How best to start?

[Dicky]

I've just joined the forum and wondered if anyone has a view about which is the better way to start out as a nail tech.

At the moment I'm looking at either a 16 week level 2 nail tech course at local college or a fast track 3 - 4 day course at a local beauty school.

I'm thinking I'd be better off with the local college course - is this likely to be the way to go ?

I want to be able to offer manicures, gels and extensions.
Thanks
D

 

[Stephanie]

Hello,
First off welcome to the forum & hopefully soon to the business!

I'll be honest with you when it comes to education, it's like building a house.
You want to get the best foundation so your building is as solid as can be!
Same with Education. You start at the basics...You cant do A set of extensions til you know how to do a basic manicure so that is where you begin.
You work your way up the ladder til you learn the next level.

The more you learn the better you will become.
The more you practice the better your work will look.

Eventually you will see that every day is a new learning experience!

I cant tell you which course to take, I can tell you that even a 16 week course wont cover everything so a 4 day course is child's play!

Like I said, The more courses the more knowledge, the more knowledge the better you will become in time. Dont rush things...Take it one course at a time til you feel you are ready to move on!

Wishing you all the luck in the world. :wink2:

 

[Glamma]

Definitely do the 16 week course. I am in the middle of a 18 week level 2 course and I still don't feel confident yet. There is no way you can learn in just 3-4 days. It took me 3-4 days just to remember the manicure and pedicure procedure lol!

 

['chelle]

Hi, dont compare the courses on the amount of training, focus on the quality of the training. May I ask who the training providers are that you are looking into? a 16 week course might sound better, but there's plenty of people on this forum who've been disappointed with their college course because the tutor isnt knowledgeable, and the classes are large so they dont get much 1 to 1 time with the tutor and work their way through their course blind.

I'm not saying that your 16 week course will be crap, only that there's as much chance that the 4 day course is a quality course as with the 16 week one. Instead of looking at the length of course, find out some more information about the content. Find out who your tutor will be and what their qualifications/experience are, find out how large the classes are, find out how the classes are structured, what products they use, how they assess you, there's loads to ask. You could always ask for reviews on here if you dont mind sharing with us the names of the training providers you are looking into.

Personally I can recommend becoming a CND tech. It's the leading name in nails, generally its the brand your clients will recognise which is important, and both the products and the training are of very high quality. I know things have changed since I did my training, but when I trained we did 4 full days in the classroom, then a month later we did another full day, then 6 weeks later another classroom day. We were assessed on the 5th and 6th days, and we practiced at home in between classroom days, but essentially there were only 6 classroom days, and the training was very high quality. It just goes to show that shorter training courses can be good provided the quality is there.

 

[Dicky]

Thanks for all your views.

I'm currently looking at a VRQ level 2 Diploma in Nail Services (Manicure, pedicure, nail art, Fibreglass/Silk Nail enhancements) college course and this is the first time they've run it. I've asked for a course content and assessment plan so I'll get a clearer idea of the course. The course leader has a lot of experience in this ever changing industry.
As a complete novice, I think I may need the longer course. After that, I think, as 'chelle says, homing in on, say, CND would be a good move.

I think it will be difficult to find enough people to practice on in a shorter period if I go for a shorter course. I realise I'm looking as much at the practical aspect as the theory.

I agree with Glamma that I'll need more than 3 - 5 days to get confidence and sort out my technique. It's all easy on the face of it but doing it for real on someone else seems daunting.

Thanks Stephanie - I'll be needing loads of luck. I think the VRQ2 includes some Anatomy and Physiology, so it will be useful to get that out of the way.

Yes, 'chelle, it could be a 16 week yawn and, in this case, there's no history. I suppose the upside is that if everyone thinks it's too slow, it could be speeded up.
The intensive courses I was looking at were ABT acredited Nail technician course at Cotswold Academy, Spa Manicure and Gel Nail Technician at Bath Beauty Training and the HHBTA Nail Extensions (complete). All the courses (including the college course) are around the same price, with some of the intensive ones £ 100 more.

So I suppose I'm thinking that I should, at least, get more than 3 - 5 days practical experience in the college course. I'll need to check that out.

I know there's no right way - just quite a few wrong ones for the novice.

Thanks for your help