Tip & overlay or sculpted nail course??

[jaz007]

Hi all

i have been lurking here for a while now and finally decided it was time to post.I have been doing my own acrylic nails for a couple of years now (i know it's wrong!) but i would never dream of going near anyone elses.I have finally decided to get some training under my belt and after a lot of research and because of personal circumstances i have decided to go with an essential nails course.I know this is not the best but i'm just hoping to get a foot on the ladder so to speak and understand that i will need a lot of further training afterwards.The only problem is i now have a bit of a dilema.

After looking at the essential nails website i noticed there are 2 types of acrylic course,the tip & overlay and the sculpting course.Now i don't think my nails are really bad but i know i have picked up bad habit's so i thought it would be best to start from the beginning and go with the t&o course.However after reading a lot on here it seems sculpted nails are more popular.I'm just so confused as to which would be my better option to start with.

Can anyone offer any advice??? sorry for such a long post and thankyou in advance:lol:

 

[nailartnut]

Hi

I think it depends on your area what is mosre popular, Im still training but have had my nails done quite a few times and all the techs I spoke to did tip and overlay only, I guess there are some techs who sculpt in my area but I called a good number of people and they all said they didnt sculpt.

Personally I'd go for the tip and overlay course, this will help you learn how to use the products correctly and get the basics learnt, in my opinion sculpting is quite a bit harder.

Good luck with whichever you decide to do! :green:

 

[Northern Nails]

Hi all

i have been lurking here for a while now and finally decided it was time to post.I have been doing my own acrylic nails for a couple of years now (i know it's wrong!) but i would never dream of going near anyone elses.I have finally decided to get some training under my belt and after a lot of research and because of personal circumstances i have decided to go with an essential nails course.I know this is not the best but i'm just hoping to get a foot on the ladder so to speak and understand that i will need a lot of further training afterwards.The only problem is i now have a bit of a dilema.

After looking at the essential nails website i noticed there are 2 types of acrylic course,the tip & overlay and the sculpting course.Now i don't think my nails are really bad but i know i have picked up bad habit's so i thought it would be best to start from the beginning and go with the t&o course.However after reading a lot on here it seems sculpted nails are more popular.I'm just so confused as to which would be my better option to start with.

Can anyone offer any advice??? sorry for such a long post and thankyou in advance:lol:

Is the Essentail Nails course a home based course. If it is in my opinion you can't beat a class situation with a good tutor. I'm not sure how much the course is costing you but i would think again and do a bit more research. I think it will save your money and hassel in the long run.

As for sculpting over tip & overlay. The area you are living wouldn't make any difference as to which you should offer. Both have their advantages and disadvantages. And this is for you to decide with your client consultation abd not necessarily what they ask for. Many clients aren't aware of sculpting so just expect to be tipped.

Not all clients can have sculpted nails however, all clients can have a tip applied. As for product knowledge and application, this should be just as indepth no matter what application method you choose.

 

[jaz007]

Thankyou so much for your replies...got a lot to think about!!!

I'm swaying towards the tip & overlay as like was said above everyone can have tips so i think that would be a good starting point and from what i understand sculpting is something that can be learned yourself once i have more experience??

The main reason i have decided to with the home learning course is because of the option to pay monthly.My husband and i are both only working part time at the moment and with a little one to look after money is a bit tight.It would also mean i don't have to shell out for extra childcare too.I know this will be only a starting point and i'm not expecting to be brilliant after finishing it but at the moment it seems by best option as a start and then go on to do a course with one of the bigger companies.

Thankyou for taking the time to reply to me and sorry this post is long again!!! xxx

 

[Ruthlm]

Hiya, I trained with young nails, and I was taught both ways, but was taught the sculpting first as some find it a bit harder to sculpt, I think if you can master sculpting then the tip and overlay should be something you would be able to do without doing a specific course in it, its kind of like sculpting, but just on a tip as opposed to on a form, although I agree that it is much beter to have someone that knows what they are doing beside you teaching you and pointing out where you are going wrong and helping you put it right, but as you say everones situation is different and that may not be something you are able to do just now. Maybe alongside your en course, if there is a beautician nearby, you could book yourself a treat and get a set done to see a proffetional at work, and maybe telling them what you are doing they would maybe help you, or let you help out with tea makiing and things so you could spend a day there observing?? ruth x

 

[jaz007]

Hi Ruth thanks for your reply.I would love to watch a pro at work and i have emailed a few local salons but unfortunately i only heard back from 1 who said they would keep my details on record.I presume that noone wants someone who has not even started training yet to be watching them which is completely understandable.for all they know i could just be some random person trying to find out pro tips to use on friends etc.

i think i have a lot to think about

 

[geeg]

FACT -- tip and overlay is the most asked for service

FACT -- anyone who calls themselves a professional nail technician needs to offer both and be excellent at both services

FACT -- There are no pros or cons when considering either service. Both look the same when completed (if done by a good technician). Both are equally long lasting and equally as strong.

These days with fabulous well-less tips to use there is in all practicality no difference between the services (using tips add a bit more expense to the service for the technician and yet strangely most technicians charge more for the sculpted service even though they do not deserve to get anymore at all for it as it is quicker and less expensive for them to do); this may be why it is erroneously perceived to be the better service.

 

[Susie H]

Hi hun, sorry but I have to point this one out, while I have nothing but respect for the company I would not do my foundation course with Essential nails because, they are not recognised by the major companies. To explain, I trained with CND, later on I wanted to learn sculpting and chose NSI, no problem I just showed them my certificate and they were perfectly happy to give me further training. If I had trained with Essential nails I would have had to complete a beginners course before being allowed to do further training with them. I would also check with the insurance companies, it would be a shame to spend out the money and then find that you can't get insured, I don't know if its the case or not, but I would check.
Best of luck with it hun and welcome to the site:hug:

 

[geeg]

Hi hun, sorry but I have to point this one out, while I have nothing but respect for the company I would not do my foundation course with Essential nails because, they are not recognised by the major companies. To explain, I trained with CND, later on I wanted to learn sculpting and chose NSI, no problem I just showed them my certificate and they were perfectly happy to give me further training. If I had trained with Essential nails I would have had to complete a beginners course before being allowed to do further training with them. I would also check with the insurance companies, it would be a shame to spend out the money and then find that you can't get insured, I don't know if its the case or not, but I would check.
Best of luck with it hun and welcome to the site:hug:

Just to add a little more explanation to Suzie's post and so that you understand fully the reasons WHY some do not accept the EN course for insurance or for conversion: It is really because there are big gaps in the education with EN. One of the largest being that you never do nails on a person but only on the nail trainer.

Now the Nail Trainer is a great piece of kit and the remote courses offered by EN are a start if you can't get education with a good company or tutor. For some it may be the only way they can start out so EN serves a purpose for those ones and we all have to start somewhere as long as you realize that it is a start and not the end and you will most likely have to go on to do another Foundation class to further your education (and pay the full price for it) with a professional brand of products.

No one is disrespecting your choice of education .. just wanted you to understand why an EN certificate is not always honoured by some other training providers or some insurance companies.

 

[Scottish_girl]

Thankyou so much for your replies...got a lot to think about!!!

I'm swaying towards the tip & overlay as like was said above everyone can have tips so i think that would be a good starting point and from what i understand sculpting is something that can be learned yourself once i have more experience??

The main reason i have decided to with the home learning course is because of the option to pay monthly.My husband and i are both only working part time at the moment and with a little one to look after money is a bit tight.It would also mean i don't have to shell out for extra childcare too.I know this will be only a starting point and i'm not expecting to be brilliant after finishing it but at the moment it seems by best option as a start and then go on to do a course with one of the bigger companies.

Thankyou for taking the time to reply to me and sorry this post is long again!!! xxx

Hiya just thought u might want to no but you can apply for ILA funding, which is £200 torwards the cost of your chosing course

And i would deff agree that hands on classroom teaching is the way to go

 

[smartypantz]

Hi hon, just thought I would drop my pennies worth in:lol:. First of all good luck with your course, but I feel I should point out to you that on the EN tip and overlay course, you are not taught how to do smile lines:irked:. I have done this course and all that is shown is the basic pink overlay, however I did not do the sculpting course, but I believe this does. I went down the CND route, which for me was the best. Just remember this is a stepping stone, and I am sure that you will find that after completing your course, you will want to do further training with a well known top end brand. Maybe it could be worth, waiting and the money that you would pay monthly for the course, put it away, until you get the money to go with one of the more recognised companies, otherwise you could end up paying out more.

Anyway good luck with your choices.
Caroline

 

[jaz007]

Thankyou everyone for being so helpful.i'm so glad i found this site as it's very confusing when you first start out.there is so much choice and it can be very over whelming.

Thanks for explaining the complications that can arise with doing an EN course and it's def something i will look into as regards to insurance and conversion courses etc.i think i'm understanding it a bit better now thanks to you I def see this as a starting point only and i am well prepared to do as much training as i can!!! i'm quite excited yet nervouse at the same time and i think i have a lot more research to do.

Scottish_girl thanks for the info about the learning grant.i will take a look into that although i thought that only appled to people living in scotland?? i'm probably wrong.
thanks again geeks x