I started my training in April, and would never think of going off on my own and buying products and trying to make a buck off of someone like this. I'm here to learn more from experienced techs. And I am paying my way through a Professional school, so that I can better understand my clients, and the service's that I have to offer. Of course, When I'm licensed and ready to offer services. I think it's a shame that now, because of these people, it looks bad on me and, it makes people not trust us "newbies" and it's not fair, because this is something that I have to scarifice to get. I'm spending A LOT of money to learn, and spending A LOT of time away from my family, to learn this, and it's just not right.

I am a Newbie and I would not dream of trying to claim I am brilliant at nails. I have spent quite a lot of money on an intensive course in London and have diplomas which entitle me to be insured to practise on the public. I am trying to do L & P with Creative once the course dates are confirmed, but as yet I am not that confident to go all out with enhancements on everybody... lord knows what they will end up with. I have also invested in a nail trainer and have registered to do an NVQ. My diplomas have entitled me to get insurance with BABTAC. It is such a shame that there are some in all sorts of business that do not practise in the best way and manage to give industries a bad name. I will hopefully in due course be able to brag about my nails.

I think I am getting there Geeky !


Julia x

hi , Because of a recent big misshap with my own nails,i think its not just the untrained that need to sit & think about how their inexperance can cause a great deal of damage to their clients its also us newbies.i love doing nails & have been doing my own french manicures & nail art since forever, so i went on a nail tech course at my local collage (it was great,i loved it!!!). well now i am insured & trained i should be let loose on clients right?? well NO!! ( i need more training ,my big mishap).I decided to do my own gels a couple of wks ago,im really into nail art so i went with clear tips & dried flowers,looked ok not great. It came to the time of removal & i buffed & soaked them off i was buffing & suddenly three of my nails started hurting by this time most of the gel was off.i stopped what i was doing & looked at my nails,well to my horror i had filed way too much!!! i was in pain & mortiffied about how stupid i had been. i am so happy this happened to me and not some poor client my index finger on my left hand has a chunk taken out at the free edge,my little finger on the same hand has the top half of the free edge missing & the middle finger on my right hand is in bad shape too.i will not post pics im too ashamed too let u guys see them. i would just like to say im gonna go on a maintainance course (we only touched on this on the course i did). And again im so happy this was my nails & not a clients (if it was a client i would of phoned her lawyer for her !!!) so please get ALL the training u can!! i will be.

kaz xx

In Australia you can get a job without having a licence or an accreditation of any kind. This is causing major havock over here (especially in nail bars). I too (from the age of 17) learnt to do my own acrylic nails and did them for a number of years on and off. I had learnt from my mother who was personally trained by her accredited technician. It wasn't until almost 10 years later I plucked up the courage and money to do a night course that qualified me. However, I still never thought it would be an industry I would work in. I tell you what, I wish I could have done the course sooner and found out all that I did within the area of nail technology. Because no amount of books, websites, or forums can teach you what you need to know to perform a nail service safely to yourself or anyone else.

Cheers,

Georgy

Do all countries ,except the U.S,Let just anyone do nails without formal schooling? I am NOT saying in any way that formal cosmetology or nail tech school makes you an EXPERT,but I DO think that should be a WORLDWIDE requirement for ANYONE that deals with the human body.Too bad we can't all say "well,I took a couple of hours of coarses and I am now a Doctor and I want to make a Doctors Pay". There are too many Health issues involved here to not have the correct training (here we have to also learn anatomy along with the diseases).I would really like to know how the training is in the other countries?Here,maybe because we HAVE to go to a formal school and work LOT'S of hours and spend LOT'S of money for our foundation coarse,we don't have a lot of extra coarses offered and the ones that do are just basically teaching you to use a company's (creative,opi etc) particular product.This is not, IMO , enough training to qualify you to go out and proclaim you are educated! Without a license to prove that you have completed training and taken a Test on your knowledge (BTW,that test takes a whole day to complete) and passed it with a good score then you CANNOT work in your chosen field.NSS, would not exist if they had to do the training this way as they would probably fail the sanitation portion of the test or they would learn PROPER sanitation.
No One really likes to offend people but,I do not think it is fair to have such a broad range of requirements from state to state or country to country.When I applied to open my shop I had to await the inspector from our license board to come and check me to make sure I had everything they required BEFORE I could so much as file a nail,AND mail them $100 to send her out.Not to mention all the other state, county and city fees.
IMO,as far as the know it alls, NOBODY ever knows everything and we can all learn something from each other!!!!!

Well I'm Aussie and i have never heard of anyone hiring untrained people, infact to get pro products you must first hand over your cert for copying.. perhaps its different from state to state..
STUPID, because basically why bother? I am always looking for courses on new products and saving my pennies to do the course so that i can offer new lines to clients and hopefully attract more.. sure my initial training was at TAFE but it helped me to set goals and acheive them within the industry. I know bugger all about enhancements.. i doubt myself every day.. I still try very hard to please my clients.. I am a newbie after 2 years.. I promised myself to always feel this way so i can never stop learning and always look for more challanging things to bring into my CV. BUT.. I will admit to being pretty keen on Ebay, I am a single mum who counts pennies and things like brushes and rhinstones, dangles, files.. well some are to good to pass up.. judge me if you will but Ebay as kept my ability to do this job going while i build up my clientelle.. as far as product goes, well i played with enough to know what i like using and I feel more strongly everyday that people should learn more about Chemicals if they want to do this job. I would never like to think of someone untrained mixing with all those chemicals willy nilly..so if you are untrained.. think of your health and others and get a cert.. Its fun and you will be amazed at what you dont know!

I think that it,s stupid that there aren,t any laws or regulations in being a certifide nailtechnician.

It,s so obvious that some people see this as a way to earn some fast cash and therefore skipp all the valuable knowledge that shapes you in a responsible, caring and qualified nailtechnician.
Knowing how some people think ' wanting to earn fast cash with low starting costs + not really caring about any consequences that their actions may cause on their way to earning that money' It really blows my mind that there is so little to no regulations or legal requirements Like mentioned before, you perform treatments on a human being...you can,t just have a go at it .

Wow this is a heavy subject, but I agree with stupid.I have been doing nails for 7 years and today left the salon that I worked in for the majority of that time because it has changed hands and the new owner has never filed a nail in her life. She is planning to do a course but even with training, you can't learn experience and I decided not to hang around and risk my hard earned reputation go downhill with my workplace.Like the majority of you, a lot of time and money has gone into my education, and while I'm the first to help the newbies we've gotta look after #1, right? Wish me luck, I'm going mobile!

i finished my nvqs through college last may i still dont feel confident. i ve spent hundreds on various products and brushes etc thinking the product was crap never thinking it was my self so do you think some people just have a natural flair for this or am i seeking a perfection i will never achieve. i just dont know how you can do this without trainning. am i beating myself up for nothing and making myself skint in the progress .im really p off you can do this and not be trainned properly.

I read the thread wrong....

I voted smart, meaning it is smart to DO training...... oh god i've got bad PMT and not in a great mood.

I think it s STUPID not to do training.

well-why doesn't this site ,if it is for professionals,require license number,credential number to join?something-but you all must know that even then there is no way to make sure anything you all write here won't get all over the world potentially.
Knowledge is one thing-talent another!You really can't make a fulltime wage doing unlicensed nails in my state-i don't think???
I don't spend much time worrying about the competition of any kind,I just elevate myself and the cllients come!!
Jennifer

Welcome to the site Jennifer.

There isn't any licensing needed to be a nail technician in the UK and I know it's the same for many other countries too.

This site helps a lot of trainees and also helps to guide those who are looking to enter the salon professionals business, without those people this site would be extremely quiet.

Hello Angie
I read this and thought you would be a good person to ask if I was on the right track about training it is very confusing. Mostly cause its not just what training, but by who and which product, Certified /VTCT/IHBC etc?
Should I start with a company like Creative/NSI do their training initally and then aim for VTCT qualification or once trained by Creative/NSI gain practice on willing victims (Friends/Family) and then keep up to date with any new info eventually progressing on to customers?
Hope you don't mind me asking
Ren

i just think the ones who dont do the training are missing out, i love going on courses learning about the products and meeting new people with tips and ideas....but saying that i love what i do and i am willing to put in the time, money and effort...
these people who just "do" nails with no training wont be around for long as they are full of "ideas" make a quick few quid etc...plus whos going to keep paying good money for a poor job!

untill there are some proper rules and regulations and standards set you will get these people....

I think it's down to personal preference. I chose to train with a nail company initially, then converted to another and have stayed with them ever since.
Personally I would go with the second option.
hth's