Qualified or not????!!

SalonGeek

Help Support SalonGeek:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Status
Not open for further replies.

NAILBARS

New Member
Joined
May 20, 2004
Messages
3
Reaction score
0
Location
CRICKLEWOOD
Hi

I have just come across this site and wanted to register straight away so I could keep in with the tips and FAQ. I am really really confused as I attending a gel nail extension course at my local professional hair and beauty wholesale store, even though it was just for gels, she gave us the option to learn gel, acrylic, fibreglass and silk. It took 2 days to complete and at the end we took an exam, which was nothing major, it just involved us choosing two of the four different nail types, so i chose the acrylic and gel and we had to do both types on someone elses nails then the trainer assessed us and how well we did.(the lady that was training was a qualified nail trainer). My question is, am i really qualified to do nails or not as a lot of people on here have all these qualifications and i dont and am worried now as i wanted to set my own business up. I did receive a certificate from this company 3 weeks later stating that I have trained and completed a course on acrylic and gel nails but it doesnt say the word qualified. I paid approx £170 for the two day course and then had to buy extra supplies because I wanted to learn the acrylic side as well. Hope this makes sense and its not just be blabbering on, but any advice would be much appreciated.....

thanks
 
Lets say you are on the first rung of the ladder. :lol:

No one could possibly be armed with all thery need to know to open a business with only a 2 day class!! But the sad fact is, that there are no licensing requirements in the UK so in theory any Tom Dick or Harry can get out there and start a business with no training. However, they would not be successful.

You are entering a new world where you will be up against some pretty stiff competition against technicians who are excellently trained and using excelllent brands of nail products. You are not sufficiently 'armed' after this class at the wholesale store to compete with that. In my opinion, your gut feelings are right to question whether or not you are 'qualified'. My answer to your question is no.

It will take many months of hard preparation to be ready to enter the marketplace and have any hope of being a success. Best now that you have dipped your toe in the water so to speak, to take a good college or company course to really get your foundation practical skills, not to mention all the other foundation knowledge you will need to be able to deal with the public in safety and with confidence. I think you would find it hard to get insurance after a 2 day course and you must have adequate insurance cover to perform services on the public.
 
Hi

Thanks for your advice. I took this course over a year ago and since then i have been doing lots of friends and family and they have been very impressed with them. When the course finished the trainer gave us a number of an insurance company that offer good rates so if we wanted to set up on our own then we would need to have insurance and show our certificate that she gave us. So do you think she was misleading us in the sense that we would never be able to get the insurance to set up on our own with just that 2 day course certificate. I am slighty worried now as i have started advertising in the paper already as before i read your site i was under the impression that as i had done this 2 day course and felt confident then i was able to start charging people for having nail extensions. I am kinda hopin that no one responds now as i am really worried. i wasnt going to get insurance until i had some response back from my advert as if i had no response at all then it would be a waste of money. Also i had put on my advert that i was qualified as i thought that i was, silly me :rolleyes: . I now know from reading the info on the nail geek that i am not really qualified. Like i say i have been doing friends and family for a long time now and i have been thrilled at all of them as i have done a nice job and they were really impressed as well that they have come back to me for there weddings ect. So if i feel confident in my work and have received really good feedback then i am allowed to advertise nail extensions but just not put down qualified???!!!!!!!. I have two really small children and it is really impossible for the next couple of years for me to go to college and do a course as my husband is self employed and works very long hours so child care is a big problem.

thanks again for your advice
 
It is sad that you have taken Gigi's response in such a worried fashion.

It is a sad fact that in the eyes of the law you are qualified - because no one needs to be qualified in order to do nails. The fact that you have actually done a two day course is a plus over some people who walk into a wholesalers with a phony business card and are able to buy professional products.

There are lots of nail techs out there who have been doing nails for 10 years plus and they only did a 2 day course 10 years ago and nothing since.

We are all passionate about our subject and feel that education is the best you can do for your business.

You must get your insurance sorted out even if you are only doing friends and family as what would happen if you spilt some monomer and ruined your carpet. It is a chicken and egg situation - if you get people phoning from your advert - you will not then be able to get instant insurance before they come - start as you mean to go on and show you are serious - you have done some training and you are covered by insurance.

I hope you are charging the people you are doing - even if it is just to cover your costs - get your business head on at the beginning as it will be difficult to put it on further down the road.

Please don't be disheartened - in the short term invest in some good textbooks if you have not already and look seriously into the possibilities of taking some more courses, but in the sad light of day at the moment you are as "qualified" as a lot of other people running salon and home businesses. This is not the situation we want to be in but we are.
 
Hi there - Have you considered doing a conversion course with one of the big boys out there, I can only ASSUME that if you have a certificate and you have been doing nails for over a year and you do have a good standard this would be acceptable and this could help you with your confidence, or you could talk to your local college about doing an NVQ if you wish to continue to learn about nails....I am doing my VCTC (equivalent of NVQ level 2) at my local college and I have really enoyed this it was in Nail Technology and it covered manicures, L&P (Acrylic) nail extensions and nail art and the cost was quite reasonable including the kit....good luck in whatever you decide to do next
 
Hello

Have you tried professional beauty as they offer insurance for nail or beauty. Nail insurance is £34.50 a year, and beauty which covers both is £44.50.

Regards
Deb379
 
In your 2 day course I'm sure you only had time to cover practical applications on nails. You probably didn't study theory at all and probably nothing to do with nail disorders or diseases.

If you open your doors and start accepting new clients as you appear to be on the cusp of doing, you will find many of them will have common complaints about their nails and will show them to you. Without the proper training you will not be able to identify simple things such as a splinter hemmorhage and why and how they are caused and why or why not to be concerned. This is essential training that you are lacking.

There is much more to nails than just the practical application so get yourself some education in this area as well.

Best of luck to you! It is a wonderful career.

Laura :)
 
NAILBARS said:
Hi

So do you think she was misleading us in the sense that we would never be able to get the insurance to set up on our own with just that 2 day course certificate. I am slighty worried now as i have started advertising in the paper already as before i read your site i was under the impression that as i had done this 2 day course and felt confident then i was able to start charging people for having nail extensions. I am kinda hopin that no one responds now as i am really worried. i wasnt going to get insurance until i had some response back from my advert as if i had no response at all then it would be a waste of money.

I'm sure you will be able to find adequate insurance, I don't think she was misleading you. Some people will accept your certificate and some won't .. simple as that.

Bet hey, you know what, you sound like a bit of a 'natural' and the nails you are doing are obviously impressing friends and presumably you are not having many problems. GOOD for you!! You go for it, but read everyhthing you can if you can't go to school, and build up the part of the knowledge you are lacking. There ar some Great books out there and websites like www.designernails.com that have loads of info under the NVQ section. there are ways to learn and to build on what you already know without going to college. then when you do, you will be well ahead of the rest!! :lol: You go for it.
 
In the last nail-art class I took there was a girl who said she was interested in going into 'nails'. I gave her all good advice .. that i have learned the hard way.
Yesterday I got a call from her asking advice about going mobile. It turns out, she's done a two day course, one day gel, one acrylic, worked only on a nail trainer. Given a certificate and bought the kit and she thinks she's ready.
As well as wanting to know if mobile is 'worth it' she also asked why her acrylic wasnt sticking properly to the nail and why they are popping off. I told her she probably wasnt taught to prep correctly but, she said they had 'taught' her that. I asked what brand l&p she has ... SHE'S NOT SURE!!!! :eek:
This course was obviously no more than a taster yet this girl thinks that from it she can 'do nails'.
She also told me that she has joined a Manicure/Nailart class at a local Adult Ed. Centre.
She said the acrylic paints are thick, polish gloopy and brushes stuck together.
She took her nailboard to show the 'tutor' and has been asked if she will stay behind to teach the 'tutor' the techniques she learnt in my class!!! She is getting a certificate for this too.
Im disgusted, I work at an Adult Ed centre. I know how well they get paid ... and for this :evil: We hear about these kind of courses all the time but, coming into contact with people getting ripped off by them, has made my blood boil
I dont care if people think Im biased toward Creative ... I am Ill shout it from the roof tops. Im Creative, I'm proud of it ... and I'm educated!!!
 
Glorsclaws, mmmm not sure why you posted this message, saying that you need to express the fact that you need are annoyed. I simply found this site and found it very imformative and thought I would ask people what they thought as i wasnt sure. Thank you for your feedback as I can take people just telling me the truth about my experience but there is no need to dig at people just because they have not done all the courses with creative like yourself. Why are you annoyed with this girl, is she affecting your customers??? if not then let her get on with it, does it really matter. Anyway I am nothing like you say she is so dont tar us UNDERQUALIFIED people with the same brush.
 
NAILBARS said:
Glorsclaws, mmmm not sure why you posted this message, saying that you need to express the fact that you need are annoyed. I simply found this site and found it very imformative and thought I would ask people what they thought as i wasnt sure. Thank you for your feedback as I can take people just telling me the truth about my experience but there is no need to dig at people just because they have not done all the courses with creative like yourself. Why are you annoyed with this girl, is she affecting your customers??? if not then let her get on with it, does it really matter. Anyway I am nothing like you say she is so dont tar us UNDERQUALIFIED people with the same brush.

Many of us who have dedicated years to our profession get, shall we say, a bit miffed at what we see as a lack of respect for what we do. By that I mean that people even think they could be called a professional after a 2,3,4,5,0r even 6 day course.

Of course, people new to the industry like yourself, can't be expected to knowwhen this is the type of course you are being offered. Why should you think any differently than you do? But some like you who have a bit more 'savvey' do realise that it is going to take more and ask the same question you did. I don't think Glor was getting at you in particular so don't be too harsh on her it does get us miffed sometimes.

There is so much more to entering the nail profession than even doing beautiful nails (essential) ... there's the people side, the retail side, the business side, the employment side, the safety issues etc. And we have to do it all well, or we are not sucessful.

So many people in our industry also start off someone else's back too. They use and abuse and try to steal what other people have worked hard to acheive rather than make it on their own. MOST of us who have ever employed anyone have had this experience. People have no idea! Still it is all part of 'life's rich pattern' as my dad used to say ... not a nice part though.
 
Nailbars Im sorry you thought that I was digging at you ... it was not my intention. Perhaps I should have started a new thread :o
Its just that reading about your uncertainty as to whether you were qualified and having just received the phone call from this girl got me on my soap-box.
Im not annoyed with the girl I mentioned, Im worried for her. She thinks she's ready to go mobile after doing one set of nails. Well, she has a certificate to say shes qualified so who am I to argue!.
Ive been a victim of such courses myself and my beef is with the people who run them ... not the people who take them.
Im now retraining and rebuilding my confidence with Creative.
I merely teach nail-art but, I care enough about this industry to take with me to every class, all my own books, industry magazines, show tickets/dates, endless product info on the top companies (not just Creative) all the best web-sites (including this one of course). All students have my phone number & I share all know because I dont want to see other people make all the costly mistakes that I did.
Funny enough, the girl I mentioned said that while she doesnt mean to be spiteful, she has no intention of sharing the techniques she learned on my course so that this other so-called tutor can benefit. Hmmm!
 
Has anyone seen this product offered on www.idealvitality.tv Rio UV Gel kit. People wont even need to go on a course as it has its own training video!
Check it out
Deb379
 
I checked this out - never heard of this system before but if it's a worthy product then that's a really affordable price. I would however be quite wary as it could be like throwing money away.

If you buy, let us know how you get on?

Cheers, Sherry.x
 
Sherry2k said:
I checked this out - never heard of this system before but if it's a worthy product then that's a really affordable price. I would however be quite wary as it could be like throwing money away.

If you buy, let us know how you get on?

Cheers, Sherry.x

The product is totally not a professional product and you could never make a business with it in the salon.

It is a consumer product and it and others like it have been around for a long time ... nothing new. It is low rent and yellows BIG time.
 
Not professional at all, the Rio UV light has no reflecting lining..................
The gels are bottom end of the market...............
Not worth the money.................
JMHO
 
OK gigi, have you used them before?

The woman advocating it had her own nail salon. I think the benefit of this system is the UV lamp and nail tips. The UV lamps are expensive on their own aren't they, surely you would make a saving here?

Deb
 
isnt that Rio kit from argos???!!! my friend bought it thinking she would save money by doing her own nails. and yup they yellow bad. she ended up coming to me for l&p.

i bought a uv lamp from the Gmex exhibition last october for only £50 from nsi and that included free perma gloss. they normally have really good offers at exhibitions (its fantabulous!) so you could wait for the next one to get a professional lamp.

each to their own but id recommend going on a course and not relying on a video. im sure lots of people are different but for me to learn well i need somebody to show me exactly what to do and a video cant really offer that. also thers no one to phone for help.

sorry to butt in guys! :o
x
 
Deb379 said:
OK gigi, have you used them before?

The woman advocating it had her own nail salon. I think the benefit of this system is the UV lamp and nail tips. The UV lamps are expensive on their own aren't they, surely you would make a saving here?

Deb

The problem there is, that not all UV lamps cure every type of UV Gel,so there is no saving and actually using this lamp with some gels could get one into allot of bother!! Some gels require a much higher output of UV than what I call the 'barbie doll sunbed' type of lamp with only one bulb.

The more sophisticated the technology behind the gel, generally the more UV output you need to effect a thorough cure. Without a thorough cure .. you are in big trouble and well on the way to overexposure and eventual allergic reaction.

I have not used this particular gel, but i do know where it is manufactured and who manufactures it (and quite a few other companies who use the same gel) and I have tried several of the same ilk. I don't generally make statements without being sure of being on very firm ground. It should be of no surprise to anyone that the manufacturers of products like this have approached distributors to sell this type of product under their own lable???? As an industry head, I have been approached many times to look at products to 'own lable'! ... own lable products are not at the high end of the market ... they are not branded lines and not technologically avanced at all. This should not come as a shock to anyone.
 
Deb379 said:
OK gigi, have you used them before?

The woman advocating it had her own nail salon. I think the benefit of this system is the UV lamp and nail tips. The UV lamps are expensive on their own aren't they, surely you would make a saving here?

Deb

Hiya Deb,
I have owned this kit, Its been around a fair few years now. I brought it when i was training thinking it was a bargain, Well the lamp was rubbish and the nails at to be under it for 6 minutes, then the gel wasnt always cured.
The tips are probably the worst ones ive ever used and the instruction video is total crap. It ended up in the local tip skips along with the other rubbish there, So dont always believe what these people on shopping channels say because they just want to sell so will say anything.
Avoid this kit like the plaque,Yes i know because i once owned it :evil:
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Latest posts

Back
Top