Is cheap always poor quality?

[Rinn]

Great to have all your opinions geeks, thank you all for taking the time to reply.

I did start this thread with the idea that it might give newbies a gentle nudge in the right direction re product quality but after reading some of the posts today I think I need to start another one suggesting the importance of up to date training and also why nail professionals ( as opposed to dabblers or those who think they would like to play at being nail techs)buy their products from the authorised distributors.

 

[lelu]

Some companies do have trial packs. They are not free but are good value. My wholesaler does an NSI trial pack for both L&P and gel. CND do trial packs too. An excellent way of trying a product without a major commitment. I believe Young Nails also do trial packs.

 

[gems-gem's]

Saw the young nails yesterday. Must get those got distracted by the amazing glitters!

 

[Murnettie]

I saw on the cnd Facebook page that they are going to do student kits to supply to nail schools which I think is brilliant because I'd imagine that as soon as students use such a good quality from the very start as I did they will never want to use anything inferior which can only be a good thing both for them and their future clients.

 

[Mrs Geek]

I really enjoyed reading BobSwedens response, there are many things in that post that are totally relelvent to finding what you need.

For me it comes down to one simple thing... Any of you can be good at ANYTHING provided you have been educated to do it well.

We have CND Academies that do training all over... They are considered the best (I am normally backwards about coming forwards with this but in education I believe it to be true and know it through reputation and awards and award / comp winners)... But in order to do great nails you need a great trainer... A good all rounder... No point in sitting in a class if your trainer is simply telling you have fabulous she is... Education should be about empowing the student to become great in all aspects of whatever it is they are learning.

Martina Navratilova once said... "Practice DOESN'T make perfect... PERFECT practise makes perfect"...

With the best will in the world, you can be taught how to do a nail but if the person teaching you doesn't know what the hell they are doing or is giving you incorrect advice / technique etc... You're not going to be able to do good nails. The great things is, those that TRULY WANT to be great at what they do, keep on seeking their Holy Grail and always find something that turns them around in the end...:Look_left

 

[K-Nails]

When I started out with my NVQ the course used what I thought was a very reputable product, not cheap in nature at all and the first results were good. However when I decided this was what I wanted to do as a career I started to look for further education and that is where it stopped.

I spent a fortune on my kit because the product was expensive not at all cheap, but that is where my nail future ended.

Luckily because I had done a fairly good course I retrained with CND and have not looked back since. Last year I had a blip and because of constant lifting issues (my fault I now know not the product :o) I changed to another product and again it was good but that is where it ended on education again because in order to progress I had to travel miles.

I know distance shouldn't probably be an issue but in this economic climate I have to think of cost regarding petrol and train tickets etc. CND have two training centres within an hour either side of me. Hmm what more could a gal want. No expensive doesn't always mean good either because if you cant further your learning whats the point. Im certainly not happy knocking out crap nails for money. I want my nails talked about in a good way. xxx

 

[Rinn]

Simple answer - why would anyone sell cheap if they can sell expensive?

The reasons companies sell cheap is because they can't justify a higher price. That could be for several reasons:

• the ingredients are lower quality
• lack of experienced and talented people to develop the products
• don't offer education or it's of a low level
• hire low cost employees and/or manufacture in a low cost country
• take short-cuts regarding safety and testing**
• work out of home or other low-cost premises
• they have no reputation or uniqueness

** For products sold in Europe, the manufacturers are responsible for stating if a cosmetic product is safe or not. There are no independent laboratory tests done by any government agency.

In 2011-2012, the Swedish Medical Products Agency did an investigation of professional nail products sold in Sweden. Of the 32 companies whose products they tested, they found 10 companies (30% !!) selling Chinese and low-cost German gel, acrylic or fibreglass nail products that contained ingredients banned in Europe. They removed those products from the market.

So what this all comes down to, is that when buying products there is no guarantee of product safety. The only thing that you can do is to buy from a manufacturer or distributor that you can trust.

In business there a legal phrase for this - it's called "due diligence". Due diligence means you are responsible for doing the research and making sure than the claims made are honest and accurate.

How can you do due diligence when looking for a nail products supplier? Some ideas:

• How many years has the company been in business (remember 9 out of 10 companies fail in the first year!)
• Who are the owners? Does their website even say clearly who the owners are and their experience? Are they respected in the industry or just someone who got tired of working in a salon and tries to make money selling products?
• What education do they provide? Companies that offer advanced education can be seen as more serious and professional
• Has the company won any nail competitions?
• Do they advertise in professional magazines? (it's expensive, so only those companies with good finances can afford to do this on a regular basis)
• Do they have a network of experienced educators / resellers?
• Does their website only show a PO Box address?
• Do they have a fax number? (many low cost start-up's never think about buying a fax number)

Today it is very easy to find some products to flog, put up a cheap website and work from home. But don't be fooled. Look deeper and you won't be fooled.

Thank you BobSweden for such an informative helpful reply, surely any ''would be'' nail techs will take note of the points in this post and will be steered in the right direction of a quality training company , providing a quality product.

There are no easy, fast track routes to becoming a successful nail technician.

As Mrs Geek said ''education'' is the key and it is life long .