Essential Nails
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I think the general consensus is that it's fine to dabble with as a complete beginner but if you really want to become a Nail Technician, you need to do a proper recognised qualification such as an VRQ/NVQ or one of the indepth courses run by the Nail product companies themselves such as CND, YoungNails, Nail Harmony etc. If you want to work in a salon, they usually insist on having a recognised qualification these days.
Most insurance companies won't cover an Essential Nails course primarily because you've not gained experience with working on real people.
If money is an issue, it might be better in the long run to save up and go with a well known training company.
Don't waste your money doing short 1-2 day courses with a local trainer unless you've researched them thoroughly.
Also, accreditation can simply mean that an insurance company has been paid by the training company to offer insurance to people completing the course. It's not an indication of training quality!
Here's some more threads from geeks who have asked a similar question previously.
http://www.salongeek.com/search/7114653/?q=Essential+nails&o=relevance
Most insurance companies won't cover an Essential Nails course primarily because you've not gained experience with working on real people.
If money is an issue, it might be better in the long run to save up and go with a well known training company.
Don't waste your money doing short 1-2 day courses with a local trainer unless you've researched them thoroughly.
Also, accreditation can simply mean that an insurance company has been paid by the training company to offer insurance to people completing the course. It's not an indication of training quality!
Here's some more threads from geeks who have asked a similar question previously.
http://www.salongeek.com/search/7114653/?q=Essential+nails&o=relevance
NailtechJoe
IN:@thenailmaestro
Perhaps if you only do one, you will not have the full depth of skills that a nail technician needs, but if you do all of the required modules, you will be required to submit evidence that you have worked on real clients. I can say that they are very picky when it comes to the evidence you provide; I had to resubmit several times and Sarah Gooderham who was my marker was rather pedantic.
Currently AFAIK, The Beauty Guild and ABT insure EN courses. The courses done with EN are certificates of achievement (you have achieved at least to NVQ standard) whereas in some well known product training programmes like Gelish, they may award you with a certificate of attendance which are not the same. It is true that EN diplomas does cover what is expected on the NVQ standards and once a student finishes, learning isn't over.
EN does need to pay fees like any other training provider, but there are also expectations that the Guild also demand such as
having a training qualification, have at least 6 months of experience in the field and the course needs to meet the National Occupational Standards which I link them below.
Gti application -> https://www.beautyguild.com/Training/Accreditation-Application.aspx
NOS standards for nail technician -> https://www.ukstandards.org.uk/Pages/results.aspx?k=nail technician
Online courses will not suit everyone and some may prefer someone to be with them. You also need to include the fact that training schools can also be out of the reach for certain people like myself as I was actually asking around in private schools in Preston to do a VTCT qualification - I got a telephone interview and I was never contacted again to start in September '15. I also enquired Young nails which I never heard a reply. My initial belief was that since I'm a man, my impression was that I might want to do this just to be in the "quick buck" band wagon. The truth is that I drive my girlfriend nuts as I always talk about nails!
As an independent learner, EN suited my needs as I felt ignored by other training providers.
Due to that the courses are done via correspondence, it all depends how much effort you put into the courses and how much you want to get out of it. I will only say that they did give me the support where I needed it and it was in gel nails - easy to learn, but hard to master.
I was failed once for gel extensions which is the hardest course by far with EN; books can only give you a certain amount of clear information so I had to ask them what was the standard that was expected and they sent me via post a 3D nail with an extension of how they wanted me to do it. So I repeated the module and sent them my evidence and got a credit (which is in between a 60% pass and an 80% distinction). I repeated again following feedback, resubmitted and I got a distinction. They do advise however that once you pass, you should focus on technique. Once you have mastered your technique, you focus on speed and aim to keep it under 1 hour and 30 minutes for a full set of gel nails under salon conditions. Even so, I have read from users in SG who find it hard to do a full set of gel nails in under an hour and 30 minutes.
I have done my courses 3 years ago and IMO, not all was as rosy as they could have been, there were some good aspects, but some areas could improve. If they have followed through, that should reflect on the newer EN graduates feedback.
As they say, the proof is in the pudding - http://nailmaestro.com
Blackhorse
Active Member
Hi i know this is an older thread but thought i would put my view on here in case it helps you or others. I have done both classroom courses and essential nails courses so feel i am able to offer an honest view form both sides.
Everyone learns differently, i am a very visual learner and time is of the essence for me having a young daughter, lots of committments and running two businesses so I decided to give the essential nails course a go.
I have to say i was very impressed, it was much more helpful than my classroom courses have been, simply because although the tutor isn't in the room with you physically you are still getting one to one tutoring effectively. I was able to practice on my practice hand and get the right technique and become familiar with the hygiene regime etc as well as the theory and if i forgot something i was able to re run the dvd or read the literature. I did ring the tutors a couple of times and asked some questions just to be sure as i was a total beginner, i had never done an acrylic nail in my life and the most i had done previously was a file and polish...i had never even had my nails done professionally before! They were great and i passed my course with a credit. I went on to do other courses with them and got distinction(my technique was better after the first course as i think will always be the case since we are always improving. After this i went on to build my portfolio by practicing on real people on the first lady i did said they were the best nails she'd had in a long time and she loved the experience, they lasted and she was so happy she stayed with me as a repeat customer coming for infills and nail art etc. Eventually i moved form the area (by well over 50 miles) and took time out for pregnancy etc so i unfortunately no longer do her nails. The point was, that she was more than happy and i had not done a classroom course at that time.
I later went onto a class room course just to try it out really and gain a new qualification and i did enjoy the communicating in a class room course and like that if you have a question you can get and answer right away and the person can see your mistake right away so in a sense it may be quicker but i find that they cannot give you 100% of their time since they are rarely one to one and you can't go back and run over something again if you forget later one nor can you speak to your tutor months after you have completed your course if you get stuck which you can do with Essential nails....you have to just have to muddle through with a physical course. Also if time is precious to you it may be difficult to attend as well as expensive. Home study can be done when you want, when the kids are in bed, whatever.
Its also worth pointing out that Jaqui jefford who does the essential nails nail art course along with kirsty meakin is the lady who actually developed the UK NVQ program so really, it can't be bad. I think its a great step on the ladder for people and I am so glad i took the time to do them.
Little Gina who does the main tutoring for many of them is world renowned for her nails and the courses are all accredited. I got a certificate from a classroom course i did and it took months to get the certificate and when it came months later my name was spelt wrong! I lost the will by that point so never bothered to get them to reprint it what with the move! Thats not a reason to not do a classroom course at all, it was just my experience at the time so i completed the rest of my training with Essential nails and my clients are happy and so am I.
I really don't thinki there's a right or a wrong qway to learn so long as you learn good technique and hygiene etc. I don't think it affects trust at all since it is accredited and secondly, you are still learning visually in a classroom or at home. I am sure many people out there regularly visit youtube and get new tips and techniques from there but they don't say to their clients 'oh i am not reliable or trustworth because I only learned it from youtube'. I think we all learn differently and it depends what best suits you and your situation.
Anyway i hope this helps you or any others thinkng of doing one of these courses. Fun, convenient, learn loads, can't hurt anyone when you are a complete beginner and you can try out new ideas etc if you want to practice nail art later...i love them!
Everyone learns differently, i am a very visual learner and time is of the essence for me having a young daughter, lots of committments and running two businesses so I decided to give the essential nails course a go.
I have to say i was very impressed, it was much more helpful than my classroom courses have been, simply because although the tutor isn't in the room with you physically you are still getting one to one tutoring effectively. I was able to practice on my practice hand and get the right technique and become familiar with the hygiene regime etc as well as the theory and if i forgot something i was able to re run the dvd or read the literature. I did ring the tutors a couple of times and asked some questions just to be sure as i was a total beginner, i had never done an acrylic nail in my life and the most i had done previously was a file and polish...i had never even had my nails done professionally before! They were great and i passed my course with a credit. I went on to do other courses with them and got distinction(my technique was better after the first course as i think will always be the case since we are always improving. After this i went on to build my portfolio by practicing on real people on the first lady i did said they were the best nails she'd had in a long time and she loved the experience, they lasted and she was so happy she stayed with me as a repeat customer coming for infills and nail art etc. Eventually i moved form the area (by well over 50 miles) and took time out for pregnancy etc so i unfortunately no longer do her nails. The point was, that she was more than happy and i had not done a classroom course at that time.
I later went onto a class room course just to try it out really and gain a new qualification and i did enjoy the communicating in a class room course and like that if you have a question you can get and answer right away and the person can see your mistake right away so in a sense it may be quicker but i find that they cannot give you 100% of their time since they are rarely one to one and you can't go back and run over something again if you forget later one nor can you speak to your tutor months after you have completed your course if you get stuck which you can do with Essential nails....you have to just have to muddle through with a physical course. Also if time is precious to you it may be difficult to attend as well as expensive. Home study can be done when you want, when the kids are in bed, whatever.
Its also worth pointing out that Jaqui jefford who does the essential nails nail art course along with kirsty meakin is the lady who actually developed the UK NVQ program so really, it can't be bad. I think its a great step on the ladder for people and I am so glad i took the time to do them.
Little Gina who does the main tutoring for many of them is world renowned for her nails and the courses are all accredited. I got a certificate from a classroom course i did and it took months to get the certificate and when it came months later my name was spelt wrong! I lost the will by that point so never bothered to get them to reprint it what with the move! Thats not a reason to not do a classroom course at all, it was just my experience at the time so i completed the rest of my training with Essential nails and my clients are happy and so am I.
I really don't thinki there's a right or a wrong qway to learn so long as you learn good technique and hygiene etc. I don't think it affects trust at all since it is accredited and secondly, you are still learning visually in a classroom or at home. I am sure many people out there regularly visit youtube and get new tips and techniques from there but they don't say to their clients 'oh i am not reliable or trustworth because I only learned it from youtube'. I think we all learn differently and it depends what best suits you and your situation.
Anyway i hope this helps you or any others thinkng of doing one of these courses. Fun, convenient, learn loads, can't hurt anyone when you are a complete beginner and you can try out new ideas etc if you want to practice nail art later...i love them!
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