Dear Geeks

[Shiv9mbs]

Absolutely spot on! X


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[Chickafish]

But you get this in beauty and hair too...salons who use the cheapest colour, or advertise facials when all they are using is Sally's moisturiser and some fullers earth. Why does it cause such contention in the nail forum? Is it because of the price competition?

Simply because one race of people is automatically blamed when nails are damaged, products don't come off easy, fake products were used, ect. NSS tend to be Asian salons, but that does not mean all Asian salons are NSS.

The price competition is a whole 'nother problem on its own. That's just poor business management.

 

[classixuk]

Simply because one race of people is automatically blamed when nails are damaged, products don't come off easy, fake products were used, ect. NSS tend to be Asian salons, but that does not mean all Asian salons are NSS.

The price competition is a whole 'nother problem on its own. That's just poor business management.

Really? So anytime someone has a problem with their nails some geeks basically are saying, "That's what you get if you have an Asian do your nails?"

Gosh. That says more about the types of geeks who say those things than it does about the nail tech who performed the services!

 

[NailsJedi]

To me NSS means someone who does not use a full system as stipulated by the manufacturer, someone who fails to adhere to HABIA's codes of practice and the standards they set for the nails industry, and someone who 'does nails' but is not trained to do so or uses a brand when they have not trained to use said brand/system. This does include those who use MMA. This is not restricted to one race or class of people just simply those who call themselves nail techs but have no awareness, basic understanding or even appreciation of the standards that I believe the vast majority of us do follow and are so obviously passionate about

I feel it's important to educate people about what NSS means so this year my L3 nail learners had a discussion on what NSS meant to them before then researching this for a written report which they then presented to their peers. It was very interesting to see the usual prejudices change and all of them felt they had learnt something which I was really pleased with

xoxo

 

[NailsJedi]

Also I love the SEA initiative where a lot of South East Asian nails techs are gaining education from S2, this again changed A LOT of opinions in my learners xoxo

 

[Chickafish]

Really? So anytime someone has a problem with their nails some geeks basically are saying, "That's what you get if you have an Asian do your nails?"

Gosh. That says more about the types of geeks who say those things than it does about the nail tech who performed the services!

This is what triggered me to write this post in the first place. The very comment you quoted, I saw posted somewhere (not on SG thankfully, but there have been a few just as bad on here). A "professional" with over a decade of experience under her belt was on her business profile posting things to a nail group like "all (enter race here) techs are unqualified" and "avoid (enter race here) salons because this is what they'll do to you" followed by a picture of some badly infected fingers. She then went on to say that nothing she posted was racist, and had followers who felt the same, and added on some very hurtful things. She is not the first who I've seen do/say something like this, and she certainly won't be the last. But I want to make sure that none of us would be so ignorant as to openly say something like that and spread such hate and uneducated words onto our clients as she clearly has.

 

[Chickafish]

Also I love the SEA initiative where a lot of South East Asian nails techs are gaining education from S2, this again changed A LOT of opinions in my learners xoxo

I took part in one of the classes recently, and have gotten to know Anna Lee, the CND EA running these classes a little more. I truly admire and appreciate all the hard work and effort she's putting in to turn these misconceptions around.

 

[geeg]

Fantastic post chick!! How did I miss it? Because its in the biz forum! That's why! I am sorry it has been moved here because it is very pertinent to the nail forum and everyone should read it.

You know how I feel. I worked for 5 years to get Anna on board and she kept having babies!!

I have always believed that you change things through education ... and its working. You don't change things by casting aspersions, slandering or sending secret shoppers into salons with hidden TV cameras or by showing images of damaged infected fingers or by telling clients not to go to any salon if its run by someone from SEA. You change things by education and by example and the SEA classes have been a dream of mine for a very long time.

Thanks for this thread. It should IMO be read by every nail technician who is a member of SalonGeek.

 

[Chickafish]

Thank you, Gigi! It wasn't moved here. I asked the mods before posting where it should go.

I completely agree with everything you've said. I love the SEA classes. It might have taken you awhile to get Anna up and on it (lol! Kept having babies), but now that it's there, I just want to take part in as many of them as I can. Seeing all the pictures of SEAs holding up their CND certificates, being given opportunities to join competitions, seeing SEAs exposed in a positive light on Scratch- change is happening!

(Fingers crossed for Team SEA in September!)

 

[Lynne Baker]

What's an SEA?!
I can't help it, I'm a skin geek really!

 

[geeg]

It stands for South East Asia/Asian

It's a nice respectful but general term that we feel better embraces all of the people from that area of the world (and they think so too)! Peeps from that neck of the woods are not all Chinese, or Taiwanese, Vietnamese, Japanese or Asian just as in the Eastern Block people are not all Russian. People like their own identity.

 

[Lynne Baker]

Aha, thanks!

 

[gillian w]

Am I right in thinking there is a bit of a story behind there being many Vietnamese nail techs.Wasnt a school opened for the girls to provide them with some kind of career after the Vietnam war.

 

[KaylieNails]

NSS tends to mean salons which don't use branded products such as CND, EZ Flow, Young Nails etc. They are known for employing people who have an oriental look to them, but this does NOT mean that their standards are always lower than ours; there are plenty of Caucasian origin whose standards are less than satisfactory!
The racist bit comes in when people call NSS salons "Chinese", or, "Vietnamese".
I've seen evidence of some truly astounding nail work done to the highest imaginable standards from people of far eastern ethnicity, and it's just too darn wrong to suggest that if they're foreign they must be rubbish.

I too have seen some absolutely amazing nails from people of far eastern ethnicity, outstanding! But it's unfair to say 'the Chinese' meaning the nail bar in the market .. I always have to correct my clients when they're telling me about them as the convo could be picked up by someone who.may be offended and it's just not nice anyway.x

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[gillian w]

Yes here we are just had a google http://edition.cnn.com/video/standard.html?/video/us/2011/07/05/pkg.wynter.vietnamese.nail.salon.cnn

 

[geeg]

Am I right in thinking there is a bit of a story behind there being many Vietnamese nail techs.Wasnt a school opened for the girls to provide them with some kind of career after the Vietnam war.

I didn't know that story, but the fact is that the SEA's in general are naturally artistically gifted ... We all know that when we see the wonderful things they produce and many with such delicacy and precision.

Anna and I have discussed this many times together and we reckon that as most SEA children learn their letters and penmanship using a brush and the different pressures to create the different strokes etc., a brush is nothing foreign to them nor being dexterous and adept at using it. We think it is in their genes!!

When it comes to creating enhancements they start out way ahead because of their dexterity. I think it was quite a natural progression as nails 'took off' globally, that they would be naturally drawn to the profession.

 

[Chickafish]

I didn't know that story, but the fact is that the SEA's in general are naturally artistically gifted ... We all know that when we see the wonderful things they produce and many with such delicacy and precision.

Anna and I have discussed this many times together and we reckon that as most SEA children learn their letters and penmanship using a brush and the different pressures to create the different strokes etc., a brush is nothing foreign to them nor being dexterous and adept at using it. We think it is in their genes!!

When it comes to creating enhancements they start out way ahead because of their dexterity. I think it was quite a natural progression as nails 'took off' globally, that they would be naturally drawn to the profession.

I'm not sure about other SEA countries' culture, but the girls with traditional Lation/Cambodian/Thai parents like myself were usually put in classes at a young age to learn all the artistic crafts of our culture. I've been put in traditional dance, music, calligraphy, flower arranging, ornament making, even fruit carving classes when I was younger! :lol: I definitely used my hands a lot for a lot of fine detailed crafts. Carving a bunch of flowers into a watermelon with an itty bitty paring knife is not possible if you don't use the correct amount of delicacy!

 

[anonaw]

I agree! I used to get my nails done at an all Asian nail bar, and since training found they cut slights corners (not much cuticle work) but not much, and they always did a great job for me, I was always really pleased, they used electric files but never damaged my nails, as I soaked them off myself and there was no damage to my nails what so ever, I only had dehydration marks from wearing them for so long.

I know people make assumptions about people but they really shouldn't! I would always have recommended my old nail tech. The only reason I stopped going was because I was training so I was as to offer my nail art services and do everything properly.

 

[Easterbunny92]

I wholeheartedly agree with your post chicafish! I used to work in a salon owned by a vietnamese lady (actually, my long term partners sister!) and although, they started out as what was probably an "NSS" she worked damn hard to get away from that and qualified herself and now does everything by the book, so it does make my bloodboil when I see these generalisations with race!
Couldn't have said it better Chicafish 😍
Xx

 

[Easterbunny92]

Oops! I will spell your username right one time soon! Chickafish* x