Gave Up Offering Nail Enhancements

[Lovebeauty14]

Wow, if we go on holiday in the future to Florida I will just tell my husband we are going to Busch Gardens (prob spelt that wrong) and make a detour! Lol. He'll be like 'what the? This isn't it!' but it will be too late as I'll have already ran out the car! Lol. 

 

[unas escarlata]

I have only recently started doing biosculpture nails having had them on my own nails for 5 years or so and recently selling my (unrelated to beauty) business in preparation for moving abroad.

One of my ex-staff goes to a nail bar in Swindon and I thought I'd take a peek through the window. It was worse than a sweat shop. 2 rows of 6 desks, each manned by an operative wearing a mask holding a drill and the whole place was covered in a layer of dust. All desks were full with a queue of people on waiting chairs. In my naiviete, I had no idea these places existed, but do you know what, it doesn't matter what industry you're in, there is always someone who will undercut you and use inferior products to gain business. Be proud of your prices, use the best quality tools you can afford, carefully select your places of advertising to ensure you are attracting the right clientele. It worked for me in my previous life, people who visit nail bars are not your target market.

Wishing everyone every success and hoping for a little bit myself!

 

[VHunter]

Some great advice here!

Perhaps if you offered something no one else did (in addition to QUALITY AND PAINLESS services)...
For example: 99% of my clientel get nail art. It's my calling card, my USP. There is NO ONE in my neighborhood that does even half the things that I do. I'm rather busy. Not fully booked yet, but darn close.
Or Hollywood toes etc?

On the other issue that was raised regarding perceived racism.
I'm sure NONE was intended and racism makes me sick.
My half-sister is philipino. My niece is mulatto. Myself... I'm all kinds of things including part Native Indian.
In october, I'm looking forward to attending VivCat with Viv Simmonds and Catherine Wong and I CAN'T WAIT!! They're brilliant:!:

But, unfortunately some of us will "slip up" and say "asian salon". We don't mean anything by it. The truth is, when clients come to me, those are the words coming out of their mouths. I hear it incessantly. While I do try to educate them and use the term "NSS"..... it is what it is unfortunately.
I think it's safe to say that everyone is guilty of speaking like their neighbor in terms of common 'expressions' and slang. You hear it often enough, you end up saying it. It doesn't make it 'right'. Please don't missunderstand; I'm simply explaining the rationale.

There are 5 NSS/chop-shops local to me, within 5min driving distance. Not a single one of them employs any other 'race' other than the aforementioned. And those are just those that are local to me.
This is how it is all over Quebec. In every single mall. Only very rarely you find other 'races' of technicians, and usually working from home like myself OR they work in a hair-salon.

So, no offense is meant. I'm sure I speak for everyone when I say we're sorry. I can honestly understand the frustrations associated with being treated in a racist manner: in Quebec, the laws are anti-anglophone and good luck if English is the only language you speak. Even government offices will treat you like garbage.

But please keep what I've said above in mind. We honestly don't mean anything by it when we 'slip up'. A simple reminder - without getting all hot under the collar - will do just fine.

:hug:

 

[agedog1]

I am here in Florida, Ego Hour Inc. in Vero Beach.

Only do natural nails and my practice is waterless (exception is steam towels I use)Mani's & Pedi's.

Saw so many nail enhancement problems and so many fungus problems with those using pedicure throne's and water basin's that I went a different way.

My charges are $15.00 manicure, $30.00 - $35.00 pedicure

Many clients are going Natural.

Keep your chin up.

You might want to check out the system I use it's Natural Kosmetis EZ Way Treatment. You'll have to google it to see if there is a supplier in your area. It's inexpensive save's time, water bills and the environment.

My biggest seller as well as biggest draw is my nail polish remover it's an organic soy and corn based blend, non toxic derived from Farm crops and comes in 100% recyclable Glass bottle. My clients love the stuff especially the tea tree & lavender. This & my waterless mani's and pedi's are my little niche'


Chere

 

[Aromababy]

I've noticed most in this forum are from the UK. I'm in the U.S.

I, along with many of my fellow nail professionals, have been undercut by the mass of Asian salons that do full acrylic sets for $12 and pink & whites for $15. My clients were honest that even though my work was beautiful, they just couldn't see paying me $35 for pink and whites with a gel overlay when they could pay $15 at an Asian salon, especially in this economy. I didn't have the volume of enhancement clientele to make a price that low price work for me.

The Asian salons have 10 - 12 nail technicians (I won't call them nail professionals) going at a time. They're like little assembly line workers.

For a while my clients would sporadically return to me to repair the horrific damage done to their nails plates from improper efiling done at the Asian salons. They would tell me horror stories of being "burned" by the efile and chemicals and I would see the damage firsthand. But it never failed, as soon as they saw me a couple of times and their nail beds were no longer sore, they went right back to the Asian salon because they were so much less expensive. After a while, I just told my clients that I no longer offered enhancements.

Do you guys have anything like that going on in the UK? Just curious.

Yes it is rife here, although they are more expensive than myself in this area, but stupid people would still rather give them their cash as they are in and out in 40 mins.
My sister fell out with her best mate over this very situation, her friend said she didn't want my sister to do her nails as she "couldn't be arsed" to sit for an hour and 15 mins when she could get them done at the asian salon up the road in 40 mins. My sister was livid!! Her friends nails look a drag queens nails, she has them painted alexis colby red and really long with sq tip, they're hideous. Sorry you had to resort to this hon x

 

[Sarah.Payne]

Im not being racist im just serisouly curious! : Where I live all the NSS Salons are run by Asians.. what other natonaity have anyone seen where you live running a NSS?

 

[Mary C]

what does NSS stand for? Sorry am totally new to this forum and am probably not up speed on abbreviations

 

[gr8nailz]

It stands for Non Standard Salon.

 

[eskimonailtech]

Most of them are vietnamese. In case anyone was wondering.

 

[jacqueline]

Here is my two cents worth.

The NSS are all run by Vietnamese where I am. I am not racist and have friends of many creeds and colour, this is just a factual statement about who runs these salons in my area and boy there are dozens and dozens of them.

Many also razor/shave the feet, I write this as a fact as I have had it done for years when I was younger before learning it was illegal in Florida and more than a few use MMA, fact again as we deal with the fallout from it on a weekly basis in the spa, and the sanitation in many of these places is truly shocking and for the way you are treated generally, that is not that nice either.

Yes, education is the key in my eyes, but I educate the clients. I don't blatantly slag off any other business but when it comes up I just tell them for example how things should be sanitized especially pedi thrones, as this never really happens properly in the nail farms, it is one in one out sort of mentality.

I also educate about MMA,expalin why some salons are so "cheap" and the discuss/ market Shellac, Minx etc etc. I do it nicely as I don't want to "bore the pants" off folks but I am passionate about it all. I have at least 6 new clients from the NSS in the last few days.

I know there will always be the client that wants quick and cheap and I don't beat myself up about that. I also know my clients names, likes, dislikes, have client records, offer refreshments/nibbles, give nice samples and generally treat them well, so they come back again and again rather than be treated the way they were elsewhere.

As an aside we don't offer enhancements just the natural route at the minute with products mentioned - Shellac and Minx. I do have Brisa for special one offs like Bride or the likes but don't market it widely as we push the natural nail because of the abundance of NSS salons and I won't compete openly with them full stop. I know my client base and market to it.

These clients love the fact they are coming to a "real" spa with luscious treatments and not farmed in and out.

Hang in there!

 

[Ambur30]

They are Viet. And from what I understand, that's the only license in the US (and I guess surrounding countries?) that the training is done in Vietnamese. But, that doesn't really explain why there are so many Asian nail salons in Europe, where training isn't mandatory. :|

 

[BobSweden]

The answer is it is a low entry cost job and speaking the local language isn't necessary - same reason that it became so popular in the US. In Sweden, the number of Asian nail salons has increased dramatically during the last two years, from nearly nothing to nearly one in every town. However, here most seem to be run by Thai. One of our customers recently hired a girl who worked in one of these salons, she was paid minimum wage, under the table, and expected to work 10.00 to 20.00 six days a week. She told our customer that many of the girls are working on tourist visa's which is of course illegal. I don't suggest all Thai salons here follow the same practices, but given the taxes here and the locations they use, it's amazing how they can run a profitable business. My sympathy is with the girls who are being exploited and who are only given basic education by the manager.

 

[Aromababy]

I have been doing some digging on youtube and came across this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzunrIrnvOI&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Sent from my GT-S5830 using SalonGeek

 

[Red]

I have been doing some digging on youtube and came across this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzunrIrnvOI&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Sent from my GT-S5830 using SalonGeek

Interesting. Could Be very useful in educating potential clients who are/were regular NSS goers.... (eg on websites/Facebook etc) I'm bookmarking it! Thanks aromababy!

 

[Aromababy]

Interesting. Could Be very useful in educating potential clients who are/were regular NSS goers.... (eg on websites/Facebook etc) I'm bookmarking it! Thanks aromababy!

You're very welcome hon. There are quite a few similar vids on youtube tbh. Always worth a look x

Sent from my GT-S5830 using SalonGeek

 

[naturalnails]

I think you are wrong in calling all salons which are run in this way, Non Standard Salons. It is probably more correct to call them Discount Salons.

There are many Oriental nail technicians who do fabulous nails and run very successful salons and equally there are many Caucasian nail technicians who do very sloppy, dangerous work.

Can we please steer the thread back towards the topic and leave race out of it.

Thanks!