Not a happy bunny ...

[River]

Hi Ladies (and Gents),

Just thought I’d let of some steam as I’m not very happy at the moment and get your opinions.



Started my VTCT Mani & Pedi course 2 weeks ago, which was murder to get onto in the first place, as the College is so incompetent (lost my application twice !!).



Anyway, last night she demonstrated the “correct” way of filing nails and the different nail shapes. As I was the only one in the class with long, natural nails, I was picked as the guinea pig to do the demonstration on.



I asked the tutor to be careful with my nails as even though they are long, they are very thin. I also asked her not to take too much length of as it takes my nails a really long time to grow. ( I am a reformed nail biter and very obsessive about my nails. When they get too short, I will immediately start chewing them again, hence, I try to avoid that).



She proceeded to demonstrate the different nail shapes on my nails, while she was filing away on my nails with a low grit file that hacked through my nails and tore a couple. She also took most of the length of 2 of my nails as she was trying to demonstrate how to create a square nail. I politely took my hand away and told her that I was not happy with what she was doing as I explained to her that my nails were weak and that she had torn quite a few of them.



She then said in front of the whole class that we cannot afford to be “precious” with our nails as we are here to learn and work on each other !



At that point I was quite angry with her (as you can all understand) and said to her that I’m not being “precious” with my nails, but if I was paying for this service in a salon and the technician just proceeded to do what she liked with my nails after I explained to her that my nails were weak and I didn’t want them too short, that I would NOT be happy and wouldn’t pay for the service. I also pointed out to her that one of the main things about being a good technician is to listen to what your clients want or what their needs are. I also suggested that in future she might want to demonstrate the different nail shapes by using nail tips as with them she can do what she wants !



Now my question is, is this normal ? Do other Colleges who offer manicure & pedicure courses do this to students. Are they normally treated this way ? AM I OVER-REACTING ????!!!!



She also suggested putting cotton wool in the bottom of the Barbacide jar to prevent the tools/ implements from rusting. When I asked her how this works, she couldn’t answer me. Is there any truth in this ?



Sorry that this message is so long, but I’m really upset.





Thanks for listening.



River

 

[geeg]

I understand completely why you are upset. I cannot say whether it is normal or not for colleges but if they did the smart thing and bought a nail trainer, then all this could have been avoided. It wouldn't have happened at a Creative Nail Academy.

It is true though that students have to work on someone during a course and usually it is each other, so nail length is usually sacrificed somewhere along the line. I think when you attend a nail course (unless you provide a model for everything), then your nails are going to get worked on and usually (in colleges) spoiled.

 

[naturalnails]

Well done you for standing up for yourself. This just highlights the standards or lack of them, in some college tutors on these courses. This is the sort of person who will teach you all about the horrors of having acrylic fake nails put on and how much they damage your nails LOL. Obviously if the hands doing the nails are hers then this will be the case.

What she did was tantamount to assault. I would complain to the college, if you think that they will listen - I suspect, maybe not!

I wonder how she approaches the subject of eyebrow waxing - oh dont be so precious, it's only an eye for goodness sake.

 

[Bagpuss]

Hiya...i have heard about cotton wool in the bottom of a jar and i am sure this is ok to do.

As for your nails....i think she would be better using tips ...even though you are a student and not a paying customer i still think she should have been more careful with your nails....i bet you wont be volentering again in a hurry !!!! I would have thought the main concern with nails is looking after the NATURAL nail....as well as producing beautiful enhancements with this in mind i don't agree with the Precious nails comment she made as even though you are practicing on each other the care of the natural nails should be foremost...with hairdressing you get to practice on blocks....why don't they have hand trainers for you to use....?

I wouldn't let her near my nails again....xxxx

 

[ADiva1]

Hope you've calmed down a bit since you've written this post! lol!
My opinion is that your tutor was a bit unfair in filing your nails down to do the demo. Ok, you were the 'model' and you explained the situation about your nails being thin etc. Instead of filing your nails to make them uneven with your other nails, she could have simply demonstrated by showing how to hold the file for a particular shape etc to the rest of the class but not actually filing your nails if you did not want her to.

You have a right to be precious about your nails and if anyone is doing something to your nails that you are unhappy with, college or wherever, you have the right to say something.

About the barbicide, I think its actually saving on material. At my college, we somtimes put a piece of cotton wool at the bottom of the jar with enough barbicide to keep the tools steralised. Not sure if it reduces rusting though.

I'm sure your nails will grow back nicely soon!

 

[Kimberley0699]

We had to practice on each other at College. I too am an ex-nail biter with now lovely long nails and HATE anyone to touch my nails as im prone to bite any imperfection! I told my tutor I didnt want to be practiced on and she was fine with it.

Well done for saying what you did and kicking some butt!
My suggestion is as soon as you are able - put some enhancements on your nails so you cant get at them to bite and refuse to let anyone practice on you!

 

[Kitten]

Hiya, sorry you had a bad experience - sounds like your tutor wasn't very understanding at all! I completed my VTCT in mani & pedi in Feb this year, and amongst other things we weren't even shown how to hold a file correctly or how to achieve different nail shapes, so again this highlights the variety of standards in colleges. (I've since discovered that there are loads of things we weren't told or shown properly but that's for another thread me thinks!) Re the cotton wool in the barbicide, I thought it was just there to stop you ruining the points on the ends of your nippers, knife etc. rather than anything to do with rusting. Your metal tools will rust if they are left in barbicide too long. Re your nails, well done for sticking up for yourself! xxx

 

[maidofstone]

i'm just wondering why after you told her that even tho your nails were long they were also very thin,that she still decided to carry on and not find another model ??? nail tech...or...hacker ???

i think you was right to say something,standing up for yourself..

 

[Fingertips ND]

Hiya Hun,

Sorry to hear about your bad experience.

I am just leaving college and every one of us have bben left with at least one damaged nail as we have been practicing on each other every week.

Unfortunately council run colleges don't get enough funding to be able to buy a nail trainer for everyone!

As for the Barbicide, the cotton wool is there for a) not blunting your implements/tools and b) to stop scratching and prevent cracking of the bottom of the glass jar.

Hope this helps!

V x

 

[Nat Tov]

You poor thing! :hug: I would have been gutted, being a nail bitter too I know just how hard it is to get any length on a nail and the struggle to keep it - what a moo! I know my friend recently studied beauty at South Devon College and they too had to practice on each other. She fell out with her tutor over leg waxing! She's fair haired and her hair is very light so has never needed to wax and refused to be waxed in her class. She was told be waxed or fail! Wrong attitude and well my friend is such a strong character that was it, she stood her ground and eventually manage to get around the problem by having another area done instead. Good luck with your course.

Nat

 

[sharron]

Hi Ive just read your thread and im not supprised your miffed, I started doing the same vtct man/ped course on a tuesday evening, it was our 5th week before we actually got to do any hands on work......I also have a bit of length on my nails and they are very week they tend to split and break if i havent got any protection on them...These course's dont come cheap and we are there by choice so I think you were right to point out to the tutor that you were not happy, I just hope she doesnt take a dislike to you and make the rest of your course uneasy......

 

[Sassy Hassy]

Now I may be well out of order for saying this but I think most (and by that I really do mean not all) college tutors are completely out of touch with the real world. Most no longer have any connections to salons and so become completely out of tune with the needs of a salon and the needs of a client. I am on a cosmetic makeup course at our college and to be frank it is complete and utter crap.

Our tutor is lovely, but she is actually a hair tutor, she did the CM course last year, and it now teaching it because they are short of teaching staff. We are all so peed off in our class it's untrue. We're at assessments time now and we are in now way ready (after 2 terms of it). For example we should be able to apply individual false eyelashes, but we were shown once and then had a go in turn at applying one lash TO THE TUTOR! So how could she teach us if we were working on her? And how are we supposed to be ready for it?

In contrast I went on a private one day VTCT facials course which was one to one and I learned bucket loads, and I go back for assessment after six weeks ( please this was debated on another thread so don't start having a go about "you cannot replace real training with a one day course" cos I've experienced both and frankly the "real" training sucks BIG TIME).

I am full of admiration for you standing up for what is right. All I can say is that I'm not surprised that a lot of salons will not take on people who are fresh out of college, cos from my personal experience they are only half trained. And to those of you who have gone to FE colleges and had really good courses, think yourself lucky cos I think they are far and few between. I certainly would never do one again, I'll go private every time. JMHO

 

[River]

Thanks for all your nice posts and encouragement ! It's really appreciated :hug:

NaturalNails,

The tutor did tell us that they also do the VTCT Nail Enhancement course and that students practice on each other !! I almost died of a heart attack and asked her why they didn't use nail trainers in the beginning. Her response was that it is better to train and practice on the "real" thing. I did point out to her that I agree to get practice on real nails, but not right at the beggining when you are basically clueless and could be quite dangerous with a file. I just got a look of contempt ! Needless to say, I wont be doing this course and am currently saving up to do the Creative Foundation Course. (hopefully I'll win the lottery soon !) And YES, WHAT SHE DID IS TANTAMOUNT TO ASSUALT !!!

Kimberley0699,

I totally understand what you're saying about biting imperfections. I do exactly the same thing and am constantly fussing and looking at my nails. If there is even the slightest bit of jaggy nail or the nail isn't perfectly shaped, I will attack it with my teeth. Hence, I ALWAYS have a gently nail file with me that the second I discover something like this, I can sort it out before the cannibal in me takes over.

Kitten,

I've been in continuous academic education for the past 5 years now. I've been to University to do my Psychology Degree, I've been to various colleges to do a multitude of business qualifications and let me tell you, they are all the same - Incompetent and Disorganised ! If they weren't a means to an end, I would happily never set foot in them again. I've had such bad experiences with all of them (bar one) that I have no faith in the system anymore.

I also agree with your comment, there is a lack of standards and uniformity in colleges. I have seen and heard this so many times, that what you get taught on one course at a particular college, isn't the same as what you would be taught at the next college for exactly the same course, which is extremely worrying !

When I questioned her about the cotton wool at the bottom of the Barbacide jar, she was adamant that it would prevent your tools from rusting. I asked her to explain to me how this works and she said "It's a chemical reaction that happens that prevents it from rusting". I then proceeded to ask her what sort of chemical reaction and she said she didn't know. I suppose it's a good thing I didn't ask her to back it up with scientific evidence then ! My partner is a Bio Chemist and it would have been good fun explaining that to him !!!



Anyway, thank you all very much for listening to me and for your wonderful support. I was really upset last night and thought "Am I over-reacting ? Am I just being difficult" but no, I strongly believe in standing up for what you believe in.

I've been a member of this site for quite some time now and have learned so much, and it's with this knowledge and support that I knew that what she was doing was wrong and that I should say something. We'll see what happens during the rest of the course as I believe I'm in her very bad books now !


River

 

[River]

Hi Again,

I knew I missed someone out !

Gigi,

I have no problem with volunteering my hands to be practised on, but all I'm asking is please respect my nails and don't butcher them !!!

Sassy,

Hear hear ! I couldn't agree with you more. As mentioned in my previous post, it's very rare to find a good tutor and good course, and a damn miracle if you get the two together !


River