page 2
Laura Whiley –
Creative Nail Technician
I
have just returned for a shopping trip in New York.
Whilst I was there I thought I would treat myself to a new set of acrylic
nails. Several of my clients (air
hostesses) have told me that it’s a lot cheaper out there and the quality is
good.
I
set out to find some where reasonably priced and that didn’t look too tacky.
I started off at Macy’s who wanted $75 for a full set, and that
didn’t include soaking off the one’s I was already wearing.
No one was free that day so I moved on.
Later
I went into Sak’s. They said
somebody would be able to do them for me and they showed me through to the
salon. I sat at the table but was
then told by the technician that she doesn’t do acrylics, as she is and
offered me Fibreglass. Another
lucky escape as they wanted $75 too. I
peered into several smaller salon windows but wasn’t too impressed with what I
saw, drills, etc. I am very
particular about my nails and I refuse to let anyone near me with a drill after
a bad experience in the past before I became a nail technician!
Finally I walked into a salon in midtown Manhattan It looked pretty impressive and the prices were mid-range. Al of the technicians were Oriental Asian and didn’t speak very good English. They assured me that they had been doing nails for 10 years and their licences were displayed on the wall behind them so I thought they’ve got to be good! I told them I wanted ‘pink and whites’ (French acrylics) and they assured me that it would not be a problem. Although I asked which products they used I failed to understand what they were saying. They soaked off my nails and proceeded to apply a new set. I couldn’t believe how my nails looked by the time I left the salon! To cut a long story short they were using the old MMA (Dental Acrylic). My nails were bumpy and uneven and they had used clear powder not pink and white. At the time I couldn’t tell as the clear powder is white in the pot. I was thoroughly disgusted and to top it all they cost me nearly $80 including the extension removal. I was pick sick.
I have always been led to believe that Americans are so good at nails especially with all the talk there about banning MMA, I couldn’t believe it. Before I went out there I telephoned ‘Creative’ in the States to see if they could recommend a salon or technician but was told there were no Master Technicians in New York. I should have realised then that I might have a problem. Or perhaps I just picked the wrong salon! Let this be a warning to all you would be shoppers hoping to get your nails done while you’re out there. Be careful!
I asked Gigi Rouse at Creative Nails for advice on what to look for when choosing a salon abroad; Naturally looking for a licensed technician is the first thing, but a licence doesn’t always guarantee that the technician does excellent work. Check out the general feeling and look of the salon, cleanliness and hygiene is very important. Look at the location of the salon, a high quality salon will usually be located in a well-classed area. Get in touch with a local wholesaler or distributor and ask if they can recommend a salon with a good reputation. A lot of the discount salons you want to avoid don’t buy their products from a named distributor; they use their own. Ask the people around you, i.e. hotel or restaurant staff if they can recommend a salon. It gives you a good chance to inspect the technicians work before you set foot in the salon. If it all goes wrong and you are not happy with what you get use your voice, you wouldn’t put up with second class work in the UK so don’t abroad. Melle
go to page 3 - This month's nail tech, Photographing fingernails
go to page 4 - Nail Art Gallery
go to front page - Introduction, Nail art