Why you shouldn’t use an at-home gel polish kit
Salon owner, educator and award-winning nail stylist, Katie Barnes, unveils concerns surrounding DIY gel polish kits… Gel polish seems like an easy to use, harmless product – surely, it’s just like painting on a nail polish, isn’t it? Well, this is the attitude that is causing problems amongst some non-professionals, as they…
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How I navigate my 4 London nail salons & staff through lockdown
Hi Scratch readers, My name is Thanh Vu and I guess I fall into the stereotypical Vietnamese nail technician. I run Dream Nails, a nail and beauty salon business, which consists of four nail salons in the Essex/East London corridor. I have been in the nail industry for 15 years…
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Nailon Announces Winter Cover Winner
The Nailon Global Nail Championship group has announced the winner of its Winter Cover photographic competition for January 2021. As the editor-in-chief of Scratch magazine, I was invited to judge its entries and wanted to share them as a form of inspiration and to congratulate the nail artists that brought…
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How I cope as a nail tech in a national lockdown
Scratch chats to Millie Donovan, brand ambassador for SNA Professional & owner of MBeauty, about how she’s navigating lockdowns… This year has been a rollercoaster for everyone, with both highs and lows. There have been more highs for some and more lows for others, but the main thing is how we all got…
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#NowTrending: Big hug graffiti nails by Laura Cord
Scratch chats to Essex nail tech, Laura Cord of Laura Cord Nail Artist, about her journey into the nail industry and how she created this uplifting graffiti nail design. I have always been a creative person with a passion for art and design. At college, I successfully completed an…
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Does the nail industry recognise the needs of the deaf?
Deaf nail technician, Rachel Spry speaks of a punishing personal nail journey & offers solutions to an industry that’s unaware of its short comings when it comes to the deaf community. Age: 24 years Location: Whitstable, Kent Business name: Rachel’s Beauty Years in nails: 8 years The nail industry is…
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How to perfect your nail treatment risk assessment
Hazel Dixon shares her expertise on risk assessments – what to consider, include and how to ensure your assessment is up to scratch. A risk assessment is the method used to identify hazards and risks that have the potential to cause harm, find ways to eliminate these or control them…
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How to motivate a nail & beauty team during lockdown
Thanh Vu, managing director of four Dream Nails salons, shares how she is keeping her staff members motivated & morale high during lockdown… Dream Nails employs 30 staff members across its salon network. It has always been my belief that the staff are the single most important reason behind the success…
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Why you need to approach your beauty business differently in 2021
Layla Tourh, MD of The Creative Beauty Group and founder of Beauty Boss HQ, an online platform dedicated to supporting beauty bosses in the running of their business, shares her top tips & words of wisdom… It’s time to switch up your ‘New Year, New Me’ approach The effects of lockdown may mean…
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Is your beauty course reputable? Here’s 8 ways to tell…
The team at Beauty Courses Online shares advice on choosing a reputable nail or beauty course… Unlike other industries in which poor practitioners can take some time to surface, a bad nail or beauty treatment is visible on a client straight away – so it’s hard to fake success. There…
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How-to: Reverse French using Halo’s Polibuild
The team at Pure Nails share how to create French style nail designs using the reverse technique and Halo’s PoliBuild system… Are you seeking an enhancement system that’s speedy to apply – but that offers super strength? Halo PoliBuild Precision Gel combines the benefits acrylic and hard gel to create a system…
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Maisie Dunbar’s 12 tips for nail salon success post lockdown
Award-winning beauty ambassador and consultant, Maisie Dunbar, shares her pointers for maintaining salon success post-lockdown… Do not scrimp on universal sanitation and health & safety practices as outlined by government. Make sure you wipe down the chairs, lamps, after every guest. Keep track of your new inventory so you don’t…
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MINDFUL MATTERS: The Power of Positivity
I’m so pleased to have been invited as a regular columnist & blogger for Scratch. The main reason for this being that I’ve seen first-hand how the past year has affected people within the nail industry and I want to do everything I can to try and help. Without…
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TECH TALK: Lucy Booth of Lucy London
Scratch chats with Lucy Booth of Lucy London about the progression of her love for nails and the advice that changed her career. I’ve always loved nails! Even when I was younger, I’d have walls full of hundreds of nail polishes. As I got older, I completely fell in love…
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Covid career changes: Retraining as a nail tech after losing my job
Samantha Haste’s life was turned upside down when the pandemic hit and she lost her job, shortly after moving to a new city. Unable to pay her bills and rent, she decided to head down the path of training as a nail tech with Beauty Tribe. “I was working as…
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