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What is a nail habit-tic & can it be treated?

By Katie Barnes | 12 February 2025

When a client sits at your nail desk and presents you with a nail like the below, you may wonder whether it is a contraindication that you should not treat. This is habit-tic deformity. Most commonly seen on the thumbnails, this nail condition is usually a result of onychotillomania: a…

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Nail & beauty apprenticeships: salons share benefits, their experiences & advice

By Rebecca Hitchon | 11 February 2025

In a recent poll on Scratch’s Instagram, almost 80% of respondents shared that they’re considering taking on apprentices. Here, two UK salons share how they’ve reaped the rewards of the apprenticeship process.. Nailspa, West Yorkshire “As a business owner, I believe that when it comes to employees, you cannot beat…

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Self-employment help for nail techs: legal, financial & operational considerations

By Lilly Delmage | 5 February 2025

All the legal, financial and operational factors to consider before making those all-important choices… Deciding to become a self-employed nail tech is just the beginning, and we’re here to help you navigate it all. From choosing whether to work from home or as a mobile tech, to deciding which insurance…

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Summer salon marketing: How to make packages work for your beauty business

By Guest Writer | 2 June 2022

Beauty business expert & founder of Beauty Boss HQ, Layla Tourh, serves up advice for reaping rewards from treatment packages during quieter summer months. It’s that time of year when the temperature is rising, daylight is lasting longer and clients are talking about where they are going for their summer…

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Form Fit For Wide Fingernail

How to effectively fit a form to a wide nail

By Katie Barnes | 25 May 2022

It can be tricky to fit a form on an uneven free edge or when the fleshy pad of skin where the free edge would usually be, is raised and higher than or level with the nail plate. The nail plate is often flat or may be concave. This can…

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How your beauty business can help stop deforestation

By Green Salon Collective | 24 May 2022

Green Salon Collective was founded in 2020 by environmental experts, campaigners and beauty professionals, with an aim to help member salons in the UK and Ireland to responsibly dispose of their waste. In this blog, the Collective explains why it’s important to recycle paper and how your business can help…

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Green Salon Collective on the problem with waste

By Green Salon Collective | 25 April 2022

Green Salon Collective was founded in 2020 by environmental experts, campaigners and beauty professionals, with an aim to help member salons in the UK and Ireland to responsibly dispose of their waste. They kick off their blog with Scratch by detailing why non-recyclable and non-reusable waste is so problematic. The…

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Eco Beauty

7 tips for a more eco salon

By Scratch Staff | 22 April 2022

Can you tick off this list of seven eco-friendly ideas? The National Hair & Beauty Federation shares these top tips… Choosing more sustainable ways to run your salon or business will not only save you money, for example in utility bills, but will also help attract new clients who are…

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sustainability

10 ways to be more sustainable in the nail salon

By Chloe Randall | 22 April 2022

Scratch serves up a practical guide to help reduce your environmental impact in your day-to-day working role as a nail pro… 1. Washing When washing towels or other items of laundry, set your washing machine to an eco-level and hang them on a clothesline to dry whenever you get the chance.…

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