Do you REALLY need training for Shellac?

[Ambur30]

Hopefully I'm not getting too off topic here, but I am very curious. What type of education are you required to do to be a "licensed nail technician?"

 

[naturalnails]

Hopefully I'm not getting too off topic here, but I am very curious. What type of education are you required to do to be a "licensed nail technician?"

In theory - none!

There are unscrupulous companies who will sell to anyone to asks, training or not.

 

[Susie H]

I'm not saying training is pointless, but all what you have listed can be found out on the net if you look hard enough.

And there you have it
If you look hard enough, now I'm not digging at you, you sound a lot like me and I've brought my kids up to do the same thing, pick a subject and really learn that subject, find all the books, video's, etc that you can that are all around that subject, I find it all so interesting just like you and just like you for a long time I really couldn't get my head around the concept of people not doing it the same way.
But a few years later and countless posts by peeps who have had pound signs in their eyes, who have been here for a few short weeks and then never been heard from again and I've found it's true.
There are those out there who don't do this. Which is why we all bang on about the training. Only yesterday I read about a girl who went on a training course, not a very cheep one either and she's been left with more questions then answers, a truly rubbish working kit and by the way she worded her comments doesn't even realise that she's been taught a gel course rather then a l&p course.

 

[Ambur30]

Oh, wow!! So, you aren't required to have a license to do service someone's nails, advertise, charge, etc?! We have to have 400 hours of training and take a written test and a practical test through our state board of cosmetology!

Well, I would hope that distributors in the UK offer additional training in their product if you do not have to have any other type of training. Nail services can be very dangerous if done by someone who has no idea what they're doing.

Okay, back on topic! I am not required training in Shellac. But, I have not purchased the lamp or any Shellac as of lately. It's so expensive!! And I own a small shop in a small town so the demand isn't really there. Maybe it would be if I would get it, but I can't force myself to drop that kind of cash on a "maybe." When I do, I'm sure I'll have plenty of application questions! Haha.

 

[becky30]

I'm not saying training is pointless, but all what you have listed can be found out on the net if you look hard enough.

But how do you know what to look for on the internet if you havent been trained?

 

[louisenewell]

I think i very much would like to hear Gigi's comments on this post....
Because believe it or not..i for one am in utter shock....

 

[sachi]

Here in the US we don't have all the classes that you do. I have been getting on fine with Shellac for 6 month. Self Taught Fingernail fixer taught. And CND.com taught. I think unless you are Daft you can get the info you need to learn something like this with no problems. After all, if you are a Nail Tech and you know how to do L&P then you know how to do proper prep. IF you have the items you need. THE LIGHT and know how to apply said product then you are fine. I think that a lot of the classes you are made to take are just another way for company's to glean more cash flow from you. I see nothing wrong with a "masters coarse" In Said products, for those that feel they need a little leg up, but all in all Shellac needed no class for me. I am not any smarter then you and I get on just great with it

 

[JHall]

But how do you know what to look for on the internet if you havent been trained?

I have not been trained in spray tanning (yet) and am still waiting for my kit to arrive, in the mean time I am reading up as much as I can about it all, i read all these threads, someone mentions for example "DHA" so I go off searching to find out what that is all about and so on.

I have not stated anywhere that people should NOT bother getting trained, I did say that if they are intending to do treatments on clients then they SHOULD get trained and insured, all I said was it is possible to find out all the same info on the internet...... a two minute search on google will bring up complete books on being a nail tech, covering all that has been discussed in some of these posts and more...... is that the correct way to go about it? well thats up to the individual to decide.

 

[JuicyLucy]

Could you teach yourself to drive a car from books and videos? The answer is "Yes". After a few months of practice you would be more confident and think you were a better driver. In actual fact you would still be making all the same mistakes you were making on day one. The vital thing that a driving instructor gives you is feedback. The same with any training. The trainer will give tips on how to do things better and quicker and correct you when you are going wrong.

Practice does not make perfect it just gives you more confidence. Correct practice makes perfect.

 

[beauti-licious]

i have to say what a fab post juicy lucy....in total agrrement!

 

[JHall]

Could you teach yourself to drive a car from books and videos? The answer is "Yes". After a few months of practice you would be more confident and think you were a better driver. In actual fact you would still be making all the same mistakes you were making on day one. The vital thing that a driving instructor gives you is feedback. The same with any training. The trainer will give tips on how to do things better and quicker and correct you when you are going wrong.

Practice does not make perfect it just gives you more confidence. Correct practice makes perfect.

I passed my driving test 5 months ago and I can honestly say I have learnt more since then driving on my own than I ever learnt from my instructor, my daughter failed her test because her instuctor gave her wrong information, of course there are bad driving instructors out there just as there is probably bad trainers in the beuty business.

A lot of the info you can find on the net has come from trained people, youtube for example has hundreds of videos showing people how to cut certain hair styles and are being shown by trained people, as are the online books ..... so that would be correct information would it not?

The point I was making was that it "Is possible" to gain all that knowledge from somewhere other than a training course if thats what one chooses to do ...... I never said that was the best choice!

 

[ValencianNails]

A lot of the info you can find on the net has come from trained people, youtube for example has hundreds of videos showing people how to cut certain hair styles and are being shown by trained people, as are the online books ..... so that would be correct information would it not?

The point I was making was that it "Is possible" to gain all that knowledge from somewhere other than a training course if thats what one chooses to do ...... I never said that was the best choice!

Define correct!
Who's to say that the person whose YouTube video (or whatever) you're learning from is doing the process correctly?
Unless of course they're an educator for the particular company whose product you're wanting training for.

The best way (in my personal and professional opinion) is to have a class with an educator of whichever products you're using.

 

[JHall]

Define correct!
Who's to say that the person whose YouTube video (or whatever) you're learning from is doing the process correctly?
Unless of course they're an educator for the particular company whose product you're wanting training for.

The best way (in my personal and professional opinion) is to have a class with an educator of whichever products you're using.

there are plenty of well known professional hairdressers/makeup artists/beauty experts showing technique's on youtube.

And I agree with you, the best way is in a class with an educator, I was not disputing that.

 

[cheznails]

Even if as you say self teach yourself to drive a car at the end of the day you still need to pass a test to get insurance and to be legal. At some stage we will self teach ourselves in this industry and that is by practice. And I think someone said if you look hard enough you will find all you need to know about the certain industry you want to be in, to be honest until I was on a course I didn't know so much was involved or even where or what to look at. But maybe that's just me.

Sent from my HTC Wildfire using SalonGeek

 

[Alice]

Nope not from Sweet Squared.

Same.
I only have a mani/pedi cert and this allows you to buy cnd products such as shellac, obviously you would need a liquid/powder cert to buy most of their stuff

 

[VHunter]

I haven't read this entire thread, just scanned through it.
I must say, I'm stunned at what some "professionals" are saying


At the end of the day, you'll do better getting training for it.
Why?
A) You'll waste less product & less time, trying it out on your own (waste of time= lost money, wasted product = lost money)
B) You won't have to worry about insurance issues 'should' a problem arise
C) You'll earn your investment back much quicker KNOWING what you're doing rather than faffing about, and getting it right the FIRST time on a paying client.
D) If you do a search on these forums, regarding challenges faced by techs with Shellac and similar, you'll note that most of those challenges could have been avoided with a simple training that's short and painless.

Basically, you're kicking yourself in the arse if you don't get training of some sort AND by denying the necessity for training, my personal opinion is this encourages NSS-behaviour and mindset.

Training in everything and everything is a BONUS and a BENEFIT. It's not a loss by any stretch of the imagination. Education and knowledge are POWER.

I WISH I had HALF the opportunities that are available in the UK.
When someone turns their nose up at a learning opportunity, I just want to smack'em.

 

[Wooshka]

I think i very much would like to hear Gigi's comments on this post....
Because believe it or not..i for one am in utter shock....

I'm with you.
I'm not shocked by all the comments, just a lot of them.

Come on Gigi, where are you??

Here's my opinion on this matter....

Yes, I do think you should have training in any new product (and original product) you use.
The training/knowledge you get from training on the product is critical to the success of that product and the FULL safety of your clients.
Too many people don't think about the long term dangers of using these products if used incorrectly and the only way to know you are using them correctly is to be fully trained by a reputable trainer in that product.
You tube is NOT a reputable trainer by any means, yes it can maybe help you here and there but it should never be used in replacement of official product training.
Shellac is a chemical product and can/will cause damage to clients if used incorrectly and I know speaking from a personal view, if I ever found out my tech was using a product on me that she/he did not bother to train properly in, I would spit chips.

Getting the correct training also helps if you do come into any problems because you will always have the back up of that company to trouble shoot with, but if you go to them without training and ask for help, I'm sure most of them will just say "well go get training first".

Of course this is all just my opinion:Love:

 

[sachi]

Define correct!
Who's to say that the person whose YouTube video (or whatever) you're learning from is doing the process correctly?
Unless of course they're an educator for the particular company whose product you're wanting training for.

CND has How to videos on their site. Everyone here raves about fingernail fixer. So if we are led to believe they are the best at what they do then should we not learn from them? No one is saying go out and do nails with out training, what is being asked is If you have the training to be a nail tech why is it that you must get more training (at your out of pocket cost) to do something that is really a no brainer? CND gives you a how to booklet, they let you watch the how too online. Its very easy to do. You are not building a nail and apex just adding color that goes in a light

 

[geeg]

CND has How to videos on their site. Everyone here raves about fingernail fixer. So if we are led to believe they are the best at what they do then should we not learn from them? No one is saying go out and do nails with out training, what is being asked is If you have the training to be a nail tech why is it that you must get more training (at your out of pocket cost) to do something that is really a no brainer? CND gives you a how to booklet, they let you watch the how too online. Its very easy to do. You are not building a nail and apex just adding color that goes in a light

Shellac training is not just about a process or technique which is all that the videos show ... it is a science based training and I think even the shallowest person would agree, that as a professional it is important to know how your product works? Especially when it is a completely new product based on new science & technology?

Judging by the feedback on this site, the people who have had a Shellac class, understand the product and how it works much better and have far fewer challenges with this 'no brainer' easy peasy product than others!!

I took the class ... I only have 27 years of experience as a nail technician and figured I might learn something useful and guess what, I did1 quite a few things in fact, from experts both on and with Shellac.

@ Louise, Victoria and Wooshka ........ I don't think you need me to comment as you three have done a fine job and do not need any validation from me.

I think there have been some very arrogant answers by some perhaps good technicians but to assume that anyone can learn to a professional standard through watching videos is ridiculous.

You are all talking about technique and not knowledge.

Knowledge without technique is useless, when talking about a skilled job, and technique without knowledge would make one positively dangerous!

 

[Aiden]

When you use a CND product you are becoming part of the best of the best. It would be a pity to attempt short cuts. Knowledge is power. Knowing that I did my Foundation training ( I worked really hard at it!) with CND years ago always gives me the edge. I have absolute, solid confidence, and it all comes from training.
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