Technique
Here’s why you shouldn’t neglect the one colour manicure
Educator and award-winning nail technician, Katie Barnes, reveals why its important to realise your one colour polishing skills – as well as extravagant nail artistry… Seeing outrageous and eccentric nail creations posted across social media can have positive effects on the industry. It showcases the skill and imagination of techs and, often, their ability to…
Read MoreHow to choose the right brush for your L&P nail needs
Educator and award-winning nail technician, Katie Barnes, offers advice on choosing the right brush for L&P acrylic needs… Alongside your technical skills, your brush is an important element for achieving good results with L&P. Sometimes, the only way to tell the quality of a brush is in its performance and this can often be a…
Read MoreNail enhancements: How to check angles to ensure perfect results
Educator and award-winning nail technician, Katie Barnes, offers tips on looking at angles to ensure a great nail enhancement result Do you ever spend a long time creating a beautiful set of nails, only to realise that they don’t look quite right once you’ve finished, but you can’t work out why? Do you get the…
Read MoreHow to decide the right thickness for your nail enhancements
Educator and award-winning nail technician, Katie Barnes, serves up tips on deciding on the appropriate thickness for nail enhancements… While nail enhancements are an enhancement of the natural nail and often extensions, the aim is still to create these to be as thin and natural-looking as possible while still ensuring longevity for the client. When…
Read MoreHow to identify the cause of a nail break
Educator and award-winning nail technician, Katie Barnes, offers reasons why enhancements can break – and how to identify them The most common reason for the breaking of nail enhancements is due to wear and tear or trauma by the wearer, but a break can also be caused by unsuitable lengths and shapes for the wearer…
Read MoreHow to work the transitional tan
Kissed by Mii tanning expert, Shelley Henderson, reveals how to take your clients from winter to spring with a transitional tan. Don’t let potential tanning clients hibernate away until summer – here’s how to entice them to tan RIGHT NOW. Not just for balmy days, tanning offers an instant pick-me-up, all year round. In order…
Read MoreHow to rebuild damaged toenails
Educator and award-winning nail technician, Katie Barnes, reveals how to rebuild toenails to get them looking tip-top in time for the summer months – with a step-by-step photo guide and nail knowledge to boot Damaged, broken or bitten toenails can be an extremely common concern, but it is something your client needn’t be embarrassed about. The…
Read MoreHow to apply tanning products perfectly
Kissed by Mii tanning expert, Shelley Henderson, explains why it’s all in the prep step when it comes to the perfect tan… Whether you’re delivering a smooth, streak-free tan in the tanning booth or teaching your clients techniques to guarantee great results at home – it’s important to prep the skin and smooth it before the…
Read MoreTop tips for the perfect bridal tan
Kissed by Mii tanning expert Shelley Henderson reveals how to entice the entire bridal party to tan. Now that bridal season is officially here (thanks Pippa Middleton!), salons, spas and mobile therapists should now turn their attention to bridal specific-tanning. After all, tanning is the perfect addition to beauty treatment packages for the Big Day.…
Read MoreHow to choose the right nail shape for your client
Educator, former Scratch columnist and award-winning nail stylist, Katie Barnes, reveals how to select the right nail shape for your client… Nails come in a variety of shapes and sizes and everyone has fingers and nails of different lengths and shapes. Some have long, slim fingers while others have short fingers with short nail beds and every combination…
Read MoreHere’s what I thought of the HD Brows treatment
On Monday afternoon, I took a trip to London to visit the Karen Betts Clinic to have my first ever HD Brow consultation and treatment. Not only was it my first HD Brows experience, but it was my first eyebrow treatment at all… Ever. So, I excitedly hotfooted to Harley Street, eager to learn everything…
Read MoreHow to select the correct nail form for enhancements
Educator, former Scratch columnist and award-winning nail stylist, Katie Barnes, reveals why knowing the differences between nail forms is so important… Form fitting can seem like a minefield and with so many different types on the market, it is hard to know which form you should be using and why. This blog will explain what you should be looking…
Read MoreHow to correctly remove nail enhancements that are lifting
Salon owner, educator, former Scratch columnist and award-winning nail stylist, Katie Barnes, reveals how to correctly remove enhancements that have lifted What is lifting? Enhancements that lift away from the natural nail show a sign of service breakdown. This can occur with any nail coating but is often more common with L&P and gel enhancements. Lifting is typically…
Read MoreHow to prolong nail polish wear
Salon owner, educator, former Scratch columnist and award-winning nail stylist, Katie Barnes, assesses the demand for traditional lacquer – and how to make the most of a nail polish service… With the popularity of gel polish, traditional polish may be viewed as outdated by many techs, so is there still a call for it? Client preference, allergies, job requirements and policies mean…
Read MoreHow to store nail products correctly
Salon owner, educator, former Scratch columnist and award-winning nail stylist, Katie Barnes, offers advice on storing your nail products to get the most out of your purchase… It’s important to understand how long nail products last last, how to store them for optimum usage and safety and how to dispose of them when necessary. Nail products can go bad,…
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