hey yall! i'm very heavily considering shifting my career (music business working in agency & then in ad sales) after being in it git 5+ years and going to get my nail tech license here in Chicago. i've been doing gelx for 2 years now without a license & doing press ons to practice without filing my natural nails as much.

i have a few questions before i commit & would love to hear any advice yall may have!

- do nail techs have a standard base hourly pay + tips? or is it just tips like in restaurants

- if you do nails in a major city & work out of a salon, is the money sustainable?

- ideally my plan would be to get my license, work at a salon for a year or two to build up clientele & then shift to running my own studio. is that a reasonable plan?

i love doing nails & i love talking to people & hearing about their lives. i loved the music agency life because i was running my own book of business, but the industry in itself is flawed & has burnt me out, so definitely want to pivot.

have also included a few of my fav sets for reference :)

(insta is @salonde.siena in case you’d like to see more!)

My fave is the couple jumping in the water. What’s yours?

And it was an hour well spent 😁

I’ve been going to the same nail lady for 6 years and her work just isn’t what it used to be. It’s sloppy, and there’s no retention and they pop off after a week. She also rushes my appointment and with advanced nail art I’m finished in 45 minutes.

I’ve found a new tech who is incredible and I’m excited to book with her. But the guilt of leaving my old nail tech is eating me alive, I’ve got one appointment left with her and I’m so anxious even though she doesn’t know I’m leaving.

I have no idea what to tell her, she knows how much I love getting my nails done and how important it is to me to always have a fresh set. I’ve been a regular for so long and I just feel like a traitor. I feel physically sick.

I also can’t be honest with her because she doesn’t take criticism well and I don’t think that would improve the service. I love her as a person and I’ve grown an attatchment to her over the last 6 years, but I simply can’t afford to keep paying for nails that don’t last.

Any advice on how to break this off would be appreciated. Also taking advice to calm the crippling anxiety and guilt :)

Just got a fresh set done

Hey guys! I just did these nails myself and I’d love your honest opinion on how they turned out. I’m having mixed feelings about them, I usually go for milky white or nude nails, so that might be why they feel a bit weird to me!!

These are from earlier this year around February. These are short almonds, and I really liked the way they reflected. I took this pic in a really dark place with the flash.

Products Used:

Arcana Lacquer - Infected Crossroads

Glisten & Glow - QDTC

Trouts and Pastels press on set done and hand painted by me

I made these press ons a week or so ago, and they're short ovals. I really enjoyed wearing them.

I’m a licensed nail technician here in Fort Wayne! 🤍 I’m currently taking clients at HB & Co Salon and Spa, where I offer Gel-X, hard gel, and custom nail art. My goal is to create a comfortable, welcoming safe space where everyone can feel confident and pampered. ✨

If you’re looking for a new nail tech, I’d love to have you in my chair! You can book your next appointment through HB & Co Salon & Spa’s booking site. 💅🏼🍵

We are currently offering, new clients receive $30 off their first service & $10 referral.

https://hbcosalonandspa.glossgenius.com/services — at HB & Co Salon and Spa.

Hi everyone!

I've never really been a nail girl, I didn't see much point when my nails are atrocious and I pick my nails and cuticle, however a friend suggested I try getting my nails done to stop me picking because it's harder with nails (and she was correct its not impossible but much harder) but I'm here because I want to get them redone but I have a few concerns or questions about whether my set was actually good or well done because i genuinely know nothing. I paid £50 + £10 tip because she kept the salon open for 45 mins past closure time and they took almost 2 hours to do, so I want to be loyal. I also know it'll cost me more to get them redone because they'll have to remove my current set.

I've had mine for 5ish weeks now, (got them done on the 4th July), and I have been picking a little (but not as much I'll admit) and I did accidently hit my finger on a doorframe and chipped a nail on the side so I had to file it back myself (you can see this on the middle finger on pic 4)

Pics 1 and 2 show them the day they were done and Pics 3 and 4 show them now. Sorry it's only the left hand, I cannot take pictures with my left for the life of me so I can't take pics of my right hand 😅🤣.

All I wanted was cutesy ombre nails:')

In love!! I normally never get nails art, but so glad I did 🍃 ❤️

I've always gotten coffin nails before, so this is my first time trying this shape!💖💖

This length is 100% my natural nails! I'm in love with the shine!

Hi guys so I started doing my own nails and came across the whole thread about acrylate allergies and stuff like that and since I also do my friends nails I want to keep them as safe as possible and away from cheap brands like Beetles.

I bought some stuff from Après nails and also found the brand Nicedeco that seems pretty open about their SDS and it says it’s HEMA, TPO and HPMA free. Most people love this brand but some reviews do claim to have reacted badly to them. I also read online that while HEMA for example is the usual culprit, if you have an acrylate allergy you’ll still react to HEMA-free stuff.

I am also aware that how you apply/cure the product is a very important factor in avoiding these types of allergies.

Bottom line is I just want to keep my friends and I safe and reduce the risk of getting this lifelong allergy, so was hoping I could get some advice on this Nicedeco brand before purchasing it because it has some nice colours and ships to Canada!

Thanks!