What is a nail workshop?

Nail workshops are continuing to boom in popularity – but what are they and how can they benefit you?

Nail workshops allow techs or educators to pass on their skills and techniques to fellow professionals in the form of demonstrations and practical ‘play time’. While workshops and guest artist residencies don’t offer a qualification, spending time with a nail professional outside of your salon day-to-day can refresh your skills and energy.

“A workshop is usually non-accredited and either involves introducing students to new product in a type of ‘try me’ scenario, up-skilling, extreme nail shapes or a fun nail art class, for example,” says Jan Soar, head of education at Georgie Smedley Group. “Workshops are a fun way to refresh application skills without the cost of repeating a full class.”

Workshops not only help to advance a professional’s skillset, but they also serve up a prime opportunity for techs to socialise and get to know others in the industry. What can sometimes prove a lonely occupation, attending a workshop can help break up lonely working days. “A workshop is a place of discussion on specific subject and where practical work takes place amongst a group of nail technicians, who share their knowledge and experiences around products or skills,” says Tina Bell, head of education at Pure Nails.

“I find that workshops are always great ways to learn, a way to socialise and make new friends from your local area within the same occupation. They allow you to develop a support group and, at the same time, learn new skills.”

Sophie Dale, Scratch Stars Shooting Star finalist 2019 and owner of Nancy Loves Nails, has hosted nail at workshops up and down the country for fellow techs. “To me, a nail workshop is a creative session,” explains Sophie. “It is a day full of tips, tricks and learning. It is also great for giving students – which are all at varying skill levels – the opportunity to chat, learn from one another and meet new friends, which I believe is one of the most important parts of being a nail technician. My nail workshops include demonstrations of 10 or more different products and nail art designs and students being given the time to replicate the techniques.

“There are endless benefits to workshops. The nail industry can be intimidating, but in these small workshop groups it is amazing to see how many girls make news friends and build a support system. As well as this, learning new nail art techniques that you can take back to your clients can add to the value of your services massively. Finally, a lot of students have previously practiced nail art, but have not been confident enough to do it on clients: after a day of learning they can go home and be able to produce nail art designs with ease!”

Read Scratch‘s guide to nail education and training in the January issue of the magazine! 

Lead image: Jessica Nails Insta Nail Art workshop at the Susan Gerrard Beauty Academy