No not the movie, but a wonderful way to speed up your services.
Recently, at the Cosmoprof North America show in Las Vegas, I met with a young man named Andrew Hung. He represents a company called WS Industries.
www.wsnails.com
They are a manufacturer, importer and distributor of professional nail equipment. They are the home of Pro Tool Nail, Ki Ki, FIORI, and Adventek products.
At his booth was one of the best ideas I have seen in a long time.
As nail techs, we all want to be more efficient in what we are doing. Well if you are using a UV Lamp and wanted to convert or transform your existing lamp for a more efficient service time, try out these little devils!
www.seriouslynails.com
Simply replace your existing UV bulbs with either a 6W or 9W LED bulb. (Depends on what your product needs to cure!) The plug in is the same as your UV bulb but the LED light will give you quicker results!
Hey, a service done with curing time as little as 2 minutes compared to 7 minutes. Seems like a bright idea to me. (sorry for the bad joke!)
You know that I always have my eyes open for great idea’s to help us nail tech’s make our jobs easier.
For any of you that have had to put on 3 or 4 different colors of polish on your very indecisive clients EVERY time they come in, this is for you.
I saw this in Nails Magazine and thought it was a brilliant idea!
It is called a COLOR PALETTE TREE and it is made by Geluv. Sold at www.buynailsdirect.com
It is a “tree’ of tips that are on long plastic “limbs” that attach to a “trunk”. You simply polish them with your line of lacquer colors and place the stand in the waiting/reception area for your customers to decide on the color they love.
The “limbs” are removable from the “trunk”, so your client can do a visual with the color next to their skin. Then, once they decide, they just bring the color to you at your station. You go and retrieve it from the stock room and away you go.
The tree has enough palettes to showcase 60 colors, so it may take awhile for you to fill it to the brim. And parts are available.
Current cost online is $25.50 US$
Again you can see it at http://buynailsdirect.com/geluv-nail-tip-palette-display-tree.html
As a nail tech, you sometimes get “nail art” block. Yes, just like writers block. So I am always on the look out for great places to discover ideas about nails and nail art.
I found a great digital spot for nail technicians and everyday gals to go to to find inspiration.
Nail technicians know that one of the bibles of nail technology is from Nails Magazine. They are responsible for this wonderful digital publication for us.
There are a ton of great photo’s to inspire you and lots of ways to look for what you are interested in.
You can go to the site and search under photos by topic or application style. Or by most recent, most popular or most active under the artists tab.
And you can find ideas in the nail art forum, channel or how to sections. You can also encourage other nail techs by “liking” their art!
I think this is a priceless find for anyone who loves nail art and sometimes gets blocked.
If you have any suggestions on great places to find inspiration, please let me know. Contact me at info@seriouslynails.com or leave me a comment on here.
Every where you go today, whether out for the evening or just to the store for milk, you will see nail art on the majority of women. (Especially here in Las Vegas)
I was wondering what the statistics were for nail art and came across some interesting facts.
A quote from The Big Book by Nails Magazine
“There are 2.5 million monthly Google searches for the term “nail art.” Nail art, especially hand-painted polish-only designs, has a new reputation. It’s no longer for the adventurous client and no longer just for feet. Many clients you might have thought of as conservative will now proudly wear cute and trendy looks on their nails.”
Nail art can be done with the simplest of tools. Like a toothpick and some different colored lacquers. “Dot” nail art is fast too. You can create a smile line by dotting along where a smile line should be.
Or with a simple nail lacquer striping set (available at most beauty supply stores) you can create whimsical designs.
Add a stone for some sparkle.
With 82% of salons offering nail art, it proves that the service is a great add on for the tech. (Who doesn’t like a bit of extra cash!)
And for the customer as well. Nail art lets people express themselves in non traditional ways. Your nail art, like your hair and clothes, can hint to people what your personality is like.
Are you playful?
Out going?
Or subdued?
With nail art increasing in popularity, it has given salons/technicians the ability to add to their income. Nail art ranges from $5 to $20 per session depending on the simplicity or intricacy of the design.
How salons charge for art depends. Some salons charge per color, or stones/jewels used. Some charge by how long it takes to achieve the desired design. And some will give their customers nail art as presents for birthdays or special occasions.
Whatever the reason, nail art has achieved a couple of great things for this industry. More income, creativity and a easy way for technicians to advertise their talents!
I love that it has gone so well in the last year. So go ahead you pro’s, let the creative juices flow. Play with colors and jewels and tools that are now so widely available.
For those gals who love to go to the salon, I bet that your nail technician has a great design waiting for you too!
I can’t tel you how many times in my career as a nail technician when I have plead with my clients to NOT bite their nail enhancements!
“Please, Mrs. Jones, if your bust your nail, just file it and call me! I will squeeze you in for the repair!”
Too, too many times to count!
The reason that we ask you not to rip your enhancement off is that the more you rip/bite/pull off your nail enhancements, the harder it is for the product to adhere!
Simply put, our nails are made of mamy layers of cells including the protien keratin. (Just like our skin and hair, but in a harder form).
When we continually rip/bit/pull our artificial nails off, we take off layers of the protective keratin protein that our body naturally builds for us to protect our fingertips! Our nails.
Once that happens, the enhancements have a harder time making a good connection with our natural nail. The part that is left behind from where we ripped/bit/pulled off is now the weak link in the marriage of our nails and the enhancement.
This will continue to cause the artificial to lift. This is for some folks where the whole thing starts all over again.
They see a lift and they can’t help but ripping/biting/pulling off the nail enhancement.
Another problem can arise from this self defeating behavior. At a certain point the natural nail becomes so weak that it will actually lift off the natural nail bed.
NOT a good thing. Once there is a separation of the natural nail bed and the natural nail, it is like opening a door for bacteria to enter our system. Just like a cut.
And the problem can be accentuated when the customer wears dark polish and works with chemical or does a lot of hand washing.
Bacteria loves to live in dark, warm and moist places. Just like under your natural nails, under dark polish and with some moisture.
This of course is a extreme example (although one I have seen before) but it is in your best interest to leave your artificial nails to the care of your professional nail technician.
Do yourself a favor! If it is broken, either file it down, or call your technician. Let them fix it properly! It will maintain the health of your natural nail so that you can enjoy your lovely enhancements for years to come.
Contact dermatitis is a condition in which the skin becomes red, sore, or inflamed after direct contact with a substance. There are two kinds of contact dermatitis: irritant or allergic. Some are quick to disappear and some can become quite serious if not treated correctly.
This is the definition of a condition that can sometimes be found from visiting nail salons.
A professional nail technician will have all the proper cleaning and sanitizing procedures in place. And use them. That is the first step in preventing the spread of disease and infections.
Proper use of the chemicals that are used during manicure/pedicure and enhancement services is essential as well.
It is the nail technicians duty to make sure that your service experience is pleasant and that you are not exposed to things that may harm you. And to understand the chemistry of the products they use.
Paracelsus, a sixteenth century physician was the first to talk about toxins in scientific terms. His communications about poisons and toxins make it easy to understand that even things that we may think are safe aren’t always. And that things we feel are dangerous may not be at all.
He stated “All substances are poisons; there is none that is not a poison. Only the dose differentiates a poison and a remedy”
He was the first person to recognize that everything on earth is toxic to some degree. It only depends on how we use them.
The Overexposure Principle is that overexposure determines toxicity.
As a example of this, consider salt water. Salt water is highly toxic if we drink enough of it. Yet, we swim in it without fear of poisoning!
Picture courtesy of: www.picstopin.com
Toxicity doesn’t make a substance automatically unsafe, it is the improper use of substances that does that.
Knowledge of the chemicals used in salons is imperative. As I have said in earlier posts, if your nail technician can’t tell you what products they are using, it may be better to move on!
Contact dermatitis occurs when substances touching your skin cause irritation or an allergic reaction. The resulting red, itchy rash isn’t contagious or life-threatening, but it can be very uncomfortable.
If your skin is sensitive to anything, please do yourself and your technician a favor and let them know. This way they can take steps to ensure that they are extra careful and use the proper products.
Also, nail technicians (hairdresser and others who experience prolonged use of certain products) need to take care not to overexpose themselves to products.
Always make sure you are visiting a salon where professionally licensed nail technicians are working.
And contact your health professional if you have concerns.
