From stage to salon..training as a nail tech during covid-19
By Chloe Randall | 05 January 2021 | Feature, Tech Talk
Jody Zimmerman decided to train as a nail tech when the global pandemic hit, affecting her career in the arts as a musical theatre performer. She explains how she came to the decision to retrain and how she has found the industry so far…
“Training as a nail technician is definitely a decision that would have passed me by if it weren’t for covid-19. I have always loved the beauty industry and have been fascinated by artistic makeup/face paint and obviously nails. However, I never thought it was an industry that I would ever get the chance to delve into because I was aware that it takes time and practise. My time up until now has been completely devoted to being a performer, training and then working in the musical theatre industry. Thanks to lockdown and being out of work for months, I had a LOT of time on my hands when the opportunity came up!”
“I trained at MNB Beauty Training Academy which is based in Tonbridge, Kent. I was trained by Maria Belli, who worked up from apprentice in salon and is now managing director of MNB passing on her 20+ years of beauty experience, and Lucy Brown, who also started as an apprentice over 10 years ago and is now head nail trainer at the academy. In regards to training during a global pandemic, I learnt to do nails with PPE (including gloves, visors, aprons and plastic shields) which wouldn’t usually be the case.”
“A highlight of my nail tech journey is that I’ve found something I really enjoy and genuinely want to progress in. Also, becoming part of the beauty industry has been exciting and with the friendly atmosphere in the salon, it is so rewarding to see what amazing relationships the girls all have with their clients.”
“A big challenge for me is that I am very impatient. I like to be good at things straight away and so I’d beat myself up if my first set of nails weren’t perfect and I still find this now as I think there is always room for improvement. It is nice to see the gradual improvement since I started training though, so it’s true that there is no shortcut.”
Follow Jody on Instagram @jodylzimmerman