You receive education and training to better your future.  Once you get a certificate, a degree or a diploma from an education series or nail tech school, the last thing you want to hear is that you didn’t get the right nail training.  You always want to make sure that you spent your time and money in the right place to help you reach all of your current goals, and hopefully many of your future, unforeseen goals as well.

When it comes to making sure that your nail training will take you as far as you need, you want to make sure that the education you are receiving for your nail technology license covers all the standard material that you will need so that you can work as a nail technician where you are planning on working.  This mean that you should take your nail training in the area, or from the area in online cases, that you plan on working.  I once knew a girl who had to take a second basic nail tech training course so that she could get an ITEC accredited license, because she wanted to work as a nail tech giving manicures and pedicures on a cruise ship.  So, make sure that while you are taking your nail tech courses, al your bases are covered.

Study Well To Pass Your Nail Tech Course Exam

If you are currently taking a nail technician course at your local community college, or at a beauty school or salon, you want to make sure that you finish that course before anything else and make sure to pass your nail tech exams with flying colors.  It would be silly to change your course now after you have already started getting your foundation of nail training and education.  The more you can learn at this stage, the better, so make sure to study any resources you can get your hands on, and practice, practice, practice.  In a previous post I talked a little bit about how you should prepare for your nail training exams, so make sure to check that out.

If you are looking for resources to study beyond whatever materials were provided for you, check out the nail technician exam secrets first.  There are also plenty of other resources in there.  What resources do you all like to use?

Take Master Nail Training to Increase your Skills

If you are already a licensed nail technician that is working in the field currently, or looking to get back to your nail career and need a little refresher, it is always a great idea to take a home study or short course to brush up on and improve your current skills.  With the short courses, it is also always very beneficial to meet others in your profession in your area.

Some of you need to get continuing education units for your nail training, to keep your license current, and some of you are looking to increase your income and your service by mastering new skills and learning more about how top nail technicians perform.  If this is you, you should try a master nail tech course or talking with our salon owner about what extra trainings they may need to provide for you.

Become a True Nail Artist

Some of you may have a more exotic clientele or may just really enjoy the more creative side of the nail business, and for you all i would suggest learning as much as you can about nail art.  I have seen some really amazing nails out there, and many of them are some of the most creative works of art on tiny little canvases.  Nail artistry is really a growing field, and its FUN!  if you haven’t had a chance to check out a really cool nail art class or haven’t seen anybody do some cool stuff on youtube, you should go poke around and see what some of these creative individuals are doing.  Whether its just using varnish, or using acrylic or gel nails, there is alot that you can do with your brushes and a little creativity that you haven’t even thought of yet.

If you are a nail hobbyist or a nail technician with a creative flair that you don’t always get to express, then i highly recommend you check out a short nail art course in your area or trying out some of the home based nail art training courses from essential nails, i have heard some really good reviews about them although i haven’t tried them myself.

Know What You Want Out of Your Nail Career

I think with any career, you should always set lofty goals and go for them with vigour while taking massive action.  Learn as much as you can, set yourself up to move forward as best you can with what you have to gett yourself rolling in the direction you want to go, and you will always do well in your chosen field.

In the salon business, i think this starts with becoming a master nail technician, becoming the best in your area.  Another common goal is to own the salon you work in, build a business, and own your own shop, or nail training center.  Many nail technicians, have moved on and up into owning their own nail shop, or opening a nail school, which has given them the opportunity to enjoy the fruits of another’s labor.

Whether you see yourself in an owner position, or a brilliant nail artists position, you can always benefit from learning more about the business end of the field you are in.

If you really want to learn to build your customer base as a nail technician, you need to learn about marketing for yourself.  This can be as simple as asking your customers to refer you to their friends, and can be as advanced or as complicated as you want, but at the end of the day the principles of marketing yourself and your services have very few variations, and you will learn these in time.  If you are looking to learn about how to market yourself as a nail technician in your area, or you are looking to keep your clients coming back happy, then there are many resources available to you.

This course has a few marketing secrets of successful nail technicians that may be useful.  Another resource that is focused highly on customer retention and customer rapport is Nail Salon Success.  This course focuses on relating to your customers in a beneficial way.  After you have improved your nail art skills, and your treatment, getting more people in the door and into your chair is always going to be a top priority, so even if the course above is not for you, make sure to pick up a book about about marketing a small business and learn about customer acquisition and retention, the value will last you a lifetime, and help you really stretch your nail training far.

If you are new to the nail industry and you have decided you want to go it alone as an independent contractor rather than an employee of a nail salon, i must commend you because you have a very different journey ahead of you than most take, but the rewards that you can experience are far greater.  The freedom of being your own boss can be very exciting, but isn’t free of it’s own challenges and issues.  Deciding how much you and your time are worth is a very important item to address early in your nail career, and if you are still in nail technician school, you should make sure to ask your instructors what they would charge for various treatments, if only for their opinion to compare against your own thoughts on how to price gel nail services

Check Out Your Competitions Gel Nails

If you are mobile nail technicfian than your prices will inherently carry a premium because of the inhome service you are providing that many others do not or will not.  If however you are in your own nail salon, you want to make sure to explore the different nail salons and beauty salons in your geographic region.  If it is in your budget i would suggest you go get gel nails or other nail treatments from all the places around you to determine what they are providing their clients, and what they are charging for the experience.  This can help you to add items or experiences to your services that may help you demand a higher price for your time.

I would suggest you experiment with your prices as best you can, but make sure to start your prices at the higher end of the services that you have received.  A very common mistake and an odd bit of human psychology is that many people will not price their time high enough to cover what it is truly worth.

It’s Math Time!

Take an inventory of how much of your supplies you will use for a given service, then put a dollar price on that. (i.e if it will take you 20 manicures to get through a bottle of something, put a dollar value of 1/20th the price of that product) do this with all of your services, then take your rent and multiply it by 1.2, divide that number by the number of gel nail manicures or other nail work you think you will be doing within that time period.  Your new rent number plus your nail supply numbers will give you a hard cost, the only thing you need to add into this is how much you think your time is worth and any extra budget that you may want to save for in your nail tech business.  hope this helps to give you an idea of where to price your gel nails!

Working with Gel nails can be fun, challenging, and rewarding all at once, here are 8 basic tips (in no particular order) to help you on your way to mastering the art of Gels.

1)  Warm, and Cozy. When removing Gel nails and acrylics, warming the solvent (which makes the cross links expand till they break) can cut removal , time in half.

2)  Fun to with finger bowls. Put Pretty marbles, clear stones, or glass beads (whatever fits your decore tastefully) into your fingerbowls to give your client something to “Play with” while their fingers soak.  You would be amazed at how such a little thing can add to client comfort and to a better experience.

3)  Give a good rub down. Take a reflexology class.  A little bit of a hand or foot massage at the beginning of a great nail treatment can do wonders for client referrals, and if you get good at it, that may be another service you can offer as well.

4)  Master your tools. Learn to use multistep as well as single step gel nail kits.  by practicing with both, you will be able to see the difference in your finished nails and you will get better at working with different gels and different consitencies.

5)  Damp, not wet. Place a damp towel under your gel product container.  This is a speed item for when you need to clean your brush in between layers of gel.  you can quickly use the towel right at hand to give yourself a nice clean gel brush to work with.



6)  Let There Be Light. Get a good uv lamp.  If there is one thing that could add to your professionalism as a nail technician it would be to have a quality lamp that adds comfort and more importantly adds speed to your service.  A low power lamp can tend to leave gel nails uncured fully which can be a real problem for clients down the road.

7)  Dry, like Arizona in the summer. One of the best ways to make sure a new set of gel nails stick well and last a long time without lifting or chipping is to make sure that the natural nail is a dry and free of natural oils as possible.  using acetone on a swab is good for removing the oils and a light fanning will ensure that the acetone is fully evaporated leaving you a clean dry canvas to do your fabulous gel nails on.

8)  Get a bit rough with it. Another great tip for making sure that a set of uv gel nails adhere and stay on for a long period of time is to remove the shine from the natural nail with a 240 grit nail file.  be very gentle (i know i said rough) with this, because you don’t want to over do it, by removing the shine from the nail, you have roughed up the surface just enough to give a better hold from the gel once it has cured.

Got any tips of your own you want to add to this list?  let me know in the comments!

There are many different forms of nail art that a talented nail technician can create.  If you are new to nail school, or just haven’t been exposed to nail art and how to do it before, this will be a great introduction for your.  Nail art can be done with regular polish, acrylic powder, gel nails, glitter, fimo clay, airbrushes, just to name a few.  Some nail technicians specialize in nail art exclusively in their career, and with prices ranging from $2 to $25 and up per nail, you can understand why. Just as with most art, there are many different styles and definitely very different tastes.  Where as some people may look at an artists work and think “Tres Belle!”  someone else may think… “what does she have stuck on the end of her fingers?”.  Deffinitly keep that thought in mind when creating your own nail art, and exploring different techniques, ideas and styles.

Airbrushed Gel Nails

With Gel nails there are a few common styles that you will see around more often than not.  Airbrushed gel nails are very common because of the high gloss that properly cured gel provides.  it can be done with acrylic nails but gels over tips are usually the preferred canvas.  One good way to airbrush your own nails is to perform a basic gel manicure as you normally would, using the color you would like to work on top of as the color of your gel.  Next you want to setup your airbrush station, and grab a metal surface, a couple small magnets, and a stencil you have either made or bought that you would like to use.  Lay your stencil on the metal surface, and use the two small magnets to give your stencil a dome shape that you can fit your fingernail beneath.  make sure that your nail is in contact with the curved stencil and let your air brush do the rest.

Colored Gel Nail Art

Another common type of Gel Nail Art involves just using different colored gels to give yourself a long lasting flat or even 3D artistic manicure.  When working with different colored gels, make sure to lay down one color at a time, and use the thick viscosity of your building gels to create edges that you may not be able to do with acrylic powders.  cure your first color for a short bit and then apply your second color.  You can place designs on the top of a cured nail to give yourself a 3D nail design.

Clay and Gel Nails

Another very interesting type of gel nail art i have seen involves thin pieces of pre designed fimo clay that can be placed either inside the building gel, or on top of the gel nail after it has been cured.  One key to working with fimo with nail gel is to make sure the fimo is very thin, and to lay it down after you have laid a thin layer of gel on the nail.  if you use a clear sculpting gel over the fimo clay you can create a very beautiful piece of nail art.  make sure not to file into the fimo when you are finishing of your nail forms.

False nails in general can be very difficult to remove.  the appeal of the new on the market Soak off UV Gel Nail Kits is that they have an easier removal process then most other gel nail kits.

Gel Nails: Beautiful and Difficult

The beauty of Gel nails is that they have a very natural look while still being very strong and durable.  They don’t tend to discolor or just “look fake”  like some cheap acrylics are known to.  They also have a very high gloss due to their molecular structure.  This same structure makes them very hard to remove, even more so then acrylic nails.

generally acrylic nails only require you to take the varnish off the top and just “rough them up a bit” before an acetone bath for them to melt like the wiked witches nose.  UV Gel Nails on the other hand need to be filed down to a thin layer and soaked for a good 20 – 30 minutes before they can be scraped off the nail with a cuticle pusher.

The advertizements for these new Soak off UV Gel Nail kits show that they are much easier to use and remove then other gel nails.  The benefit to these is that they generally do not require as long of a soak as other gel nails and they are much less of a hassle to scrape off after the soak time.

Some Soak Off Gel Nail Kits To Try

If you are thinking about trying some new soak off gel nail kits, i would suggest that you try the IBD soak off kit, or Nouveau Nail’s One-Step Soak-Off UV Gel System Kit which comes recommended by nailsmag.com.  Tammy Taylor also has a Soak-off Nail Gel Kit that may be worth looking at.

Whatever soak off gel nail set you decide to go with, make sure that it has all of the elements you are used to working with and try working with the materials, because consistency changes can really throw you off if you are not ready for them.  Check to see if the product has its own removing solvent or if it just require pure acetone, also make sure you know the price of refill remover if it is only available through the manufacturer.  Hope the tips help you make great tips!

Removing your false nail enhancements should be done by a trained professional to avoid injuring your nails.  Most of the common methods used to remove acrylics or gel nails, are generally risky to the nail, so be careful and make sure to consult your nail technician before performing any of these procedures.

Removing Acrylics

Acrylic nails have a loose cross linked molecular network that is great for keeping a strong, beautiful, sturdy nail, but is really dang hard to break apart and get off!  The basic method for removing these from your nails does not involve lifting or popping off as that could cause major damage to your nails and make infection a likely possibility, instead we are going to use some fancy chemistry to get them off.

First remove all varnish, enamel, or gloss from the top surface of the nail.  remove the shine of the artificial nail with a 240 grit file.  By removing the shine, we will be able to get more solvent into the molecular structure of the artificial nail.  This will help to speed the rate of absorption which will help to stretch out that molecular link until we can break it apart.

Pour solvent into two warm-able finger bowls.  Warm-able finger-bowls either sit warm water.  Tip:  Put marbles into the finger bowls, it will help your client pass the soaking time.  Soak your clients fingernails for 15-30 minutes while the hands and bowl are covered with a terry cloth towel (this helps prevent evaporation and preserves warmth)  make sure not to lift fingers or nails out at all during this period or it will extend the acrylic removal time.

After soaking, with the nails still submerged begin to gently remove the artificial nail with a cuticle pusher or an orange wood stick.  Once finished treat your clients nails to a nice manicure and make sure to moisturize.

Removing UV Gel Nails

Uv Gel nails are much more difficult to remove because they are more resistant to solvents.

To start you will want to slowly file down the gel until there is only a thin layer left on the nail.  be very careful not to hurt or damage the nail during this process.  Soak the nails as before with the gel removal product.  Once the soaking is complete you may gently proceed to scrape the nail clean with an orange wood stick.

Uv gel lamps come in quite a few different shapes, sizes, and prices and they all have different features.  When you are first looking at what type of lamp to get you may think “well i saw one uv gel lamp on ebay for $12 is that good enough?”  or you may think that the $350 dollar lamp is the way to go.  Here i am going to attempt to give you a good idea of what the different features of these lamps mean and what you should look for when assessing what type of lamp you are going to get to use with your uv gel.

The basic Features of a UV Gel Lamp

So you have been doing nails and nail art for a while now and your looking into working with uv gel huh?  Well I am sure you know a bit about uv gel nails by now, and at least how to apply them (if not search around the site) and you are trying to figure out what kind of lamp you need.  Really what you need depends on the type of clients you have or want to attract.  You can get a basic 6 watt uv lamp for one hand with no other features and as long as you and your clients are patient, that may be all you need, but the stronger the uv output the faster your uv gel is going to dry. If you have clients that don’t want gel nails but like polish or other types of nails, then having a heater or a fan dryer may be necessary.  you can also get uv gel lamps with timers and special reflector systems to give you better distribution of the light which leads to more even drying times.  Here is a bullet list of some features to look for.

• Digital Drying Timer
• Cool Air Nail Fan
• Spa Style Heater
• Bulb strength Ranging From 6 watts – 75 watts
• One Hand or Foot and  2 Hand or Feet Room
• Single Bulbs or Multiple Bulbs
• Easy to Use (design and comfort) or Easy Bulb Replacement
• Even Distribution of Light

Replacing your UV Gel Lamp’s Bulb

One thing that is very important to look for when purchasing your uv gel lamp is how easily will you be able to replace the bulbs.  If it looks like it is going to take a mechanical engineer to get your lamp apart just to replace the bulb, you want to make sure top ask the manufacturer how much maintenance costs, and if they do replacements for you, or if they can demonstrate for you, because maybe it isn’t as hard as it seems.  You always look at how much your uv gel is right?  Well you should also look at the cost of the uv gel lamp’s replacement bulbs, and how long they are supposed to last on average.  For all you nail techs that work from home or own your own salon, this is one of those Total cost of ownership things you probably glossed over in your nail technician courses ( don’t worry i hate accounting too ).  Some lamps come with standard bulbs that you can pick up anywhere while some manufacturers have decided that they only want you to use their bulbs which they sell at a premium, so just be aware and see how much the bulbs cost when you purchase your lamp.

Uv nail gel is a polymer resin which is composed of a monomer component and a polymeric component blended together in a gel.  These monomers and polymers are similar to those found in acrylic nails, but instead of being activated by their combination, uv nail gel gets activated and begins to bond and harden under uv light.

Basic Kinds of UV Nail Gel

There are many types of nail gels, but generally speaking there are four main categories of uv nail gel that have different properties.  First there is a bonding or priming uv nail gel which is used as a base coat of sorts for the nails.  I have seen these referred to as a protein bond as well which you would apply to a newly filed nail and then cure to use as a base for the next gel types.  Second there is a building or sculpting uv gel that is used to build up and give you the general shape and structure of your gel nails.  you will most commonly apply a two or three layers of this uv gel in between curing with your uv lamp.  This sculpting gel usually has a thicker consistency and lower viscosity so that you can use your brush to really shape and “float” the gel into the nail shape you want. Once you have applied and cured your layers of building uv gel, you will then be working with a finishing gel or a gel top coat.

On the more elaborate uv nail gel sets, i have seen a protein bond that goes under and separate from the base gel coat.  i have also seen uv gel that is specifically for building and gel that is specifically for sculpting in the same set.  There are some sets which will only have one gel used for all stages of your application.  The difference between all of these (besides price) will really come up when you know what you are doing and have been practiced in doing some high quality nail art.  You are fine to start off with the 1 gel sets until you have a good hang of it, but i really suggest you work on trying out different kits and seeing how your work changes and how the quality and durability of your gel nails changes as you use different uv nail gel.

The UV Nail Gel Accessories

If you are already feeling quite artistic and want to know some of the different things you can do with uv nail gel, then read on.  You can place crystals in the uv gel to give a very striking and beautiful look.  Since gel is so clear and doesn’t have many problems with bubbles or anything like that of acrylic you can see crystals designs or anything inside the nails very clearly.  i have seen fimo design sticks you can buy that look like a sticker on one end, and you cut a very thin slice off the end and put it into your building gel before curing.  when you finish and buff the nail you have a beautiful design on the inside of the nail.  If you haven’t seen glitter rock star gel nails you need to go get some cause they rock!

now if you are looking for color on your gel nails it is not recommended that you use polish, so there are many different types of color to use.  I have seen uv gel come in any normal color as well as neon, metallic, and pearly colors.  go get some uv nail gel and get to playing!  When you are feeling like you have a bit of a hang of it, make sure to get some good gel nail training to get a hold of some of the really advanced tricks of the trade.

Till Next Time…

If you are a nail technician who hasn’t picked up on the growing trend of uv gel nails, then i am here to tell you it is your turn to get with the times!   if you’re a new or soon to be nail tech, then you need to look into extending your education to include gel nails into your nail training as soon as you get a chance.  If you are an experienced tech looking to expand your horizons, then go get a uv gel set and start offering more clients what they are looking for.

Why Not Get a UV Gel Set?

I have spoken to a few experienced nail techs recently who focus on natural and natural looking nails.  I asked them if they had heard of uv gel because of how incredibly popular it is in Europe and how its popularity and demand are growing here in the United States.  They all said they had heard of uv gel nails, but gave various excuses for why they weren’t interested in them.   To me, this is a grave mistake.  One reason given was that gel nails don’t come off, while it is true that most uv gel nails are not easily removed, there are various gel nail varieties that do “soak off” for easy removal, and there are removal kits for uv gel nails that although take time to use they are effective.   The other common excuse was that gel nails don’t fit with doing natural nails.  While it may be technically true that gel nails are not “natural” nails, they do provide many of the cosmetic benefits of natural nails while being durable and long lasting like acrylics.  They wont yellow and if applied correctly they wont lift either  if you get a modest length, no one will ever know you have a set of uv gel nails on at all.

What Comes In A UV Gel Set

In a Uv gel set, you will have many different tools and gels so that you can do the best job easily and effectively.  Some tools may not be included, but you will be expected to have them if you are doing any kind of false nails anyway.  You should have your basics for any manicure like your clippers, your finger bowl, orange wood stick, etc., etc. but the most important non-standard tool that you will need in your nail tech tool box will be a power file or power buffer, also called a nail drill.  this is important for doing uv gel because if you are going to do a nail fill or a nail repair it is crucial.  It is even incredibly useful just for doing the final shaping and application of your first gel nail set.

In your uv gel set you will get:

• a protein bond
• a primer or base gel
• a sculpting gel
• a building gel
• a finalizing top coat gel
• a finalizing top coat gloss
• various colored gels
• a uv lamp
• a dispersion remover for taking off the uncured resin after final cure
• some kits come with a removal soak for removing gel nails
• some less expensive uv gel sets will come with only one gel used for all stages

Many gel kits come with instructional videos or at least detailed manuals that you will use to review the basics if you haven’t been taught in any classes.

now that you know what you need, go check out a few different beauty supply shops or google around for a uv gel set that you think will work for you.

Till next time…