Do you think you could ever be as good as Tom H?

[Jane]

I was admiring the stunning work of the competitors at the Nailympics in this months Scratch magazine, some amazing work and near enough a clean sweep for Tom Holcomb.
If I turned the clock back 30 years, practiced night and day I don't think I could ever be anywhere as good as Tom.
Do you think that some people are naturally gifted or do you believe that we could all reach those standards?
Although I can appreciate the skill and technique involved in producing the nails shown on page 33 they are not something I'd like to have on the end of my fingers. My own personal preferred shape and length are those done by Gigi Rouse in the Fabric# ad. My clients, Mrs Jones, 3 children, does her own housework and shops at Tesco, and Miss Brown, thirtysomething works in IT, travels, drinks copious amounts of alcohol at the weekends with other thirtysomethings, wouldn't last 5 mins with those nails. I know it's been mentioned before but wouldn't it be nice to have another category for salon nails?

 

[Sassy Hassy]

Because competition nails and salon nails are so different I think this is a difficult one to answer. Given that the Entity team swept the board at the Nailympics there is obviously a winning formula, is this a skill that can be merely taught or do you have to be born with the "art" .. who knows, unless of course Mr H is willing to teach me and then I could give a truly informed answer!!

It would be interesting to see Tom's work in a salon where he had to contend with hands and nails of every conceivable shape, size and condition. To me making enhancements look so natural that you can't tell if they are the real thing or not, and that they last to their next rebalance is where the skill really lies ... and I'm still working on that one!

So I don't know how to vote!! But great thread!

 

[geeg]

I so like this post because it clearly shows the distinction between what Tom H does ... and the reality of what we do every day in the salon.

As you know I Judged Tom's (and his protogées) nails in the Nailympics competition and I have to say, I felt totally manipulated by him and his 'playing of the system' to win. He plays it superbly!! He's been doing it for years. I found myself giving high marks to nails I did not like because they had all achieved this consistency in their work.
Did I think the nails were beautiful? NO NO NO and NO again. I did not.
But were they consistent in most criteria? Yes! So I had to give the scores.
Do you know that he never used white powder at all? Only white tips bent into a c curve over a steaming kettle! Does that show nail skills? NO. But they all looked alike so top scores. Rubbish.

Does any of this relate to what we do in our Job? No.
Do we do more beautiful, skillful and natural-looking work in the salon everyday of the week? Yes.

If I could give any advice to those reading this thread, it would be this. STOP judging your work against the work of competitors like Tom H. It is NOT the same and it is not a bench mark you should be aiming at (thank goodness) and unless you too want to 'play the system' to win in competitions, then what is done by the likes of T.H. and his clones has no bearing in the reality of the salon. What we do there, takes a greater skill of a different kind.

 

[Jane]

Thanks Geeg, I don't feel so inadequate now.
Will vote that I am as good as Tom but haven't hit the competition circuit yet! :lol:
But where does that leave other competitors? The ones that use white powder, the one's with real skill? Do they just accept that they will be second to Tom and his team or do they say "Well if you can't beat em, join em" and rush out and buy kettles?

 

[sam1]

Thank you Gigi, for many years now I've driven my self completely insane wondering why I can't do nails like these people, I now realise I'm very happy with the nails I do because they are beautiful and compliment my clients hands and that is what you should be judged on not how "perfect" and completely unreal they can be. It actually put me off competing.

 

[geeg]

Thanks Geeg, I don't feel so inadequate now.
Will vote that I am as good as Tom but haven't hit the competition circuit yet! :lol:
But where does that leave other competitors? The ones that use white powder, the one's with real skill? Do they just accept that they will be second to Tom and his team or do they say "Well if you can't beat em, join em" and rush out and buy kettles?

'From Sam1' Thank you Gigi, for many years now I've driven my self completely insane wondering why I can't do nails like these people, I now realize I'm very happy with the nails I do because they are beautiful and compliment my clients hands and that is what you should be judged on not how "perfect" and completely unreal they can be. It actually put me off competing.

As for Jane's question .... (made me belly laugh) I'm working on it with the organizers.
I sincerely hope that the British competitors will not rush out to copy the US or Tom H's methods. I'd rather change the criteria. Remember this was the US Nailympics not the normal competition we have in the UK.
If you remember, the tables were turned and John Haulk came nowhere in the UK competition but won in the Nailympics in his category!!

For Sam1 ... not surprised you were 'put off' competing when clearly what is winning is not even pleasing to the eye never mind that the competitors have used skills completely unrelated to normal nail skills in order to win with the least effort. I know for a fact the Tom Holcome has the skills ... so why not use them? Because they have found a system that wins everytime without the risk factor ... pre formed tips, preformed smile lines, thin coat over the top ... the most skillful thing they have to do is get a great model and apply the enamel well. If you don't intend to compete forget them and what they do. It's all about winning not about Nails.

By the way Jane, youneed to add another category to the poll!! Actually, I think I do better nails than Tom Holcome!!!

 

[ValencianNails]

I voted "yes with practise and training"... 20 years worth of practising lol

I like the crisp look of comp nails however I couldn't ever wear them, but then they're not designed for everyday wear like the nails we produce for our clients, with comp nails you could never change a babies nappy, scrub the toilet, use a computer keyboard or make the dinner, let alone getting yourself dressed and doing up zips in a hurry lol
good thread Jane :hug:
x

 

[Bagpuss]

After reading all of the above i am left not being able to vote as now i feel i don't know how good he is ? Yes he has won comps...but as to how good his nails are i haven't a clue....i too would like to see his salon nails then i would be able to vote....but if thats what it takes to win comps then no i don't want to be as good as that i want to be better. I am sure his salon nails are brilliant and i am not disrespecting him in any way...but for me personally i would want to win a comp for pure skill in creating a nail from start to finish in the same way as i would in a salon....i am sure the only kettle used in his salon is the one for making tea.

 

[RedAdmiral]

I think his comp nails look ehrm................. funny!
I also think that Men are more competitive and would rather practice all year just for the comps than do the salon nails.
Tom H has given alot to the industry and I dont think hes ready to hand over his crown anytime soon so maybe in 20 years if I practiced all day every day!!

Tom H v Red Ad
Bring on the kettles!!!!

 

[Sparklepink]

i too find this post interesting
i work full time in the salon so i do do 'salon nails' day in day out
the thing with competions is abt pushing yourself and wanting to improve what you do and at the end of the day being consistant is a winning formula
i would love to have to consistency of Tom H and others like him....
consistency is a great thing to have in salon... im not saying everyones salon nails should have the look of a comp nail...... i know i couldnt do anything with nails too long but id like to beable to give my clients consistency

i think yep there are some really naturally gifted ppl out there... techs who can just do and work that product how they want... this also does come with practice.... and again education... you can keep practicing mistakes but if no one tells you how and were to imporve how will you learn

i feel im just taking my first steps into the competion world and if consistency will help me on the way to winning then thats what i want... simple

personally i love the look of a comp nail but i also like cute neat salon nails be them oval or square

Do you know that he never used white powder at all? Only white tips bent into a c curve over a steaming kettle! Does that show nail skills? NO. But they all looked alike so top scores. Rubbish.

in the nailympics white tips were allowed so why nt use them
the only category you couldnt was sculpture and Tom came top there too...
if i entered more than the sculpt cat then i like many other competitors would have too altho give me my white powder over a white tip in the salon anyday

the subject of comp nails and salon nails does come up quite a bit i think that we can all learn from doing competions i know in the past yr since i entered my first comp my nails have improved loads and loads and that is in salon too... i have done that with wanting to improve, practice and by doing more education

i havent voted yet as i think that yeah id love to be like Tom H but hey im Jessica and i wanna be me and win doing my nails being consistent!

Jess
xox

 

[*JOANNE*]

Tom H v Red Ad
Bring on the kettles!!!!

pmsl...........you go girl

 

[Just Jo]

I too want to be able to achieve the consistency of Tom's nails for my salon work and maybe entering competitions can help achieve this because of the amount of practicing that I am sure you have to do and this initself must improve your work in general. I am not sure that I want to do competitions yet but I am sure that I want to do beautiful consistent nails that my clients are all too happy leaving me with.
I shall continue to practice and continue with my education.
A short while ago I would have voted that I will never ever acheive nails like TH but I now believe I will

 

[Sal]

OK so I am very new to nails and it was the first time I was at a show when I was at Olympia and I was very impressed when watching the prize giving and thought "omg, Tom Holcomb must be so good to sweep the board".

But then I started reading on here about him and his team using kettles etc in his entries and lost respect - I thought, hang on a minute, this isn't what's done in salons to do nails! I realised all he was doing was doing whatever it took to win the competitions.

My opinion on this is, ok so if you enter a competition then you obviously want to win and competition nails are different to salon nails, but surely you should only win by using the conventional techniques i.e. NO KETTLES!!!!!

I totally agree with everything Geeg says.

 

[Cathie!]

Well, I love the look of competition nails and I would wear them full time if I could keep them up .... (Jess, move closer to me lol)

However, for my clients, I create nails that suit them and their lifestyle, whether ist's short sqaure, oval squoval etc.

I think Tom Holcomb has a natural talent and yes, he has been entering competitions since the year dot, but I don't think that we should take away from him the fact that he does have talent and is able to produce consistent beautiful nails time after time....Sure if I offered my natural nails up to him he'd be able to produce the same beauty, with or without a kettle!!! And at the end of the day, I think sculpting is his forte, so he has to use white powder there doesn't he? And as for his salon nails, I can't say, but why would he risk his reputation and market a salon product if it had the longevity of competition nails?

Ok, so finding a beautiful model on whom you don't have to build an apex, just apply a thin coat of product, is all part of the US Competition thing, but sure it is part of the UK competition thing too...there's no point choosing a model with flat,diddy nail beds to try and win a competition with!! Something that really gets to me about the UK comps is the uniform.....WHY??

So, I think competition nails are competition nails and don't suit everyone, but sure we should be looking to consistency in our salon nails too, whatever the shape, size or form.

 

[Sparklepink]

Well, I love the look of competition nails and I would wear them full time if I could keep them up .... (Jess, move closer to me lol)

However, for my clients, I create nails that suit them and their lifestyle, whether ist's short sqaure, oval squoval etc.

I think Tom Holcomb has a natural talent and yes, he has been entering competitions since the year dot, but I don't think that we should take away from him the fact that he does have talent and is able to produce consistent beautiful nails time after time....Sure if I offered my natural nails up to him he'd be able to produce the same beauty, with or without a kettle!!! And at the end of the day, I think sculpting is his forte, so he has to use white powder there doesn't he? And as for his salon nails, I can't say, but why would he risk his reputation and market a salon product if it had the longevity of competition nails?

Ok, so finding a beautiful model on whom you don't have to build an apex, just apply a thin coat of product, is all part of the US Competition thing, but sure it is part of the UK competition thing too...there's no point choosing a model with flat,diddy nail beds to try and win a competition with!! Something that really gets to me about the UK comps is the uniform.....WHY??

So, I think competition nails are competition nails and don't suit everyone, but sure we should be looking to consistency in our salon nails too, whatever the shape, size or form.

i'll do you some lovely sparklies in 2 weeks hun


i totally forgot to mentioned the model....
i think that finding a really good model does play a massive part in competing
like cathie said if the model has wee nail beds then your nt going to place
when i was given critc after the nailympics i was told next comp try to find a model with longer beds (its nt personal)

again the difference with UK comps and international comps like the nailympics do vary in rules and reg like the uniforms and the scoring
i personally liked the nailympics international style comp
i dont do the uniform thing i like to be smart and i protect my clothes but i dont wear a beauty uniform i havent since i was at college and that was yrs ago when i did in fact do beauty therapy!!....lol

Jess
xox

 

[geeg]

EZ girls and boys. I haven't heard anyone say that Tom is less of a technician because he 'played the game'. Just that I, as a judge, did not see one set of nails that won that comp that I really liked or that I thought were really beautiful ... not one.

I think I fairly well established that Competition nails have nothing in common with Salon nails or the skills used to create them, so we all agree there it seems.

Of course practicing for competition does improve your salon nail skills if you are practicing smile lines with white powder.
And trying to reach perfection only improves the eye.
But our clients' nails are not model nails, nor will we achieve perfection or that 'competition look' on every client ... my clients hate that 'porn star' nail look ... and they do not suit most clients anyway. Same as the extreme smile that we want to see in a comp does not suit most clients.

It is my opinion that salon enhancements should look like the real thing only better ... that is what clients want in the main.
NOT like something stuck on top of the real thing screaming FALSE NAILS WORN HERE because they re so unnatural looking.. Not all will agree with my opinion but that's life in' it!

 

[Urban Geek]

Being a mere novice and only in the industry less than 18 months, I am sure a lot of people will not appreciate me perhaps voicing criticism against the mighty Tom H. I have looked at Scratch magazine over and over and cannot find anything attractive about his 'winning' nails. Yes, they are consistent but what is the point of consistency when the result is a nail where the smile line leaves the free-edge visible. I have an ever dimmer view of the nails now that I know that only white tips, kettles and steam were used. Good for Tom for beating the system but I do not aspire to produce nails like his. There are plenty of other fantastic technicians, not necessarily competition winners that I do really admire and it is there skill and professionalism which inspire me.

 

[scattyfox]

Very well said Ladies nothing more to add
x

 

[*Glynis*]

I must admit that I do not really like the look of Tom's comp nails and I am pretty sure that I would never have a customer ask for such "enhancements". However, because he is a winner, I do aspire to be able to produce nails like that in a competition scenario. There is no doubt that he is consistent, every set he produced in each system looks identical. I don't see how he was "playing the system", they were the nails that matched the judging criteria best. If they were not then the best there on the day, then the surely the judging criteria is wrong?

When I entered the Nailympics myself I was horrified that it would have been frowned upon if I produced my usual "natual looking nails". I know that I produce much better looking nails every day in the salon that I did at Nailympics, but I was trying to meet the judging criteria so I did what I thought "they" wanted.

Perhaps the judging criteria needs to be looked at, but then who is to say that Tom wouldn't continue to win. Also what a fab way to launch a new company.

Obviously the most important thing to me is keeping my customers happy, but I would love to be able to emulate Tom in competitions.

One other thing. Are Tom's nails so different to previous UK winning competitor's nails, say at Excel? Nobody seemed to have a problem with those.

 

[geeg]

I must admit that I do not really like the look of Tom's comp nails and I am pretty sure that I would never have a customer ask for such "enhancements". However, because he is a winner, I do aspire to be able to produce nails like that in a competition scenario. There is no doubt that he is consistent, every set he produced in each system looks identical. I don't see how he was "playing the system", they were the nails that matched the judging criteria best. If they were not then the best there on the day, then the surely the judging criteria is wrong?

When I entered the Nailympics myself I was horrified that it would have been frowned upon if I produced my usual "natual looking nails". I know that I produce much better looking nails every day in the salon that I did at Nailympics, but I was trying to meet the judging criteria so I did what I thought "they" wanted.

Perhaps the judging criteria needs to be looked at, but then who is to say that Tom wouldn't continue to win. Also what a fab way to launch a new company.

Obviously the most important thing to me is keeping my customers happy, but I would love to be able to emulate Tom in competitions.

One other thing. Are Tom's nails so different to previous UK winning competitor's nails, say at Excel? Nobody seemed to have a problem with those.

Believe me the judging criteria is being looked at as we speak Glynis.
and Yes, Tom's nails are very different to the winning nails in previous UK competitions. He produced American-type winning nails and they are different. What has been winning in the USA has not been what has been looked for in winning nails in Europe. The Nailympics was American run as you most likely know and it was their criteria.
Oh yes, he plays the system and he does it superbly. You would know what I meant if you had to judge them. We look for a little more individuality in UK competitions and allow for it in the judging too.