#NailTechNailedIt Weeks 3 and 4

As I'm entering my 5th week of school, I realize I've shorted you all two weeks worth of posts on nail tech school! It's taking over my life...but I couldn't be happier about it. The two weeks sort of blend together at this point, but I'll cover the basics for you. Stay tuned till the end to see some pictures I know will excite you!

And while I've got you, please please please go vote for me as the Most Inspiring Manicure! You can vote as many times as you want just by refreshing the page, and I need all the votes I can get to beat the current leader, MissJenFabulous from YouTube. If you like my original tutorials, please show your support, you have until Sunday the 15th at 11:59 pm ET. Vote here!

In weeks 3 and 4, we really ramped up our learning. Here's what we covered in-class:

• Pedicures
• Gel enhancements
• Wraps
• Basic chemistry

This rapid fire learning of new stuff was a lot to remember, especially since it's all so new to me. This is the time in school where I know I need to focus to get everything down I need without getting overwhelmed.

Pedicures are a whole different kind of monster compared to their fingertip counterparts. I've given several pedicures since testing out of them. At this point, upon graduation, I don't think I'll continue giving them if I can avoid them. Feet are just not something I enjoy, no matter how well someone takes care of them. There's a lot of questions when it comes to feet, and the answers aren't necessarily provided. Not everyone knows if they have cuts or fungus on their feet, and it's a fine line to draw. To avoid any kind of discomfort, I've chosen to wear gloves if I'm even remotely unsure about a client's feet. Additionally, our instructors made it perfectly clear to us that we need to have them check the client's feet if we're unsure.

Pedicures also take a major toll on my back. It's inevitable that I'll bend my back at least a little to complete the service. Right now, I know I'm bending over much too far, and I feel it at the end of the day. It's also tiring on my arms, as I hold clients' legs up to file the feet. Legs are heavy!

One thing I do like about pedicures is the before and after. I'll spare you those pictures, but it's pretty impressive how drastic some transformations are. Some toenails reach epic lengths, so trimming them down, softening up the skin, and slapping on a neat polish job makes a huge difference! Clients really love leaving the salon with fresh feet!


We also started in on the nail enhancements part of the course, starting with nail wraps.

Wraps are any type of enhancement that uses fabric. "Fabric" is a term that includes fiberglass, linen, silk, and paper. Hardly anyone uses paper in modern salons anymore. Fiberglass is generally the preferred type of wrap. Linen wraps are the thickest. In our class, we're using the OPI fiberglass wrap system.

Wraps use a combination of adhesive and adhesive accelerator to dry. It's a rapid drying technique that requires no special light to dry. Because it's so rapid, you need to take major precautions not to let the adhesive dry on the skin. If it does, you'll have discomfort from the contact dermatitis (skin contact).

The layers of tips, resin, fabric, and accelerator build the foundation for wraps. Then filing and shaping is done to achieve a smooth finish. Wraps aren't really pretty on their own, so polish is usually added after completing the enhancement.

In addition to wraps, we learned about gel enhancements. Gel enhancements are different than gel polish. The enhancements build structure and thicken the nail dramatically. Gel polish doesn't add a foundational structure to the nail.

Gel enhancements are sometimes used in place of acrylic enhancements, however, Concha told us they don't hold up well in dry environments like Colorado. They're more popular in areas of California and Florida (think Miami and Long Beach). If your salon offers these and acrylics, you might consider these, as they don't put off such noxious fumes, they harden quickly, and they're really shiny. We use the OPI Axxium system for our gels.

This week we started learning a little about acrylics, and played with some 3D acrylic nail art! That part was a blast to me, and I'll share more about it later. 

To close up this long-ish post...I finally got my kit! The pictures and description is all under the cut.

#NailTechNailedIt: Week 1

As you may or may not know, I'm now a nail tech student, working toward a certification as a licensed nail tech. What I'll do with that isn't quite clear yet, but the plans I have for it are wildly racing around in my head.

I enrolled in Long's Peak Academy, a beauty school offering esthetician, cosmetologist, hair stylist, and nail technology degrees in Longmont, Colorado. As I'm not interested in any other aspects of a cosmetologist career, I chose the solo nail track, but you can do all three for a full cosmetology degree if you want.

The school seems nice so far. I've only been around at night, when it's pretty empty, but it seems fine. Except when it comes to polish. My goodness is the polish color selection sad! For being an OPI-sponsored school, it seems OPI has forgotten to send out polish resupplies. There's plenty of reds and pinks, and some random colors here and there, but it's nowhere near what I was expecting. Maybe I'll send a shoutout to OPI, in the hopes they'll donate a few of their newer collections to the education cause. 

I also still haven't gotten my kit (with all the tools I need) or my books (to study for tests), so I've been borrowing supplies from the school. These shared supplies could certainly use a little TLC.

The program I chose works wonderfully for me. It's the last time this school is offering night classes since the enrollment numbers at night are low. I'm lucky enough to be one of the last to be on that track, along with my nail classmate, Rachel.

We're learning the ins and outs of all things nails through our textbook and the instruction of our teacher, Concha. We meet every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday night from 5:30 to 9:30 to work on practical and factual skills. Works wonderfully with my 9-5 job!

Even though we're only in week one, Rachel and I have already learned nail structure, health-related issues, and the basic manicure. Last night, I practiced the basic mani routine on Rachel with oversight from Concha. Here are the results (courtesy of Rachel):

I didn't use my usual angled paint brush cleanup, and didn't do much cleanup at all for that matter. It takes much longer than an at-home mani because there's soaking, massage, clipping, cuticle-pushing, and everything in between. Certainly more to it than I ever imagined!

It's so exciting for me. Since it's the only track I care about, I can really throw myself into it. Concha and Rachel are probably sick to death of my constant questions and furious note-taking.

You may think it'd be boring and tedious, but it's really insightful. Sure, I can paint nails and do designs, but what do I know about the proper procedure that is actually given on the state board exam in both practical skills and knowledge tests? Honestly...less than I thought.

One thing I'm going to have to un-learn from my years of blogging is how to properly file the nail. Apparently, the one direction technique you always hear about in the blogosphere is technically incorrect. In fact, our textbook instructs us to file from corners to center. So one side of your nail will be filed one way, and an invisible, vertical line down the middle divides the other side of your nail, where you'll file the other way. Who knew?

Well, I suppose everyone who's ever read the textbook knew.

Tomorrow will be my first full day of clinic duty. No scalpels or surgery though. The 'clinic' is what the school calls the client floor, where clients and students receive services from students. The floor is made up of plenty of hair stations, a few mani tables, a few pedi seats, and a place for facials and waxing in the back. I'll obviously be focused on a very select part of the clinic.

If you're within traveling distance of Longmont, please feel free to stop by, and ask for Katy. The more practice in the clinic we get, the better, and there needs to be a LOT of practice to meet the criteria for graduation.

Feel free to ask any questions you may have, I'm happy to answer them!

Journey to a Nail Tech...It Begins

Two years of blogging and talking about nails and polish and nail art and cuticles and all that jazz that accompanies it has finally driven me to start toward a license as a nail technician.

I'm excited, a little nervous, and ready to start learning. There's so much I don't know, and so much I want to learn. It's all the beginning to what I dream to one day have...my own nail business.

I've decided to try and make this journey a learning experience for others as well, and I hope to have weekly updates on the experience. It's a long experience though (6-8 months for the program I decided on), so we'll see where the road travels.

I'll be taking night classes, so I can continue to work full time and raise the funds necessary to attend. It's a pricey school, but everything sounds worth it. The total cost of tuition is $7235. That'll sound outrageous to some of you, as I've heard of schools costing a mere $500. Long's Peak Academy seems like the best fit for me right now though, and I've worked out my finances to ensure I can attend without going under.

There are some sacrifices to make (Saturdays begin with 8.5 hours of school now and skiing may be out of the question this season), both for me and my loved ones, but I've gotten nothing but support so far.

Read up on my experiences as they go with my new tag, #nailtechnailedit on Twitter and Instagram. All the posts here at Nailed It will be tagged the same.

I welcome any questions, advice, or support you have to offer! Maybe I'll set up a fund raiser event to really kick it off properly too.

Thank you all for your support and love, and for making this whole thing happen!