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 a small global community and even smaller UK industry. We owe it to ourselves, and to this industry, to care and support each other and to be mindful, respectful and kind. There is a quote by Wilson Mizner, ‘Be nice to people on your way up, because you’ll meet them on your way down’, and never were truer words spoken. I heard this quote many years ago and have lived my life by it. Therefore, it staggers, upsets and incenses me when I hear of discrimination, racism, sexism and bullying, especially in the workplace where everyone should know better.

I was recently approached by Rachel Spry, who contacted me after reading the feature ‘Access All Areas’ (Scratch October 2020), where three nail techs opened up regarding their nail career journeys while facing and living with disabilities.

After reading the article Rachel felt compelled to share her story. After hearing how she was treated in her first salon job, I was keen to publish it in the hope of opening the eyes and hearts of those among us who are living small and unhealthy lives where caring for fellow, like-minded techs is not on the agenda and self-serving and absorbed behaviour is the name of their nail game.

Classroom closed

After attending a college open day with the aim of enrolling on a beauty therapy course, Rachel Spry came to a swift standstill early on due to being profoundly deaf. “The response I received at the open day was that having an interpreter next to me would ruin the client’s privacy and dignity during the course,” reveals Rachel. “I sat and considered what to do next and decided to focus solely on nails, as I knew it would be more accepting and less discriminating of my disability. I’m profoundly deaf, so I can only communicate using lip reading or sign language, which can be very tiring and challenging.

“Upon completing, and thoroughly enjoying, my Level 2 nail qualification I decided to progress by starting a Level 3 apprenticeship in a salon. I was excited to sign up, however, within weeks of joining, I felt ignored and excluded and the manager told me I was rude for not engaging with the team. She had no understanding of disability awareness and no idea how to support me. I became very withdrawn and hid in my shell as I struggled to be myself and fit in with the team. I began to feel like a burden and became reluctant to ask for support or remind others to include me. Even though this was my daily landscape, I did win Nail Services Apprentice of the Year 2014 by designing and creating a set of stiletto acrylic nails with 3D nail art, which involved me stretching my skills and stepping way out of my comfort zone.

“After a period of time I became so fed up with being seen as incapable and feeling excluded that I left the salon industry. I began working with deaf young adults who struggled with mental health issues and displayed challenging behaviour, unfortunately however, this job led to redundancy after just nine months.

Back on the path

“Redundancy left me no choice but to embrace nails once more, so I decided to restore my passion for it. I didn’t want a repeat of any of my past bad experiences, so I shunned the idea of working in a salon and instead chose to start my own business on my mum’s dining room table. I was 19 at the time and my passion for nails was again ignited. Working alone proved perfect for me as I could be myself without being frowned upon by anyone. This environment led to a very successful outcome and after six months I was able to move the business into a little salon room where I stayed for two years. I’ve since relocated again. I’m very happy to report that many of my clients followed me because they love my work. I’ve also gained a lot of new clients and extended the services I offer to include lash lift, microblading, waxing and brow lamination, which I love doing! All the courses I attended for these new services were fantastic. All were very supportive and my mum was able to accompany me to interpret on each of them.

“I have put a lot of hard work, blood, sweat and tears into my successful business, because I love being my own boss. In this capacity I don’t have the fear and worry of being discriminated against, excluded and/or ignored. Naturally, I feel incredibly lucky to be where I am today, but I have had to push myself even when I didn’t want to; it’s not been an easy journey.

Learning in lockdown

“Last year during lockdown, once again I felt excluded, but this time it was on social media. With so many live workshops and chat groups emerging I was keen to engage in this amazing community, but I couldn’t. Social media simply doesn’t cater for hard of hearing and deaf nail techs. There’s so many online courses and webinars going on, however I can’t participate as they don’t cater for the deaf/hard of hearing. I feel strongly that accessibility for the deaf needs to be improved across the board online, especially if this is the way the future is headed for education. Adding subtitles to webinars, videos and creating specialist workbooks that can be read alongside the course (as we can be visual learners), would really make a difference. One-to-one or two-to-one face-to-face courses are the ideal however, as better support can be given when needed, as in larger groups techs can feel overwhelmed and unsupported.”

On a positive note, Rachel is an avid supporter of The Gel Bottle brand since its launch, and notes that its products made her fall in love with nails again; citing that the TGB team is a dream to work with. Therefore, not one to give up Rachel has goals and a vision for her future. She resolves, “I would love to do a teaching qualification so I can become an educator, as this industry needs someone who can teach with sign language. After feeling excluded and being seen as incapable, I’m inspired to not let my disability hold me back from achieving my goals and so, I push myself to overcome barriers and show the nail world that people with a disability can be successful too! Anything is possible if you really want it to work!

“In five years’ time, I’d like to be a qualified educator working with others to make this industry more accessible and disability-friendly. I would absolutely love to be part of a team working backstage at Fashion Weeks, on TV and film sets too; these are my dream goals!”

Beacon of Hope

Sophie Dale

An inspiring tech that has been a beacon of light for Rachel during the pandemic is 2020 Scratch columnist, nail artist and The Gel Bottle ambassador, Sophie Dale. Rachel admits that Sophie’s drive and determination to achieve her own goals has been extremely motivating for her. “Sophie hasn’t let anything hold her back and she’s so approachable,” Rachel enthuses. “I contacted her at the beginning of the original lockdown, as I wanted to take her online workshop. However, I couldn’t hear the videos and was unable to engage in the chat group so I got in touch with her. Sophie went above and beyond to make her workshops accessible to me, which I’m forever grateful for! She also inspired me to open up about my disability and to express how difficult and challenging it’s been. She gave me the confidence to speak up about how to make the nail industry more accessible and disability-friendly by spreading deaf awareness, which I now do on my social media platforms.

“I’ve come to realise that if I don’t talk about it, no one out there will be aware of the struggles I’ve had to face being deaf – and I can’t be the only one. I’m hoping now that since I’ve opened up the conversation and spread some awareness, that in time it will start making a difference. I hope the industry wakes up, becomes more user-friendly for the disabled, deaf and hard of hearing to create a bright, new, better and more inclusive future for the industry!

“I feel strongly that accessibility for the deaf needs to be improved across the board online, especially if this is the way the future is headed for education. Adding subtitles to webinars, videos & creating specialist workbooks that can be read alongside the course (as we can be visual learners), would really make a difference. Rachel Spry

Follow Rachel on Instagram @rachelsbeautyandspmu and Facebook Rachel’s Beauty & Microblading