Nail Tech Talk: Chelsea Jephcote of Chelsea Nail Tech
By Callie Iley | 22 October 2022 | Feature, Tech Talk
Chelsea Jephcote of Chelsea Nail Tech is a nail artist specialising in hand painted designs, based at Nuneaton salon, Inspired Nails Beauty & Aesthetics. Sitting down with Scratch, she divulges the details of her career highlights and shares her top tips for aspiring techs.
“I would say my signature nail style is anything arty. Most of my work is acrylic and often features hand painted art, from swirls to movie characters,” Chelsea reveals. “My favourite acrylic products to use are definitely CJP, they’re so easy to use and also affordable to especially good if you’re just starting out.
“For gel, my favourite products to use are from The GelBottle. They’re highly pigmented and have an incredible range of colours.”
“I’m always looking for inspiration on social media, so I’m often browsing Instagram, Pinterest and TikTok.
“I like to follow the trends because you can guarantee as soon as a set of nails go viral, you’ll have 20 clients ask you for them that week!” She laughs. “I also follow other specific nail techs who I feel like have a similar style to what I like to do.”
“An average day in my nail life goes at a hundred miles an hour,” Chelsea beams. “I love a busy back to back day, and I’m lucky to have a variety of different clients so no day is ever the same.
“I go from doing a short gel polish on natural nails, to two inch long acrylics covered in nail art and crystals. It’s the balance between that makes the job even more exciting.”
“I love how creative you can be every single day as a nail tech. It never gets repetitive,” she enthuses. “I also love how you can help someone completely change they feel about themselves.
“I am truly blessed to work a job that I absolutely adore, and that doesn’t even feel like work. Over the years of me doing nails, I have also watched some of my clients get married, get a new partner, buy a house, graduate, and start their own families, which is such a privilege.”
“It really is a lovely, rewarding job, and I genuinely appreciate every single one of my clients and their unconditional support.”
“The highlight of my career so far was when I first realised I had enough clients to be able to rent a table at the salon that I was already working at on a percentage basis. I can’t explain the excitement of being able to buy all of my own products and really start to set up a business for myself,” Chelsea recalls. “I’m at a stage in my career where I can pretty much guarantee that I will be fully booked almost every week which I’m incredibly grateful for.
“Finding a salon where all of the techs are genuinely best friends is hard to find, and I am so lucky to be a part of a team like that. I have honestly never been so happy and content in my career as I am right now.”
“My hopes for my future in nails is to just constantly be learning and improving. I would like to also learn to make the most of social media, especially platforms such as TikTok that have really taken off over the past couple of years.
“I think showing off your work and advertising in those ways makes a massive difference, especially to the amount and variety of people that view your work,” she explains. “I would be completely blown away if a celebrity was to approach me for a set of nails. That is definitely a goal I’d like to achieve – fingers crossed!”
“My one main tip for aspiring nail techs is to stick at it. I’d be lying if I said I haven’t given up once or twice over the past few years. Although it may look easy to do, it really isn’t, and in my case it took around two to three years before I was actually happy with the work I was producing.
“Stick at it, critique your own work, join groups and forums online to get tips from other nail techs, and always look back at your work to notice your progress,” Chelsea encourages. “Another tip is to keep up with the trends and new techniques. As a nail tech you will never stop learning, no matter how many years experience you’ve got. There will always be something new to learn. Have fun playing with different colours, products and different techniques, and I hope you find the passion for creating nails just like I did.”
Follow Chelsea Nail Tech and Inspired Nails Beauty & Aesthetics on Instagram.