Paulina Mucha shares her career story & passion for teaching

Nail artist, educator and competition judge, Paulina Mucha, chats to Scratch about her career story, passion for teaching and goals for the future… 

My journey into the nail industry
In 2015, I decided to move to London in the U.K. to become a nanny and study psychology. Soon, I learned about the popularity of the gel polish manicure and, specifically, CND Shellac^TM. There was an enormous amount of nail salons in London, so I decided to give them a go and very quickly became addicted to manicures. Unfortunately, I contracted an infection during one of my appointments, which is when I decided to do nails myself. Each day, my fascination with nails grew and my artistic creativity started to return.

In December 2017, I enrolled on my first ever nail course, although it wasn’t easy because I was working full time. In January 2018, I trained in Acrylic Sculptured Extensions and soon after I also trained in Gel Polish Manicure, E-File and Combined Manicure. I knew straight away that this is what I wanted to do full time so, after many hours and nights of training to perfect my skills, I launched my own business.

“Become devoted to what you do and focus on achieving those goals. Most importantly never underestimate yourself.”

Initially I offered mobile nail services and, as I was the only technician in the area doing this, I gained a huge client base very quickly. My thirst for knowledge grew and in June 2018, I enrolled on my first nail art course, which took place at Innovation Beauty Academy in Northampton. That is where I met one of the most important people in my career, Mariola Mikolajczyk, the owner of the academy and a lash and brow educator. Mariola offered me a job as an educator at the academy and, with her help, I gained a boost of confidence and completed many training courses to help me in my role.

I trained in Acrylic Sculpture, Gel Sculpture, Advanced Gel Manicure and many nail art techniques with successful stylists and educators. In May 2019, I became an educator and moved to Northampton and have trained around 100 students since then. Being part of an amazing team is like having another family and is very special. As well as this, I have worked at London Fashion Week and actively participate in nail competitions such as Nailympia London.

My biggest career highlight is…
In April of this year I was offered to become one of the judges in the first Online World Nail Championships – NailOn Global. It is such a pleasure to be amongst other professionals who have such huge experience; seeing people show off their creativity and skills is beautiful.

My top tips for nail competitions are…
Never doubt yourself! Never treat it as competing, but as something fun where you can show how great you are. Never let the stress overwhelm you – we are our own one and only rival in any competition.

Try to be as organised as you can, there is always plenty of information to go through so make plans and notes for everything, such as the rules, criteria and products you will need. This way you won’t be lost in everything.

I love being an educator because…
What I love the most about being an educator is seeing how my students grow in the industry. It is rewarding to see how they reach their goals with my help.

My favourite nail courses to teach are…
I love nail art and technique courses, but my favourites are definitely gel polish courses and ombré workshops.

My advice for succeeding in the nail industry is…
There is no secret to success in any industry, but what is important is to set up a list of goals. Become devoted to what you do and focus on achieving those goals. Most importantly, never underestimate yourself.

As well as this, always find the time to learn new skills. Our industry is constantly changing and, that is why, to succeed we all need to keep our skills up to date, otherwise we will stay in the back.

My future career goals are…
My future career goal is to establish an online nail school that will allow technicians from all over the world to learn and perfect a range of nail techniques.

Follow Paulina’s nail journey on Instagram here.