EXPERT ADVICE

E-file rings of fire prevention

What are rings of fire on nails & how can they be avoided?

By Jess Watts | 7 December 2025

Red rings or semicircles that appear on the nail – often referred to as ‘rings of fire’ – can strike fear into the hearts of nail techs and clients alike, but what causes them and how can they be avoided? “Rings of fire appear as red rings on the nail…

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Power of pause

Christmas rush tips for nail techs: why pause matters

By Hannah Beth Clayton | 30 November 2025

Nail business mentor, Hannah Clayton, shares why pause is a powerful tool during the festive season… It’s that time of year: I start to panic, like my life will come to a close in December and I have to get everything done! My inboxes are full, I have work to do, but…

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Christmas retail guide for nail salons

Christmas retail guide for nail salons: products & tips to boost sales

By Jess Watts | 27 November 2025

It’s the most wonderful time of the year – not only for tinsel, treats and Christmas cheer, but for ringing tills and sleigh-loads of salon sales. But, let’s be honest, festive retail isn’t all fun and games. If you are scratching your head over what to stock, we’ve got you…

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Dec 2025 low res scratch cover

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Mii Cosmetics Gerrard International

How to retail make-up in your salon

By Sophie Nutt | 8 October 2020

Make-up is an extremely lucrative revenue stream for beauty professionals in many ways; especially through retailing. Mintel has reported that online sales of beauty products have increased by 11.4% this year, so as fewer consumers head to shopping centres to purchase make-up items, seize the opportunity to become a one-stop…

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Eyebrow wax

Helen Burton-Ward on how to increase client spend

By Guest Writer | 7 October 2020

Scratch Stars Natural Nail Specialist of the Year 2019 and CND education ambassador, Helen Burton-Ward, shares her advice on how to increase client spend through add-on services & treatments…  One area that I am currently focusing on in my business is average client spend. A great way to maximise your profit is…

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Makeup coronavirus

How Covid-19 is changing the world of beauty

By Sophie Nutt | 1 October 2020

A recent report by Emily Gerstell, Sophie Marchessou, Jennifer Schmidt and Emma Spagnuolo from McKinsey & Company analyses the likely effects of Covid-19 on the beauty industry over the next three to six months, as well as how the pandemic could change the industry in the longterm. “The industry has…

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Ria Jaine stock no money

Caught short this month? Here’s how to monitor your business cash flow…

By Guest Writer | 29 September 2020

Beauty industry accounts expert & qualified nail tech, Ria-Jaine Lincoln, shares her advice for maintaining good cash flow so you to prevent business losses… The key to budgeting and control is good cash flow, and I want to share a guide to this using an example Excel spreadsheet. It does…

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Katie Barnes sell by date expiry beauty

Is my nail or beauty product out of date?

By Katie Barnes | 28 September 2020

In a previous blog for Scratch, I discussed the shelf life of nail products. In this article, I will go into more depth about what the labelling on products means, what you need to be aware of and how to understand the expiry of each nail product. What is shelf…

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Yuhan Wang Peacci

Here’s the 3 AW20 nail trends you need to know

By Sophie Nutt | 24 September 2020

Autumn/winter serves up a whole host of new colour and design opportunities for clients. So, what are the nail trends you need to know about this season? We’ve rounded up the top three nail trends from the autumn/winter 2020 catwalks to inspire salon designs…  1. Colour rich Bold blues, oranges,…

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