Viv Simmonds, an Australian Nail Art Champion has some amazing work and has recently just gotten some media coverage about her nail art competition attendance, and how a champion prepares.  Her feature in Scratch Magazine is an interview asking for tips that would help any new nail technicians or anyone interested in competing for the first time in a nail art competition.  Her advice starts with one of the most basic and overlooked components of success.

“My golden rule for competing is being organized.  The more organized i am, the calmer i feel.  i ensure that i know my rules; if  I’m unsure, i ask an official immediately.  I have a checklist of all the products and equipment i need and i go through my checklist and tick them off while I’m packing my competition case.”

I need to organize myself whenever i get into a potentially stressful situation as well.  like for nail technician school, if i had a test on nail anatomy, i would have to organize my study space before i could even get myself to focus.

Viv goes on to explain how being nervous helps her with the competition, how to make every nail competition a winning experience, and some tips every nail tech should follow when they are faced with competition.

Have any of you ever entered a nail competition?

Australian Nail Art Champion Interviewed is a post from: Nail Technician Courses

Wilde Cosmetics is a modern cosmetics firm providing innovative and high quality cosmetic products ( Nail Art – Naildesign UV Gel )and services for the cosmetic market. Our core competence is the field of fingernail cosmetics. We provide the perfect equipment for Nail Designer Salons with our extensive range of light-curing resins for reinforcing and extending fingernails.

They certainly do have some interesting nail resins.  The video for this nail art tutorial is below so you can see a few different techniques for creating your nail art or the petals of your flower with a cuticle stick , some oil and a uv nail gel of your choice.

Click play, its a quick video

I’ve seen some great uv gel nails before, but this is a pretty amazing way to go about creating a piece of art.  After watching this tutorial, do you think you could recreate these beautiful nails?

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3D Nail art tutorial – Flowers Naildesign by LCN – Could You Do This? is a post from: Nail Technician Courses

New Summer Nails by Pink Rocker on Flickr. Beautiful Goldfish

This is a beautiful set of nails done by a very artistic nail technician.  You really need to have good nail courses training and alot of good practice to be able to get such great detail on those cute little fish.  I think the flowers and the fish are absolutely gorgrous, (the checker pattern may be a bit much for my tastes though )  The glitter adds a nice touch too i think.  Take note for future nail art ideas!

What do you all think of these nails?  thumbs up or down? 

Fishy Summer Nail Courses Training is a post from: Nail Technician Courses

The Cost of your Nail Training

The cost of getting your nail technician license will change from country to country and state to state.  If you are in the united states, you will first want to check out the website of your local board of cosmetology.  They will have requirements on the hours of training necessary for you to take the nail tech exam.  You will also want to check with them about the cost of the nail exam and what equipment will be necessary and whether you must bring your own or not.  Once you know how much schooling you need you will be better prepared when approaching the various nail schools in your area.

I would suggest calling three nail schools in your area.  You can find them online, through the phone book, or by contacting your local nail or beauty salon and asking where their nail techs were trained.  You want to get three nail school’s info so that you have some comparison of the program outline and the cost of the course.  Since you know the number of hours required for your license you can tell whether they are covering more or less then is necessary. Once you have those prices i would also compare them to the price of your local community college to see whether their is a huge price difference or not.

If you live in the UK or most other areas out of the US, you most likely have a much wider range of options for getting licensed.  You can check out nail courses online or other home based nail courses as well, and the cost difference can be quite different for in class training.

The Payoff for Nail Technician Courses

On average, according to Payscale.com nail technicians can make anywhere from $27,000 to $36,000 a year, depending on the services offered as well as the hours worked etc.  The above salary is assuming approximately 40 hours a week.  I have found that in the salon industry, if you are good you can set your own price, and as long as you have clients you can make as much as you want.  If you own a salon, you can also earn a percentage of what your employees make as well.  Find a popular nail tech at a prestigious salon in your area and have a conversation with them about wanting to get into the nail business, ask them for tips and see if you can work out what they make a session as well as what they make a year.

One of the things to consider about getting a nail technician license or additional nail training is the ability to work for ones self as well as work as an employee.  If you want to work for a salon, there are many salon’s that will take you as an employee and take care of your taxes, your hourly rate and whatever benefits you negotiate.  There are also many other salon’s that will only rent you space and allow you to work as an independent contractor.  When you work in this way, you have the ability to set up a business as a sole proprietor, or any other business entity.  When you operate as a business instead of an employee you have many legal tax benefits available to you that many employees do not have access to.  Make sure to hunt down some information online and set up a meeting with a CPA to verify your findings or ask any questions you haven’t been able to find answers for.

Choose Your Own Adventure

The numbers above should help you decide whether or not to take your nail training and get licensed or not.  If you are already a working nail technician, hopefully this information will help you decide whether the nail training you are planning to get will be worth your time and money.

If you have a career plan for yourself, using this information will be a lot easier.  Do you want to be a nail tech and work in a great salon?  do you want to own your own nail salon?  do you want to become a nail trainer yourself?  do you want to open a nail school?  How much nail training you need will be absolutely dependent on where you want to go.  for some of the above cases you won’t need anymore nail tech courses then you have already taken, for some you may need a great deal more.

That’s all for today.  I hope that this information helps you answer the questions that you may have had about whether nail technician courses are worth it or not.

Till next time…

The Cost of Nail Training is a post from: Nail Technician Courses

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 as is the case with online classes, 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 and her license did not cover her work on the water.  So, make sure that while you are taking your nail tech courses, all your bases are covered and that you get the highest quality and fullest nail technician training you can.

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.  You can always add nail training courses later into your own curriculum, or take them after you have received your certification.  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 a lot that you can do with your brushes and a little creativity that you haven’t even thought of yet.

Acrylic and gel nail training are the basic building blocks of nail art, but there are many more specific training techniques and process techniques that you will want to pick up from a teacher or whoever you choose to be your nail art guru.  One other to get good with gel or acrylic nail art besides taking a gel nail training course would be to find a local nail competition, attend, and talk to some of the champs.  Better yet, you can even compete yourself!

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 vigor 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 get 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 nails 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 anther’s labor.

Whether you see yourself in an owner position, or a brilliant nail artist’s 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.

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Nail Training in Nail Technician Courses, Is it Enough? is a post from: Nail Technician Courses

Get Discounts on Nail Training Supplies

During your nail tech courses you are going to need to … well… paint nails!  You are going to have to practice giving manicures and pedicures and in many cases you are going to be doing gel and acrylic nails too.  The cost for all of this can add up especially if you are not getting any income from your work…. Cue Sally Beauty!!

Sally Beauty is a huge beauty supply chain that offers all the products you may need.  They have a student card that you can register for to get discounts on products while you are enrolled in school.  You can check that out here:  Student Beauty Discount Card

Get Free Money For Nail Training

Sally Beauty also has a great scholarship for anybody in the cosmetology field.  They have partnered with the National Cosmetology Association, and together they provide a $1000 dollar scholarship for new beauty and nail tech students.  Check out this link to get a scholarship for your nail training.  Sally Beauty Scholar

Below, is a great list of Financial aid resources for nail technician courses and cosmetology schools:

• ACE Grants
• www.studentaid.ed.gov
• Fred Luster, Sr. Education Foundation Cosmetology Scholarship
• The Joe Francis Haircare Scholarship Foundation
• Sallie Mae Web site
• The Rankin Foundation
• Xenon Foundation Star Search Scholarships
• The Spa Foundation

There is no reason not to start your career as a nail technician now that you know how to do it on the cheap!  I hope these links are useful for you all out there, and let us know how your applications go and if you know of any other financial aid resources, we will post it up here.

Do you have any tips for saving money while you are going through your nail training?

Save Money During Nail Training is a post from: Nail Technician Courses

Nail Glue and Tips

First you are going to need to have nail tips to go on top of the nail that will be like a base or canvas for your acrylics.  To secure these tips, you are going to need some type of adhesive, specifically a high quality nail glue.

Make sure that your tips are straight and in line with the real nail.  Do not, i repeat, Do not use super glue as this may lift the nail and can lead to nail fungus, which you should know (from your studies) can take quite a bit of time to treat and get rid of.  When you are choosing tips, make sure you pick a material that you like to work with and that you have the proper nail equipment to shape.

Liquid Monomers

You can get regular or odorless monomers, and they each have their benefits and draw backs.  The first and most obvious benefit of odorless monomers is that they are, well, odorless, if you have a sensitive nose, your clients don’t like the smell, or your work area doesn’t have a lot of ventilation, then you will really like using this type of liquid monomer.  One drawback of the odorless liquid, is that it takes a while longer to dry and won’t appear done when you have finished, so you will have to wipe and/or file off the excess tacky residue.  This is something you will have to get used to and practice with if you plan on using the odorless monomers exclusively.  The regular liquid monomers are much more common, and many instructors will also be better versed in their use, so make sure to try out both types and see which ones work for you.

Acrylic Powders

Acrylic powders come in many colors and many also have different types of materials, like glitter.  These differences, will change the way that they interact, and how they feel to work with, although it will all be relatively the same.  You will use this with the liquid monomer over the tip that you have applied with the nail glue.  When using your acrylic brush you want to make sure to be able to apply the powder and shape it into a real looking and feeling nail with long strokes to avoid clumping you need to be very careful not to get any of the liquid or powder onto the skin so practice well with your liquid and powders.

Acrylic Brushes

This piece of nail equipment you should be very familiar with .  If you are working on acrylics then you will most likely have a very good brush stroke, but make sure to practice with the powder and liquid as much as possible to get a good nail shape.  once you have used your acrylic nail brush to apply the acrylic to the tips and let those dry, applying the primer and the varnish will be very straight forward.

Nail Forms

Nail forms can really help you save time when applying acrylic nails, but are also great for creative nail art.  First, you will prepare your clients nails as per usual, cleaning, soaking and treating.  Then you will choose a nail form that fits your clients nail bed and then take it and fill it with your desired acrylic and liquid, you can use multiple colors and styles in order here in a way that you can’t on top of the nail without streaking, so get creative.  Once you have filled your form, you will apply your adhesive to the nail and stick your form right onto the nail, in a short time it will dry and you can pop it off to reveal you beautifully design nail art.  I think everyone should try these out, because they are pretty fun.

Nail Drill

This piece of nail equipment is used to roughen up the nail a little bit, so that the fake nail will have a more rough surface to hold onto.  If you are working on the natural nail, you want to make sure to be very gentle and use a mild grit so as not to injure the nail bed.  Make sure to check with your client on whether they want you to use a nail drill on their nails or not.

Nail Drills can also be used to great effect in repairing fake nails, removing old acrylic to reapply, and more.  Check with your beauty instructor on how to use it effectively.

Hope you ladies liked the post, let me know if i missed any equipment or you want to know more.

Till next time…

Nail Equipment For Acrylic Nail Training is a post from: Nail Technician Courses

If you are thinking about taking nail technician courses
then you are most likely looking for a way to increase your income
level and career opportunities without having to commit yourself to 4
years at a University when you may not even like the subject you are
studying.  There are many other alternatives to college or community
college and trade schools are by far one of the best alternatives for
most people who are looking to make more money in a given career.  Most
likely you interest in beauty and fashion (nail especially) has brought
you here to learn a little bit more about what it takes to become a
nail tech.

How Many Hours Till I Become A Certified Nail Technician?

This is one of the first questions that people ask when they are exploring different types of nail training.
The number of hours required changes from state to state and Country to
Country.  In Arizona it currently takes 500 hours of combined schooling
and training before a training nail tech can take their theoretical and
practical examinations to become licensed by the Arizona Board of
Cosmetology.  To become a registered California Manicurist and obtain
your license you must attend a registered nail technician school for
400 hours.  In Nevada you have to spend 500 hours to receive your
manicurist license.  In Utah you have to spend only 300 hours to
receive your nail technician license.  many states will also require
you to take continuing education units to keep your license up to
date.  If you live outside of the United States, the U.K. for example,
you could take your courses from your home computer and receive your
nail technician license from home.  If you lived in Brighton, England
for example you could take a course from essential nails and in about 80 hours recieve a license to apply acrylic nails to clients.

Is the Coursework Worth the Time?

As with any trade you are thinking about getting schooling for, you
want to make sure that you can make enough money to support yourself
and to justify the education that you are about to receive.  Most nail
technicians can charge between $25 to $50 for a manicure and upwards of
$70 for a great set of acrylics or fiberglass nails.  In the united
kingdom 30 to 40 pounds for a set of nails is also a very reasonable
price point.  Since a manicure or a set of nails can usually be done in
round about an hour i think that is a pretty good return on an
investment in your nail technician education.

What do you think about nail technician courses that you have taken?  are you thinking about taking any?  where are you located?  I’d love to know what you’re planning.

Till Next Time…

Nail Technician Courses are a Great Alternative to College is a post from: Nail Technician Courses

Nail Trainer

This piece of nail equipment is very useful especially for beginners as it gives you a chance to learn your skills without the risk of messing up any of your clients nails.  In another article about nail technician courses online i suggested getting 2 nail trainers if you can, this will really give you a chance to practice your skills of nail shaping, nail cutting, nail buffing and nail filing.  You can really practice well with your polish on your nail trainer as well.  This piece of nail equipment comes in many shapes and sizes from a full hand and arm setup to a single finger setup whichever you choose, make sure you practice with it as much as possible.

Nail Clippers

Nail clippers are to a nail technician what a hammer is to a carpenter.  This piece of equipment will be ever present and you will need to learn to use these very well.  Creating the perfect nail shape will be your goal when using your nail clippers so make sure to practice how you hold your clippers and get your hands used to clipping the nails as well as any hang nails around the edge of the nail, this can be an awkward motion for some, so make sure to develop a very steady hand. Another piece of nail equipment you may want to pick up to go with your nail table will be a magnifier light.  This will help you to really see what you are doing with your clippers and get the best job done.

Nail Buffer and Shiner

Another necessary set of tools to help you with your nail shaping will be your emery board, your buffer, and your nail shiner.  Some nail techs will only use an emery board, some will only use a buffer, but it really depends on the manicure or pedicure that you are giving.  once you have developed a routine, and you know what your end goal is for your client, you may only need one or 2 of these tools, but when working with your nail trainer make sure to practice using all of them.  make sure you can get the nail edge to the desired smoothness with the file and use the buffer to finish it off.  your shiner you want to use on the top of the nail after you use your emery board and your buffer.

Orange Wood Stick

After you have soaked the tips of the fingers in your finger bowl for about 5 – 15 minutes you want to use your orange wood stick with a bit of cotton roll to work the cuticles back gently.  Practice as much as you can with this piece of nail equipment because the most unpleasant experience next to having someone clip your nail too short is to have someone without a practiced hand work with your cuticles.  if this isn’t done gently, you will be risking loosing a client.

Nail Polish

Finally the Pièce de résistance is your nail brush, if you are going to be doing advanced nail art then you need to make sure to learn how to use each and every brush, but for those of you starting out, make sure you get very good with applying thin coats of polish evenly.  the fewer strokes per coat that you can achieve the better the polish will look and the better it will stay in the end.  practice with many different types of nail polish and also make sure to use as many different brands as possible this will give you a feel for what polishes you like the most.

Make sure to use as much nail equipment as you can while you are learning in your nail technician courses because this is the best time to explore.  If you are already a registered nail tech make sure to take some new courses to expand your menu of what you can offer your clients.  Learn to play your instruments better then anyone else…

Till next time…

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Nail Equipment For Nail Technician Courses is a post from: Nail Technician Courses

In a previous post about studying hard for your nail technician courses, we talked a little bit about making time for your studies so that your nail tech exam prep goes rather smoothly.  We also talked about making flashcards and practicing your nail polish techniques as much as possible.  In this article we are going to look at what other options you have for preparing for your nail tech exam.

Practical Nail Tech Exam Prep

If you are preparing for your practical nail technician exam, then you will have to physically practice as much as you possibly can.  I suggested getting an extra nail trainer if possible in a few other articles, as it will help you in a time crunch and give you much more nail training than you could do with just friends or at your school.  While one nail trainers polish or acrylic is drying you can be working on the other to double your time practicing.

Another tip which may sound a bit crazy is to practice in your head when you don’t have you nail trainer around.  Numerous studies have shown that visualization alone can help people learn a complex physical task and perform it better.  Why not use this little technique on yourself?  Whenever you are on the bus, train, waiting in line, visualize doing perfectly whatever it is that you may be having trouble with, you will find yourself performing much better next time… :End crazy nail tech exam prep tip:

Watch Videos of Manicures and Pedicures

Another tip for the practical portion of your nail technician exam is to get yourself an online nail course and watch the instructional videos over and over.  This should help you to pick up some nuances for your technique that you may have missed previously.

Theory Nail Technician Exam

If you are getting ready for your theoretical nail technician exam and you don’t have a lot of time then I suggest you really cram as much as you can.  If you have the opportunity to pick up a course prep kit or something like exam secrets then do it.  these nail tech exam prep kits will provide you with pre made flashcards and will only cover the most important aspects that will be found on an exam.  This will really help save you time from memorizing unimportant information.

Nail Tech Exam Prep is a post from: Nail Technician Courses