Friday, August 20, 2010

Any Nail Technician's Out There?

I plan on attending college in the Fall and am wondering how hard is the Nail Technician/Mancuring classes?Are there any specifics or common sense things I need to know before I start my classes in the fall?What are some things I can do to prepare myself and be ready for everything I'm going to be learning?And do they provide you the supplies while your in the class or do you have to buy them?Any Nail Technician's Out There?
The answer to your question really depends on a few variables such as what school you are going to, how experienced the instructors are - or aren't, and a few other things. Generally speaking, the program for nail technicians is not that difficult per se. I can't tell from your question whether this is something you are going to pursue as a career, or whether you will be taking the courses as an elective. But if you are going to be doing this for a living after you complete the training, then I'll tell you a few things I have found to be true when it comes to nail programs which you may/may not find to be helpful?


Anyway, a big issue nowadays is proper sanitation and disinfection within the nail salon. Therefore, it seems that most nail programs tend to focus a majority of their time on these issues. Don't get me wrong - they are very important to learn. And if you go on to take your state boards, a fair portion of the written test will focus on your knowledge in these areas. The problem though, as I see it is that a nail program consists of 'x' amount of hours (it varies from school to school). But generally, it can be from maybe 200-400 hours of training. give or take a bit depending on your home state and it's requirements with regards to training. Given the fact that the programs are limited in the amount of hours, they tend to teach you what you need to know in order to pass the test, and not much else. A school with a high pass rate for the boards translates into good advertising for the school. Lots of cosmetology schools do exectly this kind of thing to attract students. For example, they will boast that they have a 95% pass rate for first time test takers. Yes, that is good. But, will you be learning the things that you want to learn, or just what you need to know to pass the tests? In my experience, and from what others have told me - you will learn pretty much what is required to pass the test - in most schools anyway. It depends. I hope I'm not confusing you! The bottom line is this: Having said that, the problem is that you most likely will not spend a lot of time on how to do nails. I have heard this complaint time and time again. When most people finish their training, they simply don't really know how to do nails very well. And to be good at doing nails - whether it is acrylics, gels, or whatever, it takes a LOT of practice. But you probably won't get much time to practice in school. This means that you need to learn on your own for the most part. I would suggest practicing on friends, family - anyone who you can find to practice your skills on. I know of people who have practiced on their very reluctant boyfriends/husbands! Poor guys! But, you have to practice, and nails are nails! So, get anyone you can find to practice on, and do exactly that. Try to learn things on your own by visiting some of the various nail message boards. There are several good ones out there. By doing so, you will be able to read messages from people who have been in the industry, and are experienced in doing nails. And you can learn a lot just from reading the posts from these people. Many different issues are discussed on these boards - some good, some not so informative. You have to weed through them, thats all. A good starting point is:


http://www.salongeek.com


Better yet, try this one:


http://www.beautytech.com/forums/viewfor鈥?/a>


Now, about products? Yes, the school will be supplying the products you will need to use. Of course, you will be paying for them one way or another, but they do supply them. It differs with each program, but the school will almost always use one particular product line exclusively. While that makes sense, it can be a problem because there are many different product lines available, and I have seen many, many techs who - years after completing training who are STILL using the product line they learned with! You see, the best thing, IMHO, is to try as many product lines as you can - at least once. That way, you can tell which one is right for YOU. Each has their own inherent good points, and bad points. There isn't a one size fits all product line because everybosy has different likes and dislikes. And if you don't try other product lines, you will never know if what you are using is the best one for you, or not. One perk of being a student in a nail program, or even a cosmetology program is that you will be able to purchase products both in professional beauty supply stores, and online. It varies by the company, but most will let students purchase professional products which are not available to the general public. There is a huge difference between most professional beauty supply stores (most, not all!), and somewhere such as Sally Beauty Supply who sells to anyone, and everyone - for the most part anyway. The products you find at professional supply stores are much better quality, and much cheaper. And most will let you purchase other things like shampoo and conditioner, things like that as well for personal use. That is really great because you will get name brands for like half the price of what you would pay elsewhere, like in a hair salon.


What to do to prepare yourself in the meantime? Not really much. If you want to spend a little, then you may want to purchase a book or two from a leading hair and nail textbook supplier - Milady. These are standard textbooks that many, if not most nail programs use in their courses. You can find those here:


http://www.milady.com


http://www.miladyonline.cengage.com/nail鈥?/a>


http://www.delmarlearning.com/browse_cat鈥?/a>


(I highly recommend a book called ';Nail Structure %26amp; Product Chemistry'; by Doug Schoon. It's a great resource! That book can be found in the third link).


Also, start reading the message boards and familiarize yourself with the terms, techniques, and so on that techs use. That would be a good head start for you.


Also, attend trade shows if possible. One of the very biggest, and best show is coming up on Juse 1st %26amp; 2nd in Orlando, Florida. It's called Premeire Orlando. For more information:


http://www.premiereshows.com/


OK, I've gone on long enough, and my fingers are sore from typing, LOL! I hope that this helped to answer your questions even just a little bit? Sorry it was soooo long, but I could talk nails all day long- and I often do!!! Good luck in your courses this fall! Study hard, and practice those nails. Practice, practice, practice. I cannot emphasize that enough!

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