NAIL TECH TALK: Abigail Simons of Beautiful Nails by Abi Simons
By Callie Iley | 19 March 2022 | Feature, Tech Talk
Scratch chats to Abigail Simons of Beautiful Nails by Abi Simons about her training and the advice that she’s picked up along the way…
I trained at the London College of Beauty Therapy, then furthered my training under CND, Louella Belle, Gemma Lambert, Katie Barnes and Virag Timar. I do a nail holiday once a year to go off to learn something new. I went to the Rock Hard Tour with Louella Belle many years ago, and sat opposite Michelle Class. I’ve also completed Louella Belle‘s education program with Artistic Nails and now am an educator for them. During lockdown, I signed up for 30 nails in 30 days with Sam Biddle that was excellent. I also did competition training with Melanie Lewendon, which was a lot of fun and a brilliant eureka moment for me!
I love French nail designs and swirls. These are simple yet effective for me, and they photograph beautifully. I love Artistic Colour Gloss as it’s highly pigmented. I’ve also been using Artistic Brush On Correction Gel for the past 9 years – it’s the best product ever and it gives the nail the most amazing finish. I love Louella Belle products. IBX is a great tool to have, as my clients all have big families and use their hands heavily. I live in a very conservative Jewish orthodox community, so my work is clean and neat with an emphasis on the natural nails.
You are your own boss, and I never stop growing as a tech. I live a mad life – I’m a Jewish wig-wearing lady with five kids, some on the autistic spectrum, so nails gives me a creative outlet. Once I’m in my my nail chair, I am the the rock star of nails and that fun geeky side comes out. It’s the best feeling. I have managed to create a really successful home business that can provide for my family. Every few weeks we get to listen to our clients, I now have two clients with Alzheimer’s and it’s a real privilege to take care of them. I’m very into self care of my customers so that is what my business is based on.
“I love the fact that you’ve got constant opportunities to learn and grow in nails, and that I can work for myself around my family.”
Becoming an educator for Louella Belle was the best thing I could of done. I have been desperately trying to reach educator status for Louella Belle for the longest time and it’s really helped me progress as a nail tech. It’s the best company ever to work for and I’m really lucky to have got the position.
In the future, I definitely want to win a Scratch Stars Award and get good rankings in the nail competitions. It’s been my dream to be good enough to achieve these things, as well as making my business big enough so that in the future, I can employ my daughters. I have children on the autistic spectrum so I want to build my business so that I can give them jobs and keep them safe.
The industry changes all the time and it’s important to be ahead of the game. I have seen that training and advice can really improve your work as a nail tech. It also means clients will want you more, which leads to a successful business. My best advice would be to keep it simple and keep it neat. I’d encourage techs to keep training and don’t give up. It’s okay to make mistakes, we’re all still learning. There is always a team of lovely educators and a massive supportive nail community to help you along!
Follow Abigail on Instagram, here.