5 minutes with Lauren Holmes

Tell us about your training…

When I originally trained I did a course that covered all aspects of nails through Salon Services to get me started. Since then I’ve retrained with Rachel Lunn from Nail Harmony. I also won Gelish Gives Back in 2016 and got the opportunity to take part in two days training with the very talented Georgie Smedley and Antony Buckley. I learnt so many tips and tricks from them both!

What is your all-time favourite nail product?

It’s so hard to pick just one but I think it has to be Gelish Polygel. It is amazing and has really changed extensions for me. I was starting to loath doing nail extensions until I invested in Gelish Polygel. I was getting ready to take extensions off my services as I was losing my love for doing them, but Polygel is so nice and easy to work with, my clients love it. I would highly recommend it to anyone.

What designs do you love to create?

I enjoy doing all designs  – plain or crazy! I love to create intricate and quirky nails, rhe kind of nails other people look at and say ‘oh wow they’re amazing, but i’m not daring enough’ – I hear that a lot! I love a challenge and I have quite a few clients who always like to test that.

What treatment or nail technique are you planning to add to your services?

I’d really like to train in e-file next. I want to be able to perfect the shape of my extensions and speed up my timings too. I also want to be able to show my clients that e-files aren’t scary when they are used properly by someone trained correctly.

My next steps are to invest more into making my business life easier for myself. I‘ve been looking into online booking systems and client consultation systems. I currently make all my bookings by text and it eats away at all my lunch breaks and spare time, I need to find a better work life balance. I also want to update and improve training on services I currently offer instead of adding more to my treatment list.

What is the most exciting thing about the UK nail industry?

The UK nail industry is always changing and forever bringing out new exciting products. I think one of the best things about the UK nail industry though is everyone seems to support each other. I love seeing other peoples work and giving them likes and comments because a lot of other techs do the same to me and it always seems to mean slightly more when the love and support comes from fellow techs! We should all empower each other, because we are all just working hard doing what we love.

If you weren’t doing nails, what would you be doing?

I would probably be working with children, possibly as a teacher. I always wanted to do nails but was told there’s no money in beauty – what do parents know! So, my next option was teaching. However after a few placements in schools I realised it really wasn’t for me. I then trained in nails to do on the side until I knew what I wanted to do with my life. Five years later, nails are now my life and I wouldn’t change it for the world.

See more of Lauren’s work by clicking here!