Supposed 'fully qualified nail tech' saturation

[kazzy70]

I am just wondering how many have heard this lately, newbie nail techs having done 1 day course in manicure and 1 day course in gel application claiming to be fully qualified in nails!
I have 14 years experience and live in a small town, and am getting sick to the back teeth of hearing that 'clients' can get shellac (blue sky I may add) at the new home based nail techs for £8, and there are lots popping up in my area on F.B. pages.
Meanwhile as a salon on the 'high street' struggling to make a living, paying high rents and rates etc. Insurance has gone up too, making me wonder if it is a result of claims getting higher due to lack of regulation in the whole Beauty industry???
To add insult to injury they are being trained at a salon round the corner, who are charging a small fortune for these courses. I dont understand why you would want to do this, as eventually at this rate they will have trained all theres and everyone elses clients to do there own nails!
Im just getting so disillusioned and fed up.
It really is making a mockery of all of us whom have worked so hard at training and building up our business over the years with dedication.

 

[geeg]

There have been a few posts about this lately and I agree it is frustrating to hear the' fully qualified' remarks, when of course these people are nowhere near being qualified, never mind fully qualified! Lol

Do you honestly think they are competing with you? Are your clients all trying them out for the cheap price? Do you think if they go that the service and results they get will come remotely close to that which you offer?

Annoying, frustrating, insulting to our profession, but they will not last nor succeed. The last men standing will be the likes of you and me with skill, experience, quality service and professionalism.

Not easy times for anyone and many are taking advantage by grabbing the money while they can even if they shoot themselves in the foot doing it. Not helpful to our business but not allot we can do about it except to hope that people are not stupid, and that they recognise bad workmanship any shoddy service and seek out those of us who offer much more in every respect.

Stop fuming about it and get stuck in proving yet again what a different kind of experience you offer. X
http://www.salongeek.com/nail-geek/...ed-discount-salons-what-does-future-hold.html

 

[Lilypie]

I think the majority of us feel the same however there's really not much you can do about it other than keeping your standards consistently high and educating your clients on professional products and making it clear why you charge what may be seen as a premium compared to the low cost treatments.

There will always be someone who undercuts you, that's just the way of business unfortunately. Do you have a USP that will make you stand out from the crowd? I agree, it can be disheartening though.

 

[geeg]

I think the majority of us feel the same however there's really not much you can do about it other than keeping your standards consistently high and educating your clients on professional products and making it clear why you charge what may be seen as a premium compared to the low cost treatments.

There will always be someone who undercuts you, that's just the way of business unfortunately. Do you have a USP that will make you stand out from the crowd? I agree, it can be disheartening though.

Today it's a USP just to turn out good work as opposed to the trash turned out by the majority. The danger is that it will get more and more difficult to find anyone that does good work and no one will recognise it anymore because it will be so hard to find anyone dong it. :evil:

 

[sal365]

I fully appreciate your frustrations and I would feel exactly the same if I were in your shoes but from the other point of view, as someone who has come into this later in life I cannot dedicate 2 years of full time study and although I would have loved to I cannot afford the cnd complete course (which may not even make me "fully qualified" in some eyes I'm sure) so have had to do the 2 day manicure course to get me onto the cnd courses. I was considering doing the NVQ but after learning a lot more with cnd have decided to try and save up for more courses with them.
My point is that unfortunately some of us have had to take this route and I'm sure many like myself are trying extremely hard to do things as properly as our circumstances and finances allow. We may not have the NVQ's and the city and guilds (although I have seen many on Facebook etc who do have these but are quite frankly appalling at what they do)
I too get annoyed when I see that an ex colleague of mine (who does have an NVQ) has set up doing Shellac with CCO products as her cover photo on FB. Having spent a small fortune on training and products in the short time I have been on this journey to see these cowboy products being used on the unsuspecting public is sooooo frustrating. So as someone with a huge passion but not full qualifications I say please do not tar us all with the same brush. Lots of us are trying very hard to be good at something we love.

 

[geeg]

I fully appreciate your frustrations and I would feel exactly the same if I were in your shoes but from the other point of view, as someone who has come into this later in life I cannot dedicate 2 years of full time study and although I would have loved to I cannot afford the cnd complete course (which may not even make me "fully qualified" in some eyes I'm sure) so have had to do the 2 day manicure course to get me onto the cnd courses. I was considering doing the NVQ but after learning a lot more with cnd have decided to try and save up for more courses with them.
My point is that unfortunately some of us have had to take this route and I'm sure many like myself are trying extremely hard to do things as properly as our circumstances and finances allow. We may not have the NVQ's and the city and guilds (although I have seen many on Facebook etc who do have these but are quite frankly appalling at what they do)
I too get annoyed when I see that an ex colleague of mine (who does have an NVQ) has set up doing Shellac with CCO products as her cover photo on FB. Having spent a small fortune on training and products in the short time I have been on this journey to see these cowboy products being used on the unsuspecting public is sooooo frustrating. So as someone with a huge passion but not full qualifications I say please do not tar us all with the same brush. Lots of us are trying very hard to be good at something we love.

May I just emphasise that I am not saying that every new person is crappola or has that mentality and I'm sure you realise I am not, but .... With virtually no entry level standard, it would be true to say that fact plus the availability of pro products to anyone willing to search out the way to get them .... Makes for one helluvallot of DIYers and cowboys who are working under the radar, uninsured, with dodgy counterfeit products on others who really don't care (No different to people who buy stolen goods from others and think its OK because THEY themselves didn't do the stealing).
... And there's allot more of them than than anyone knows about!

 

[lovelocks]

Feel the same way and was extremely annoyed that I saw on wowcher yesterday a hair extension course for £39!!!!! Its these type of courses that aee ruining peoples hair that I end up fixing and actually cause clients a lot of pain and sometimes even baldness from shoddy work.

Sent from my GT-I9505 using SalonGeek mobile app

 

[sal365]

May I just emphasise that I am not saying that every new person is crappola or has that mentality and I'm sure you realise I am not, but .... With virtually no entry level standard, it would be true to say that fact plus the availability of pro products to anyone willing to search out the way to get them .... Makes for one helluvallot of DIYers and cowboys who are working under the radar, uninsured, with dodgy counterfeit products on others who really don't care (No different to people who buy stolen goods from others and think its OK because THEY themselves didn't do the stealing).
... And there's allot more of them than than anyone knows about!

Totally agree, I guess we just have to hope that doing things the right way ie getting insured, buying the best products and continually learning as much as we can, will win out in the end.

 

[hazeleyes]

May I just emphasise that I am not saying that every new person is crappola or has that mentality and I'm sure you realise I am not, but .... With virtually no entry level standard, it would be true to say that fact plus the availability of pro products to anyone willing to search out the way to get them .... Makes for one helluvallot of DIYers and cowboys who are working under the radar, uninsured, with dodgy counterfeit products on others who really don't care (No different to people who buy stolen goods from others and think its OK because THEY themselves didn't do the stealing).
... And there's allot more of them than than anyone knows about!

I think one of the issues here is: unless you do a decent credible training course or nvq etc to start out with, then your on a downward spiral. Many new, enthusiastic and excited trainee techs simply do not know the correct way!

I remember starting out not knowing my ar*e from my elbow, I didn't know what constituted a good training course or a bad one, what was required for a salon job, insurance or a certificate and what wasn't!?! Fortunately I saw that I need to properly research courses before I leapt blindly into them.

People watch a few YouTube vids see it looks easy and then book into a cowboy 1-day course somewhere without doing the proper research and unknowingly fall into the wrong hands.

The difference is some people, when realising they have trained badly want for moral and ethical reasons to retrain the right way and then there are others.. Who feel that if they are making money- using cheap products etc but making money nonetheless so why pay more and retrain on something which to them is 'good enough'?

 

[kazzy70]

"Circumstances and Finances"
My point exactly, as there should not be a quicker or cheaper route available in the first place, depending on someones circumstances or financial status.
I cannot and could not just decide, tommorrow I would like to be a Chirpodist or a Nurse, but i dont have x amount of years or x amount of money to do training and qualifications. Wether passionate, dedicated and really good at it.
You just cannot do it, so why should the Beauty industry be any different? We are still dealing with the Human body.
So I will Tar with the same brush.
This is my opinion.

 

[sal365]

"Circumstances and Finances"
My point exactly, as there should not be a quicker or cheaper route available in the first place, depending on someones circumstances or financial status.
I cannot and could not just decide, tommorrow I would like to be a Chirpodist or a Nurse, but i dont have x amount of years or x amount of money to do training and qualifications. Wether passionate, dedicated and really good at it.
You just cannot do it, so why should the Beauty industry be any different? We are still dealing with the Human body.
So I will Tar with the same brush.
This is my opinion.

I don't really think you can use a nursing as an example here, you are not taking someone's life in your hands when you paint their nails! As someone who has done a job which does involve life and death situations every day I can say with some certainty the two are not comparable.

 

[nailednails]

Ok, so as a very very new geekling, just starting out, and so far it is an absolute minefield of products, techniques, business management etc etc, I feel like I want to have a little contribution to this......

I've just started a level 3 nail service course at college, and just a few weeks in, and I absolutely cannot understand how someone who has gone on a (usually rather expensive, but not as expensive as my £3600 course) one day/two day/4 day course can possibly not only learn and perfect this SKILL (I feel like I should emphasise that this is a SKILL, and I honestly believe that sometimes, no matter how much you practice or learn there is a certain underlying flair that you need to have) but learn all the other aspects, nail disease, correct prep, aftercare, dealing with a whole spectrum of clients with differing needs, the science behind what we are doing.....HOW can this all be learned in such a consolidated space of time, and are people honestly believing that this is to the same standards as a one or two year course? I think your training builds foundations for your whole career, so the stronger your education/training the stronger your do I stations, ans the bigger and better your career will grow, and the less likely it will fall.

To be honest I know that I'm going to ruffle a few feathers with what I've said, particularly considering the amount of posts I read where people have come from a completely different career, and suddenly book a one day course and they think that makes them 'fully qualified'.......personally I find it insulting that some people are so naive and believe that this is all it takes, and then spend their life asking basic questions, and all the while are charging clients for a service they are in no way in a position to be offering..... .....

But.... like lots of the PROFESSIONALS on here have said, these people are not MY competition (or won't be once I'm ready to break into the industry) ans their clients are not my target market.....I will be armed with MUCH more than a piece of paper once the time is right, I will have night after night of late nights reading up on the business side of things, 100's of drafts of my business plan, a notebook full of marketing ideas, a year's worth of well thought out advertising campaign s to promote myself and my services, 100's of kind friends and family who have let me practice set after set on, hours and hours of my tutor demonstrating the RIGHT way of ding EVERY nail treatment possible, days and days worth of research, note taking, memorizing, a skill and technique that I am PROUD of, and a HUNGER and DETERMINATION to achieve......and obviously the knowledge that no matter how well practiced and trained I am this is an industry that is always ddeveloping, so my education will be on going, and I will always be open to learning new things....

 

[kazzy70]

Ok then so change the comparison to "chiropodist" and "dental nurse".
Does not change my point or my opinion.

 

[nailednails]

Ok, so the nursing comparison was a bit extreme.....her point was we are all professionals, would you be happy knowing that one nurse who was caring for you had the appropriate training, but the other one couldn't commit to the course, due to money/family/work issues so did a 2 day course-but they insisted it was just as good!!?? Or a teacher, a vet, a dentist, a social worker, an accounsant, a solicitor...ANY professional that requires a qualification??

If you feel like your course will offer EVERYTHING you need to succeed, then good luck-you will need it.......again, it might not be what you want to hear, but it's my opinion..........

 

[SuburbanDecay]

"Circumstances and Finances"
My point exactly, as there should not be a quicker or cheaper route available in the first place, depending on someones circumstances or financial status.
I cannot and could not just decide, tommorrow I would like to be a Chirpodist or a Nurse, but i dont have x amount of years or x amount of money to do training and qualifications. Wether passionate, dedicated and really good at it.
You just cannot do it, so why should the Beauty industry be any different? We are still dealing with the Human body.
So I will Tar with the same brush.
This is my opinion.

I agree!

 

[skingeek78]

I spoke to a colleague in the UK only this morning regarding this issue. It is so hard because you have to keep an income coming in, she was saying that she still had to pay staff and had same outgoings, it is hard because when offering quality services you cannot discount to compete and the sad fact is that these discount salons are causing an effect, for how long no one knows. It is hitting across all kinds of treatments even more invasive ones. I do think something needs to be done, I agree that in the end quality will prevail, but why have to suffer this in the first place?

I was sent a link from a very good friend last week for Botox, Fillers, Cosmetic Tattooing and Skin Needling. Take your pick from these treatments for £99??? I have no words really. She asked me what did I think. I said run.

 

[skingeek78]

I don't really think you can use a nursing as an example here, you are not taking someone's life in your hands when you paint their nails! As someone who has done a job which does involve life and death situations every day I can say with some certainty the two are not comparable.

The point is that it's a profession, just like any other and you cant just decide to try your hand at nursing. Same as being good with numbers so calling yourself an accountant etc..There is a set road to be followed, a set amount of time in training and practise, qualifications to be obtained. A direct comparison I agree of course there is not!! But it's all relative

 

[MamaG]

I worked in accounts for 10 years. There is nothing to stop someone from deciding to retrain in accounting and as long as they pass their courses, they get the qualification. An AAT qualification can be completed in less than a year. It all comes down to that persons ability.
What I'm saying is....surely there is some middle ground here?
I'd like to think there are 3 categories of nail technician - 1) the person who knew fairly early on what they wanted to do and had the chance to study in depth while still young and with few other commitments. 2) the person who decides later in life that they have a passion for nails and want to explore it as a career with the very best of intentions to learn well and do a fantastic job, but with other responsibilities and commitments, cannot take 3 years out with no wage to do an NVQ. 3) the person who wants to make a quick buck and do minimal training in order to legally provide a 'service' even though it will not be of good quality.
My point is, freedom of choice means that each person can train for whatever they want, whenever they want in life, and however they choose, be it accounting, beauty, driving instructor.

I am in the number 2 category. I am passionate about mastering this skill and all the knowledge behind it. I don't know whether I will be good enough to turn it into a business when invented finished learning. I know I would love to be. Only time will tell. I have set 2 years aside to learn and practice thoroughly before I have to make a decision. If it doesn't turn into a career then I have still learnt a skill and will be able to play with my own nail designs which I love doing.
The tarring of everyone with the same brush just seems a little unfair. Some of us 'oldies' really do have the very best intentions.....

Kat x

 

[hazeleyes]

I worked in accounts for 10 years. There is nothing to stop someone from deciding to retrain in accounting and as long as they pass their courses, they get the qualification. An AAT qualification can be completed in less than a year. It all comes down to that persons ability.
What I'm saying is....surely there is some middle ground here?
I'd like to think there are 3 categories of nail technician - 1) the person who knew fairly early on what they wanted to do and had the chance to study in depth while still young and with few other commitments. 2) the person who decides later in life that they have a passion for nails and want to explore it as a career with the very best of intentions to learn well and do a fantastic job, but with other responsibilities and commitments, cannot take 3 years out with no wage to do an NVQ. 3) the person who wants to make a quick buck and do minimal training in order to legally provide a 'service' even though it will not be of good quality.
My point is, freedom of choice means that each person can train for whatever they want, whenever they want in life, and however they choose, be it accounting, beauty, driving instructor.

I am in the number 2 category. I am passionate about mastering this skill and all the knowledge behind it. I don't know whether I will be good enough to turn it into a business when invented finished learning. I know I would love to be. Only time will tell. I have set 2 years aside to learn and practice thoroughly before I have to make a decision. If it doesn't turn into a career then I have still learnt a skill and will be able to play with my own nail designs which I love doing.
The tarring of everyone with the same brush just seems a little unfair. Some of us 'oldies' really do have the very best intentions.....

Kat x

I do agree with this post actually. I don't think it's the length of time taken to study which should be the marker of what is or isn't a decent nail course or route in and subsequently a decent nail tech. Isn't the CND complete course 4 days only? Yet that is probably one of the best forms of training one could get???? Likewise nvqs can be done from a combination of a few days in a centre and portfolio building from home. I chose this option as I do have children and work commitments. I still got an nvq and it still took several months but much of it was home based.

Surely what makes a decent tech is the level of commitment to ethical and moral practices, hygiene, safety, authentic products, education and knowledge of the nails as well as the ability to produce great looking nails etc NOT just the certificate as we have demonstrated anyone can obtain this?! This is what course providers do not ensure they deliver. It isn't the amount of time, but the course content, the morals and ethics of these providers which isn't being passed on to techs.

Then of course there are salons and individuals who know what they are doing is wrong but simply don't mind as they are making money!

 

[nailednails]

I've 2 young children, my partner runs a small business, I could have thought I haven't the time or money to do this the long way, so I'll just seek out a short course, but I WANTED the best possible start up, and there's no wag I'm even thinking of this doesn't work I'll be able to play with my nails....especially in this very competitive industry, to get anywhere, or to even keep your head about e water, you need drive, determination and sometimes you got to sacrifice-my family would benefit massively if I had a full time job right now and just did a quick nail course, BUT the, and I, will benefit more in the long run when I'm happy, successful and have a good quality career. Government now offer 24+ advanced learning loans, there's a lot of funding options/grants available now.....also yes, I do think sometime s people might think the short courses are the only way, and that everyone does them.....I also, think that eventually legislation WILL come Into place where people won't be able to get insured / employed without a more comprehensive training/education background