#NailTechNailedIt: Week 1

As you may or may not know, I'm now a nail tech student, working toward a certification as a licensed nail tech. What I'll do with that isn't quite clear yet, but the plans I have for it are wildly racing around in my head.

I enrolled in Long's Peak Academy, a beauty school offering esthetician, cosmetologist, hair stylist, and nail technology degrees in Longmont, Colorado. As I'm not interested in any other aspects of a cosmetologist career, I chose the solo nail track, but you can do all three for a full cosmetology degree if you want.

The school seems nice so far. I've only been around at night, when it's pretty empty, but it seems fine. Except when it comes to polish. My goodness is the polish color selection sad! For being an OPI-sponsored school, it seems OPI has forgotten to send out polish resupplies. There's plenty of reds and pinks, and some random colors here and there, but it's nowhere near what I was expecting. Maybe I'll send a shoutout to OPI, in the hopes they'll donate a few of their newer collections to the education cause. 

I also still haven't gotten my kit (with all the tools I need) or my books (to study for tests), so I've been borrowing supplies from the school. These shared supplies could certainly use a little TLC.

The program I chose works wonderfully for me. It's the last time this school is offering night classes since the enrollment numbers at night are low. I'm lucky enough to be one of the last to be on that track, along with my nail classmate, Rachel.

We're learning the ins and outs of all things nails through our textbook and the instruction of our teacher, Concha. We meet every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday night from 5:30 to 9:30 to work on practical and factual skills. Works wonderfully with my 9-5 job!

Even though we're only in week one, Rachel and I have already learned nail structure, health-related issues, and the basic manicure. Last night, I practiced the basic mani routine on Rachel with oversight from Concha. Here are the results (courtesy of Rachel):

I didn't use my usual angled paint brush cleanup, and didn't do much cleanup at all for that matter. It takes much longer than an at-home mani because there's soaking, massage, clipping, cuticle-pushing, and everything in between. Certainly more to it than I ever imagined!

It's so exciting for me. Since it's the only track I care about, I can really throw myself into it. Concha and Rachel are probably sick to death of my constant questions and furious note-taking.

You may think it'd be boring and tedious, but it's really insightful. Sure, I can paint nails and do designs, but what do I know about the proper procedure that is actually given on the state board exam in both practical skills and knowledge tests? Honestly...less than I thought.

One thing I'm going to have to un-learn from my years of blogging is how to properly file the nail. Apparently, the one direction technique you always hear about in the blogosphere is technically incorrect. In fact, our textbook instructs us to file from corners to center. So one side of your nail will be filed one way, and an invisible, vertical line down the middle divides the other side of your nail, where you'll file the other way. Who knew?

Well, I suppose everyone who's ever read the textbook knew.

Tomorrow will be my first full day of clinic duty. No scalpels or surgery though. The 'clinic' is what the school calls the client floor, where clients and students receive services from students. The floor is made up of plenty of hair stations, a few mani tables, a few pedi seats, and a place for facials and waxing in the back. I'll obviously be focused on a very select part of the clinic.

If you're within traveling distance of Longmont, please feel free to stop by, and ask for Katy. The more practice in the clinic we get, the better, and there needs to be a LOT of practice to meet the criteria for graduation.

Feel free to ask any questions you may have, I'm happy to answer them!