NAIL TECH TALK: Charisse Cassie of Chariasnails

Scratch chats to Charisse Cassie of Chariasnails about balancing her life as a mother and nail tech, and how social media opened her eyes to the vastness of the industry…

My signature style of nails are sculpted, hand-painted nails. I sculpt on each and everyone of my clients, as it’s tailored to each individual. I do everything from hand down to building the nail, hand filing and hand painting designs. My favourite products to use are Valentino Beauty Pure acrylic powders and gel polishes. I find that they have a beautiful consistency and are suited to all skin tones.

I find the majority of my inspiration from everyday things like clothing patterns and Pinterest. Depending on the theme, I search for things like patterns, different fonts and phone cases – it can really vary. I really enjoy painting characters freehand and getting it as close to the original picture as possible.

I’m a mother of two and I balance my clients with the everyday school run and being a mother. What works best for me is spreading my appointments throughout the day, which helps me balance my work and personal life as I work from home. I allow a minimum of three hours per client depending on design, and manage between three and four clients per day. My days can also consist of me managing my stock, ordering and booking in clients. When I get an opportunity to have free time I like to use this to work on new concept designs and competition work.

I love working in the nail industry due to the creativity. When I first began in the industry, I was not aware of what a big world the nail industry was and how creative I could be. I really enjoy entering competition like Nailympia as I have the opportunity to put my abilities to the test and compete against other amazing nail technicians.

“Instagram opened my eyes to this world – the more I saw, the more I wanted to learn. I love the fact that nails is literally art just on a smaller scale.”

The highlight of my career is being able to work with an amazing brand, Valentino Beauty Pure, as one of their ambassadors. I would also say being a finalist in The Hair and Beauty Awards, and last of all, meeting and training with world recognised Masted Nail Technicians and advancing my skills.

If I wasn’t working in the nail industry, I probably would have still done something in the creative field. I really like the idea of customising trainers and clothing.

I believe it’s essential for Nail techs to advance their skills. I started my career as a nail technician 5 years ago and I’m now competing on competition levels due to my training. I’m constantly learning new skills and techniques, training with master nail technicians and artists. This has allowed me to provide my best to my clients. I love that everything I do is from scratch with a flawless finish and allows me to match my prices to that quality. The nail industry is always advancing and there’s always something new to learn.

Follow Chariasnails on Instagram, here.