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!
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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.