Most often, it's the driver not the car!

When teaching a class on electric nail filing vs hand filing, this is my favorite saying, "Most often, it's the driver not the car!". If you are driving along and you go off the road down an escalator, is it the cars fault or the driver? Granted a malfunction could cause the car to go off, but for my example we will blame the driver. So to say that e-files are bad is like blaming the car.

"But the manicurist that does my nails uses a drill and now my nails are ruined!". Have you ever seen erosion from a constant drip, drip, drip of water? Even something so tiny as a drip can eventually cause damage! If you are causing damage or your technician is causing damage using an e-file than it is 100% the fault of the tech.

There are many mistakes technicians make when using a e-file. The first myth is that you need to have it set to the highest speed to work. Today's e-files have great torque in place of speed. Torque is just how strong your e-file is as it rotates. If you lightly touch the bit to the nail and it stops spinning, that is low torque. If you can put your bit right to the end of the nail and use the e-file to shorten long acrylic length and it does not stop spinning, that is high torque. Torque is a great thing, because it means that you do not need to work with high speeds. It's the friction at high speeds that makes the nail hot and burn the client. And. if you are working at high speeds, you need only a moment of bad judgment to do serious harm. My e-file is always set at a low speed unless I need to shorten the nail.

Bits are the second cause of damage. Most techs think that Carbide bits are the way to go. I used to. They shave a lot of acrylic off a nail. However you can only work in one direction causing lots of flat passes that still need to be fixed with a hand file. Now, for me, there is nothing better than a well made diamond bit. I can work in a side to side motion filing in both directions. This gets twice as much work done in the same amount of time. Diamond bits are much more forgiving.

Lastly, looking into a really good e-file oil will not only cut out the friction but also protect the skin surrounding the nail. And, as an added bonus it eliminates dust that a tech would normally inhale. It is basically a pure oil. No color or fragrance. Dyes and fragrances can damage the machinery in the hand piece. Be advised, you only use these oils to 'finish' file not to prep. Otherwise the oil can ruin your application and cause lifting.

Before you turn an evil eye on an e-file, consider this, a tech with little to no experience with hand filing can do just as much damage as a tech with an e-file.

Elaine
(writing from Valencia, CA today)

Are You Full Service?

Some drastic changes are happening in the USA Nail Industry. Back when I first started doing nails, acrylic nails was very popular. Back then I could get $65 for a full set and $35- 40 for a fill. Acrylic nails were something that only middle to upper class customers could afford.

We opened ourselves up to the Discount Nail Salon. By creating such a high priced market, we just opened the door and said, "come on in and take over". We gave discount salons plenty of room to come down on their prices and under cut us. Of all the countries I have traveled I can say, England is on it's way to having our same problems. Cost of service is still high there and their door is wide open!!

But, the positive side of this... it quadrupled the industry as a whole. Now, people that could not afford to have their nails done ARE having their nails done.

This has brought on a very important social change. If a woman had on a beautiful set of pink and whites (say 14 years ago) she could easily be looked upon as 'having money'. Now, just anyone can have beautiful pink and whites at a discounted price.

So how has this affected the Industry? More and more clients are asking for Spa Manicure (and Pedicure) services as well as Gel services. To have long beautiful natural nails has become the upper and middle class service. It takes time, commitment and caution to maintain a long natural nail.

My question (in the title), "Are you a full service tech?". Do you do Acrylics, Gels, Fabrics (Fiberglass, Silk and Linen) and several levels of Manicure / Pedicure? If you said no to any of these services you really need to rethink your actions. More and more clients are going to walk through the door of your Salon or Spa and request Gel. Will you be prepared to service them? Or will you turn them away only to feed your competitions business? Seek out continuing education and learn these services. Practice and promote them. Use, "I'm a full service tech" or "full service Spa" on your marketing literature. Keep the products on hand. And be prepared to provide the service.

It's all about getting them in the door. Once you have them, you can start to educate them on the services you prefer. By then they will trust your skill and knowledge and consider your suggestions.

In a time when the economy is painful and the dollar is so weak, every customer counts towards keeping your business alive.

Elaine
(writing from Valencia, CA today)