Who thought it was going to be easy ??

[Bagpuss]

Another thread has sparked this....and to get a fair picture i thought i would ask all you nail techs...

How many of you thought that becoming a nail tech would be easy...??

Did anyone think that right after training they would be producing great sets of nails...or that they would be ready for paying clients the day after training...??

Did anyone not realise that after training you would have to do lots and lots of practising...and that it would take time to perfect the skills you where taught...??

many thanks x

 

[suzie49]

I would think that there are some people that DO believe the hype that comes from some of the training systems to start with.

But I would be surprised if it lasted long once they started doing the actual training, its like everything else i life the more you do the better you get.

If it was easy to do everyone would be doing it :hug:

 

[sarahpoppy24]

I am newly quilified and I didnt think that it would be easy. I found it hard and that is why I took a year long college cource with vtct. I did three hours a week and then practiced what id learn that week then added more next week. I think people have to realise that with any cource weather its nails A levels what ever you HAVE to do your home work. Me and my bro whos doing a degree have faught over the computer many times!!!!! Anyways I think that the cource was brilliant and I enjoyed it so much. You also have to be prepaired to spend money (nail trainer, products, text books, conversion cources etc) I also plan to carry on with training with my chosen system. Hope this answers the queastion xxx

 

[shell28]

Im nearing the end of my training now and i in no way shape or form thought it was easy and in no way think i can go now and do perfect nails far from it infact training in my opinion is on going you learn new things all the time

 

[classyclaws]

Well I trained in 2002, now stupidly I did think that when I did my intial training that I would be ready to work at the end of the course (Creative Foundation). What a shock I had when it took me 3 1/2 hours to produce my first set on my model, sweat pouring off me and the result somewhat "dodgey" I had a rude awakening. It took months of practice to get my times down and to produce work I would be proud to say I had created. Looking back, its easy to think that these courses get you ready to walk into a salon, but thats more through our inexperienced ignorance than anything. Its like anything, passing the test is the easy part, the real learning starts when you sit behind the wheel - alone!!!!

 

[xAnnaBannAx]

Another thread has sparked this....and to get a fair picture i thought i would ask all you nail techs...

How many of you thought that becoming a nail tech would be easy...??

Did anyone think that right after training they would be producing great sets of nails...or that they would be ready for paying clients the day after training...??

Did anyone not realise that after training you would have to do lots and lots of practising...and that it would take time to perfect the skills you where taught...??

many thanks x

Hehe im likin the thread bagpuss :lol: but I think in order to get a clearer picture you need to ask people to take themselves back to the days when they probably didnt know a great deal about the industry and were looking into booking a course.....

 

[xAnnaBannAx]

Im nearing the end of my training now and i in no way shape or form thought it was easy and in no way think i can go now and do perfect nails far from it infact training in my opinion is on going you learn new things all the time

you didnt think your training was easy but was it easier, harder or about the same as you thought it would be BEFORE you started any kind of training?

 

[Bagpuss]

Hehe im likin the thread bagpuss :lol: but I think in order to get a clearer picture you need to ask people to take themselves back to the days when they probably didnt know a great deal about the industry and were looking into booking a course.....

But to take people back to that time doesn't back up your post on the other thread about it being the training companies that make you think its easy...cos you wouldn't know that until you got there.

I see adverts that say if i take a pill i will loose weight...or if i read a book i will stop smoking....but surely we all know that it requires willpower and effort.

 

[Martigirl]

Prior to starting my Beauty and Nails training YES I really did think

"How hard can it be?"

Boy oh boy did I get a rude awakening.

5 years down the line I still learn something new nearly every single day

I also still doubt myself regularly but actually quite appreciate that aspect as it keeps me keen to learn and practice more.

 

[Mrs.Clooney]

In all honesty Angie I naively thought that once I had some nail training behind me I would be flying! I thought that with a little advertizing and my new found skill, I would have clients banging down my door ... erm no ... Did not happen!

Then when I did get clients through the door, I realized that there were really dry brittle nails, thin soft nails, oily nailplates, horrible short bitten nails etc...... along with clients who wanted them done in one hour flat and so on and so forth.

I felt I was not delivering and my heart went into my boots. On top of this I discovered that due to my carelessness, I became sensitive to the products I was using :cry:. Big, big, BIG learning curve.

 

[Susie H]

only last week I had a email from a company offering to teach me to be a nail tech at a fraction of the cost of the collages and it went on to explain that it could teach me in just one week because it wouldn't insult my intelligents by making me study in a class room, all my studying would be practical work and after just one week I would be ready to produce 'fantastic' nails for my friends and family and all of their friends to.
Unfortunately there are far to many companies out there that come out with the same sort of c**p and because WE make it all look so easy a lot of peeps think it is easy.
The other side of the coin is the one that thinks just because you are a good tech, you will have a good business, with loads of clients and be able to charge £50 for a full set

 

[nailzoo]

I love the way one thread "spawns" another, there are quite a few "linked" threads and i'm kinda liking it, it's like watching Big Broother (in my best English accent) and reading between the lines

Off thread I know, but I have wasted several hours tonight watching old Celebrity Big Brother with Pete Burns and i'm an instant fan.

 

[Doorie]

well, I first thought it would be easy... but all I cared for was doing Nail Art... then when I started my course, which is the longest you can take in my part of the world, I came here lol and read that you're need like 1 year of home practice after to be good enough...

which is not always right I want to state it, few girls of my training opened their salon right after the intensive 4 months training and they're doing great.

 

[cro-mari]

Training seemed easy... especially when they tell you Oh, you are so good with your brush... and models have perfect fingers and nails that are easy to apply tip or form on to, and no rings of fire from previous Godknowswhat, and are happy with anything you do coz they're not paying for it...

... and then you start to work and you get fingers and nails far from easy and nail bitters and complaining customers and your bulbs weaken and you're not aware and your brush gets all hard and you cut someone's cuticles with your new file and you get your first pedicure client with fungus all over...

... sometimes I banged my head worrying and had stomach ache for some clients, but that's all the part of the learning... and realised it was true what they said during traininig: until you do 100 full sets, you WONT know how to do nails.

... so when some customer says, Oh, it's all so easy and fun, I just smile.

 

[dee]

i can remeber when i first started training i thought once i was up to speed and was doing decent nails , i would have loads of clients just waiting to give me their money :lol: hahah wot a joke !!!
its taken me a good few yrs to be happy with my nails and i still want to do better , and i still aint raking in the cash either !!!
nothing is ever easy !!! which is something i have learned in this job :green:

 

[wendyrose]

Soooooooooooooo thought that once I did my exams that's it I would be ready to take on the world of nails, that is until I got in there, and practiced on some friends, and got very disheartened with breakages etc. With most things, it's easy to learn, but so so difficult to master, I would only say now 3/4 years after doing my first training that I am happy to charge the amount I do and happy that clients will come back! (I am a perfectionist though and still get frustrated with things, I dont think that will go away!)

 

[xAnnaBannAx]

But to take people back to that time doesn't back up your post on the other thread about it being the training companies that make you think its easy...cos you wouldn't know that until you got there.

I see adverts that say if i take a pill i will loose weight...or if i read a book i will stop smoking....but surely we all know that it requires willpower and effort.

yes it does back up my post...my point is that you take a person that is intersted in becoming a nail technician (theyve probably messed about a bit with their own nails, or theyve had them done before or seen a friend getting theirs done..they think it looks quite fun, etc) but they have no real knowledge of this industry...you let them read any of the many quotes about how you can become a nail technician after doing such and such a course...blah blah blah...and they believe it! So yeah it really boils down to ignorance, naivety, stupidity, etc on their part but the fact is these companies dont really disclose the fact that it takes months...years even to build confidence and skill.

And your point about buying a pill to lose weight or reading a book to stop smoking...same thing...yes we do really know nothing is that simple...but every single person at some point of there lives will buy into something because they think its the answer...they are sold because they want to believe it..they want a quick, easy and effortless solution...and they believe it...they find out AFTER that it didnt work.

 

[Marlise]

Mmm... I never thought it would be easy, but maybe I wasn't quite prepared for how difficult it would be.

I picked up my mani / pedi very quickly and never struggled with that, same with the depilation... but nail enhancements was a different story.

I did my research (or so I thought :lol and didn't see the point of having to pay "big money" for 5 day training etc. To be honest, even though I knew the products were good, I thought the companies were in it to make money.

I did a 2 day course and might as well have done nothing. It was then that I realised the value of good training.

I then trained with Calgel and am still struggling to perfect my nail enhancements.

I think there are some people who have a natural flair for it and do become proficient in nail enhancements a lot quicker than others, but I think for most of us it means lots and lots of practice.

I still get very frustrated and will fling my brush across the room (not really, but am very tempted) and if anyone thinks doing nails is easy and that you will have clients beating down your door, think again !

It takes a lot of dedication and hard work if you want to do it right and produce high quality work.


M.

 

[nailzoo]

I didn't think anything.
I followed the instructions on the back of a box
I produced a very passable first set of nails in 6 hours (sculptures) with very little difficulty, a nylon brush with stiff bristles and a cheap file that kept bending, all that frustrated me was the time it took.

I knew what a natural nail looked like and thats the look I wanted to achieve with acrylic (I managed it first go) and to be honest, I think it was because I knew the look I wanted (it was being naive/innocent that helped me).

I still to this day (22 years later) want to make false nails look real, while many still battle to acheive quite a false look.

Making them look real is actually easier/quicker than making them look false (many people have lost touch as to what a real nail looks like) and still opt for a white free edge that is no where near natural looking.

I admire the skill in doing a French look, but all it does is make all nails look the same from a distance and look like they were done at the same salon until you get really close.

I want people to look at my clients nails and ask the question "are they real or are they fake"? I want people to doubt their fakeness.

Many nails just shout "fake" from the rooftops.

French nails wreak of "fake nails" and are a dead giveaway.

 

[MrsR]

Never thought it would be easy but definately didn't realise how much harder it is than you even start to think.