Hi, yes I can see your point, but I had never been to one before, I had walked past, I had even sat in one whilst a friend was having a set done (we were away), so I thought I know what they use is wrong, but I wanted to experience this for myself, I had a camera, I took photos, I felt like "a spy", but yep I did need to experience so that I too can say I know what happens etc.

It is amazing ..........but in the end you are just a number.

I felt like I should not of been there the length of time I was, it was a horrible experience, but yet some people love them, regardless of what does or can happen.

So yeah Chels, I can see your point. We do need to pamper our clients, and treat them as though they are the only ones who are there, and we do, I make sure of that.

We don't have any of these NSS near us, but they are scouting the surrounding areas, I believe our local coucils are actually tougher than the major cities eg: Sydney etc.

When we have inspections by the council & health dept, they check everything, which is excellent. Their visit can last up to 45 mins, which is wonderful.

To us our Clients are people not numbers. We pamper them, get to know there likes / dislikes, to us they are our friends.

ahh ok.. your braver then me I did sit with a girl who had booked an infill at a "salon" just after i did my first course.. I too was a bit uncomfortable with the way they were ripping the acrylic off the nail.. It is not till now though that i realise how bad it actually was.. and cringe at the memory.

BTW I wasnt actually telling YOU to pamper your clients as im sure you do.. just saying that THAT is the best way to seperate US from THEM.. by giving them the best care we can.

At the beginning of 2008, there was an article in Scratch magazine inviting all Nail Techs to write in or to e-mail an MP called Phylis Starkey with their views, and any experiences that had had regading NSS. I e-mailed my views, and stated the damaged nails that I have have seen caused by these nail bars.

Phylis Starkey contacted me saying that she was making a proposal in the House of Commons and would I mind if she used my comments and would I be prepared to meet up with her which I did. She told me that she had a 10 min slot in the House of Commons at the end of March to put forward her proposal to try to make it that all Nail Techs/Salons were Licenced. This would hopefully make it hard for the NSS to operate and in time they may shut down or be shut down.

She didn't get very far, and told me that she didn't hold out much hope that this proposal would go ahead. I have heard nothing more, so I assume this to be the case.

I did suggest at our meeting that I thought that there should be a Government Health warning on the dangers of using these NNS, as we all know that there is a big health risk with them. A small leaflet that could be placed in all the places where ladies/young girls use, i.e.Health centres, family planning centres, schools, chemists etc. Sort of like a Health warning on a packet of ciggies. Unfortunatley, I think this would be an expense that the Governement would not want to pay out for.

I now have produced my own which I hand out at every available opportunity, and never give up promoting.

I do think that it is a loseing battle, as some of you ladies have said, they are quick, you don't need an appointment and they are cheap.

Ther's more chance you'd get a Goverment health warning on a tube of Smarites.
Good on you for trying but the goverment are not going to spend on something that doesn't make them big money.
Remember I was told by my H&S inspector when she 'inspected' my salon that nail bars are LOW RISK.

Until something really drastic goes wrong or the nail industry starts costing the NHS money I doubt very much that anything will be done...the same as with hair and beauty.
Think about it, did you ever see a speed camera inplace before a serious accident took place??? And do you think they were then put there for our safety, ****cks they were

As it's been said, we should concentrate on making our industry the best we can by doing our work to the highest standards.
I love my job and enjoy pampering my clients and if that takes an extra 30 mins then so be it...I've never heard of anybody say ''I was in and out of the hairdressers for a colour and cut in 35mins'' AND THEN SAY ''oh yes I'm really happy I'd go there again,so what if my hair is trashed under the colour''

I don't want the clients that don't care about their natural nails...they are the ones that will go around afterwards saying ''acrylics ruin your nails'' and then give me a bad rep

For years I have been saying that people go to discount salons because they are QUICK ... it is about time not money etc etc.

Why do you all think I bang on about PopIts ??? EH?? I haven't made it clear enough?? The clients who are wanting a quick service that you cannot provide by hand are BEGGING for PopIts!! Why turn them away. You can easily do a quick 40 minute service using PopIts and they will love the result. These clients are the ones on whom you should be using them. PopIts can be your secret weapon when it comes to providing the speed that some (not all) clients want. I think anyone who does not learn how to use them is just plain nuts really. You can compete with the speed of discount salons and you can do it safely.

By the way. Not all discount salons use MMA and not all discount salons do bad work either .. in fact some do very good work. Not all discount salons use cheap products. They are learning very quickly what clients want and in a very short time, you will see these ones getting better educated, buying better products and opening up salons that are run differently. They will take more time and charge more money too just like you. Legislation will not get rid of the discount salons it will inspire them to do things better and they will still be FULL.

It has all happened in the USA .. you have an example there of what will happen in the UK and other places (over 70% of licensed professionals in the USA are oriental).

Concentrate in your own back yard instead of others. Spend your energy doing beautiful nails in a faster time without sacrificing quality. It can be done. If others can do it you can do it too. You don't need drills you need techniques. Concentrate on technique and your times will drop dramatically.

No all good, I knew what you meant, and you are right, that is one of the differences between us and NSS......

Yep, as soon as I sat down, I thought, "omg, get up and go", but I just kept checking everything out, also watching the procedures regarding the pedi's, they would empty the water, but not sanitise the bowl, Eww, and yet non of their customers thought it odd......

I know some of the NSS are clean, and cheap, and maybe not use illegal products, but it is a learning experience. One which I am glad I did, even though it did hurt.

I now concentrate more on our clients needs, my education, up to date services we can offer etc.

And what makes us more different them then, is we talk to our clients, we get to know them, talk family, events, etc, which is what most of us do, so there is a great point for us....Yeah...

My clients come in and I will always greet them by there name, ask different things, etc and we always laugh and joke, and too them it is a nice relaxing session.

I bet most on her can name all their clients, know there likes, dislikes, there kids names, etc....

To me that is special....

Well it is getting late here in Australia, I've rambled on enough.

Nite all.

Trude

You think that the technicians in discount salons are not going to, in time, learn to speak the language of the country they are living in??

THINK people ... you are not going to win forever because you pamper or speak to your clients .. you will win when you can compete with what the discount salons supply which you don't ... speed. Now when you have speed and pampering and communication you really will be on to a winner.

Interesting perspective Geeg. I am sure you are right.

I only know of one discount salon in Sweden that apparently has close to 20 nail techs and recently opened - I've heard they are pretty busy. Good going for only two months.

I think their main attraction here is also price - a new set of gel nails here in a traditional salon costs between 800 to 1200 kr (about £70 to £100 - it's a lot compared to the UK because nail techs being self employed pay 50% tax), while this discount salon charges 450 kr (£35). They only do acrylic and air brush the white free edge, but take only 40 minutes. From what I have heard they get a lot of younger clients - people who wouldn't pay the higher prices.

By using Poppits and perhaps also Prescription Nails, nail techs here could also grab a slice of that market. Plus, when these youngsters start to earn more money then the salon is in a good position to offer 'real' nails.

Think this would make a great article for our local magazine.

So if i was to be doing poppits (using gel) Would i then be charging less for poppits?xx

First of all, PopIts is a branded line and it is spelled PopIts.

Secondly, why would you charge less for using them? I mean you can but why would you?

I would love to offer PopIts but, I was told at my Brisa conversion that PopIts cant be used with gel, only l+p?

I could not agree more! Yeah, it bugs me there are so many NSS in my area but what are you going to do about it? I can fret over that fact and let it consume OR I can become the best nail professional I can be. I choose the latter!

WEll I can use PopIts with Brisa and Adele can use PopIts with Brisa .. so the answer is yes you can. It is more tricky to be sure than with L&P but it can be done.

Ooooo how exciting!!!! I shall be looking into this when Iv mastered the Brisa
Thank you x

Quicker!! The quicker thing drives me crazy. Forever I thought I was just really slow, but I figured out, it's not so much that I'm slow, but it's that I care. So I have learned to incorporate that into my services. I tell my clients "if i'm not happy with the outcome, I won't let you walk out of here unhappy either". My clients have learned to appreciate that about me, and sometimes I think they see that I really mean it, and it has spread some word for me and I have had clients who up saying they wanted to "give it a go" with my products to see if they are as happy as their friends are. We are slow because we care!!