Tech Talk: Hazel Martin’s journey from hairdresser to nail tech

Scratch catches up with nail tech, Hazel Martin, to learn more about her industry journey…

Hazel Martin

Hazel Martin of Nail Creations by Hazel from Crawley, West Sussex has been in the nail industry for two years. She trained as a hairdresser before passing a manicure course that was a compulsory part of her training – with a distinction.

“I worked as a self-employed hairdresser for a few years renting chairs in local salons but struggled financially,” she explains.  “I left the industry once I got married and had my children. My best friend encouraged me to pursue nails as a career rather than just a hobby. That’s the day that Nail Creations by Hazel was born.

“I then booked onto a training course to do a refresher on the manicure skills I had learnt at college. After a year of working part time in a job as well as doing nails, I decided to hand in my notice to do nails full time. I did this a year ago and my business seems to grow stronger all the time. I currently work from the corner of my living room. It’s not ideal but my clients seem to love my little cosy corner!”

One of Hazel’s favourite nail creation

Hazel loves to help her clients grow long, strong and healthy nails of their own. “I like nice clean edges and work so hard on every client to ensure my cuticle work it always on point. I also specialise in free-hand nail art, I love a challenge and my clients definitely love to challenge me.”

Her goals for the year ahead are to complete training in one stroke and aquarelle, as well as working on her French ombré. “I would love to have my own salon or my own space to work from one day, so the plan is to work hard to earn enough to fund that.”

Hazel admires many nail techs in the industry. “I like Beauty Works by Amy, I love her work and her nail creations,” she says. “I also like Nancy Loves Nails as she has so much ambition and love the way she has bought a huge nail community together! Isabel May Nails with her YouTube account and her one-to-ones are great too.”

Her favourite brand is The Gel Bottle, which she has used since she first started doing nails. “I honestly believe that this brand has been a game changer for my business. My clients absolutely love it and the longevity we get is so good. I couldn’t live without Builder in a Bottle. Well over half of my clients first came to me with weak, brittle or very short bitten nails, and now they all have long strong natural nails of their own!

“I also like Navy Pro Tools, they have completely changed the way I do my cuticle prep. It means I achieve a clean, crisp edge around the cuticles.”

Check out more of Hazel’s work here.