhere at all, at some stage you are going to have to train and train hard and do some work. Quit wasting all this energy on all these no hopers.

To the poster who did the Bio course in SA ... if BIO SA is not willing to let the distributors in the UK know that you have done the training and only have to pass the exam then they are worth s**t.

If you were a person who had done full CND training and then wanted to do the exam with CND in the UK I would let you and whats more I wouldn't charge you either as you would be a potential customer.

Just to add. I will be starting my training at the end of this month...but feel I have been victimised for having an interest in nails in the first place. You guys really know how to put someone off doing what they enjoy doing. You guys are giving the nail profession a real bad reputation. Yes you might be good at nails and have qualifications, but personally I think your attitudes stink.

My husband is a IT professional but that doesnt stop him helping others with their IT problems when they have no qualifications.

I say share the knowledge you have to encourage people to train. Don't stereotype or discriminate people for not having any qualifications.

Ouch!

I think this is getting way out of hand and off topic. The point of the thread, as I see it is that there are some people in this business who are OPENLY proud of the fact that they buy their products from underhand means - Ebay or unscrupulous companies who will sell to anyone regardless of training or not. And they have NO INTENTION WHATSOEVER of getting any training - why should they - they do fantastic nails without it.

I have more of a problem with the companies/individuals who sell to untrained technicians - they are the ones who should know better. If you come along as an untrained person - which you are not as you are doing training - and want to buy and they say yes, here you go - what are you to think - that this is the done thing.

In response to your final statement - I do hope that when you have done your training, you do become as judgemental as the rest of us as that will mean you care as much as the rest of us LOL.

If you read more across the site you will see that many of the best respected people here constantly encourage people with no traning to take it and give those of us who are training all the help and advice they can. No one is judging, I did my own nails on and off for years but now I am training I realise there were quite a few things I was doing that were harmful to my nails and causing the problems that cropped up. I never practiced on friends and family beofre I trained because I didn't know what exactly I was practicing. I was doing my nails with products from Ebay and with the procedures I had seen my trusted nail lady using. What I didn't know diddle squat about was proper prep and the fact that for the products I bought I needed to use primer and a slightly different technique. I know now why my tech didn't need primer, I also know why when I do my own nails now that I need it with the system I use and did back then with the stuff I bought.

So, I voted stupid, purely because of the things I did based on internet tutorials and because I assumed that what I saw my own nail lady do and in tutorials online were what I needed to do. With training I know now that the products you use decide what procedure to follow to a degree. For years I didn't do training, 4 kids, then 5, no money, struggling to make the rent on my husbands single income. I'm limping through my training now,we've paid it as I went along thanks to a very understanding school and I know one day I'll be a good working tech because I never doubt I can do this.