EXPERT ADVICE

Empty Nail Salon

No-shows & cancellations: how to prevent & handle them in your beauty business

By Marie-Louise Coster | 20 February 2025

Session nail stylist, salon owner & educator, Marie-Louise Coster, shares advice for client no-shows and cancellations… Every beauty business, at some point, has a client that doesn’t turn up for their appointment. You will have blocked out time and potentially turned other clients away, but are left with an empty appointment…

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Nail Biting Picking

How to stop nail biting & picking: experts share treatment plans to break the habit

By Rebecca Hitchon | 18 February 2025

Finalists in the Scratch Stars Natural Nail Specialist of the Year category 2024 share tips for nail biting and picking clients… Why do people bite and pick at their nails and skin? “Nail biting, also known as onychophagia, and skin picking and biting, named perionychophagia, are habits associated with stress,…

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

By Rebecca Hitchon | 16 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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Untitled Design

Metta Francis on perfecting a mobile nail setup

By Sophie Nutt | 3 October 2019

As a mobile tech, just because you don’t have a physical, set space in which you offer your services, it doesn’t mean you have to skip on deciding interior objects and furniture. Inject your own personality into your mobile setup with branded towels, equipment and your uniform, and recreate the…

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Top tips for designing your salon interior

By Sophie Nutt | 26 September 2019

Your business interior provides a first and lasting impression for your clients. Décor can massively influence how a client – or potential client – perceives the quality of your treatments, customer service, professionalism and knowledge. It is important to reflect your business personality within its interior, as this way, clients…

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Redhead Brows

Customising brow treatments

By Kat Hill | 24 September 2019

“A professional well-constructed brow will frame your client’s face, open and lift the eyes, and define and balance features,” enthuses brow expert & Salon System educator, Lisa Stone. “In my opinion, to achieve all of this, a full brow service should include: A full consultation Tinting services with understanding of…

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Robbie Tomkins on how to build & maintain a positive reputation

By Sophie Nutt | 19 September 2019

One of the most frequently asked questions in the session world is without a doubt, ‘have you been busy?‘, and the truth is, the workload can vary massively from artist to artist. As anyone who knows me will confirm, I have worked in lots of different jobs in my time…

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Katie Barnes Training Blog

Why it’s important to respect ‘the basics’ in your nail training

By Katie Barnes | 16 September 2019

As a successful and professional nail technician, ongoing training is essential for a long and prosperous career – and each skill must be mastered in stages for success. Prerequisites are certain areas that must be satisfactorily completed before you enrol on another, usually more advanced class, or before you are…

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Safety Salon Beauty

Safety first: why compliance is key to salon success

By Scratch Staff | 10 September 2019

Sharon Sandhu, category manager for nails at Salon Services UK & Ireland, reveals why it’s important to revise your health & safety beauty knowledge… As summer business quietens down, it’s the ideal time for salons to go ‘back to school’ and reassess health & safety knowledge. Here are pointers to…

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