My nail tech journey, good bad and the ugly!

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Frankie B

Member
Joined
Dec 20, 2015
Messages
13
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5
Location
St Helens
Some people may not like this response, i am truly sorry if anyone gets upset/offended/disagrees. I hope it is helpful to many - This is just my story :)
No matter how much you feel you may not be doing a good job or doing it fast enough etc, keep at it, its very rewarding and so bloody good to see how good you become in such a short time :)

I'll add this to the top as well as it's a long post - My recommend Acrylic & Gel products I used to use Ink London, they are incredible and very reasonable!!

I don't do nails any more - takes too long and people are just not patient enough - they expect it done in 30 mins 😆

Anyway when i first got into nails i did an online course through groupon - absolutely shocking i know, however this made me realise it was something i wanted to do. I got insurance and started practising on people, i made sure they knew that i was totally new, i did charge, i think it was like £10, to cover petrol and products. You know what, it really boosted my confidence as i had so many people wanting to take up the offer, and they were lovely a patient, half the time the nailed lasted a couple of days and the customers gave me feed back to improve on. I would then offer them to come back to me when i felt i was a bit more confident, for the same price. Some ladies i practised on stuck with me all the way through my journey until i was, pretty good, not the best but i took so much pride in my work.

I did start working in a shop with just my "centre of excellence" certificate thinking i was a pro, in all fairness i learnt so much more teaching myself, watching YouTube videos - i love Suzie - Nail Career Education

I then found out how dodge id been working as id not actually been assessed on my work on humans! Just through photos 😳 so i did a proper course, it was totally free, it's called Vita Skills, it's basically a grant you have, you only pay it back if you earn over 21k, which is kinda unlikely when doing nails and working for yourself. The course.... well it taught me absolutely nothing, however it was fun and i could help fellow techs which felt wonderful.

I then passed my course and worked in a high-end salon, i absolutely hated it, so much pressure and no respect! So i went self-employed and worked with a lovely girl who had her own salon and wanted a tech there, she charged me 20% of my earnings, which in my opinion is a bargain, i did supply all my items, but i got so many customers through her already built salon customers 🥰 and i also made a very good friend, yeah we fell out sometimes and didn't always agree but that's life and just difference of options.

I then decided to go solo, and work at home, it was only down the road from the salon which meant i kept customers...winner. Also, i paid no rent etc. It worked really well, however i have very little patience with people who are late/overstay their welcome or simple just don't turn up.
I was sharing my home with my customers, along with my personal life and most of them met my partner at the time, It was lovely really but i just couldn't cope with waiting around for customers, or trying to be polite trying to get rid of them, i may come across a bitch but I'm actually such a softie and have found it hard to tell people to leave or have a go if they are late etc.

I then moved to St Helens (From stoke) so had no customers and had to start again, it then hit me that i didn't want to do it any more. Luckily i have an extremely supportive fella who is behind me every choice i make!

So... i became a dreadlock artist!!! Self-taught! The Best thing i ever did, my conservatory is full of bright-coloured hair and i only deal with people online, I do not offer fitting or anything, although i could make more money this way, but I'm finally realised at age 31 that money is important but should never take over your happiness.

Moral of my story is you do you! Of course advice is very helpful, but if you feel like you are confident enough to practice on humans - which I'm my opinion is the best way, these false hands are just not realistic, as clients are constantly moving and stiffen their hands haha!! Along as you make them fully aware they are getting a service by a practising nail tech, go for it. If you really want to cover your backside, write up a document they need to sign to say any reactions/issues etc you won't be held responsible for, most the time if you use good quality products nothing will happen at all.

I would absolutely love to help/advice any new techs out there, so they do not make my mistakes and bad purchases, i wasted so much money haha, i would also like to offer hints and tips, drop me a message :)

Sorry for the long post haha xx
 

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