Miss (or Mister) Independent?

Article Published in Stylist Magazine, June 2012

Several years ago, after teaching a class at Premiere Orlando, I was approached by an apprehensive student who asked, “How do I convince my husband that I can make money doing nails?” Though unexpected, it was a relevant question. Even before becoming licensed, this student was feeling uncertain about her career choice. Perhaps she was concerned about finding the ideal salon, investing in expensive products, developing her technical skills, building a loyal clientele or other challenges that we face as beauty professionals. Instinctively, I responded, “You need to convince yourself first.” Rather than offer false assurances, I wanted to be honest. While my experience validates the possibility of success, it’s not a common experience and not what students should expect, no matter how confident they are. If believing in oneself were the foundation of success, any manicurist could succeed, regardless of talent, effort and/or luck. That’s simply not the case.

Here’s something else students are not likely to be told, but I tell them anyway. Within the beauty profession, there’s a strong possibility of failure, and the overwhelming desire to be “independent” may be to blame. Visit any beauty school and the majority of students will share their dreams of opening their own salons. I can relate to the excitement of entering a new profession, and appreciate the students’ enthusiasm. Understandably, it’s very appealing to envision ourselves as capable of making our own decisions, controlling our work environment, making clients looks and feel better, doing what we love and supporting ourselves. But how realistic is that, really? Regardless of employment status, how many manicurists earn  a living wage doing nails? If not many, don’t blame greedy salon owners. Having taken an opportunity to be independent either as booth renters or salon owners, why do so many manicurists still struggle?

Let’s go back to beauty school, in which students learn how to perform the beauty services required by a licensing examination. Being prepared for a test is different from being prepared for the realities of salon work, much less salon ownership. Instructors can inspire students all they want, but if they happened to be unsuccessful working in a salon environment, how can they prepare their students? (I doubt most instructors, while still students, dreamed of working at a beauty school for $15 an hour.) Not to minimize the sacrifices students make, but the investment of attending beauty school at a fixed cost for a specific number of hours does not compare to the investment of launching a salon, and the continuous demands of its operation. Completing beauty school is a prerequisite for attempting the licensing exam; does any state require a beauty school education to own a salon?

I ask that question facetiously because I’m frequently contacted by individuals who plan to open salons, despite having no professional education or experience in our industry other than receiving services. (I love dining out, but that doesn’t qualify me to own a restaurant.) These potential salon owners believe that their success in their current profession will easily translate to success in the nail profession. They’re just as naive as students. Opening a salon is easy; operating one that’s legal and profitable is much harder to achieve.

Returning to the plight of struggling manicurists, what’s the problem? Spend time around them, whether online or in person, and they’ll offer multiple explanations:

• the economy is bad and all salons are suffering
• I can’t compete with discount salons
• my clients will leave if I raise my prices
• my services take a long time, but it’s because I’m a perfectionist
• my clients expect free repairs and nail art
• the cost of quality products is too expensive
• the other manicurists in the salon don’t clean
• the salon owner doesn’t refer clients to me, and so on.

Apparently, not even glitter can cover their frustration. It would seem that there’s always some excuse, but very little personal responsibility.

Why do these manicurists reject the option of being employed by a successful and responsible salon owner? What makes them believe they could do better on their own? While optimism might sustain them initially, and sometimes indefinitely, it can also mislead. How else to explain the number of manicurists who persist in our profession despite not being financially successful? Maybe they don’t need to make money; they might have another job, financial support from a spouse or a trust fund. That’s not me; I’ve always valued my success more than my independence because I need to support myself. Each of us must consider what’s in our best interests, and for some, that might mean leaving the nail profession altogether. If that seems harsh, I’d say that encouraging those incapable of success, for whatever reasons, to stick it out would be far more so. If I’m wrong, they can prove it.

By Jaime Schrabeck, Ph.D.

Nails in the News

Article Published in Stylist Magazine, May 2012

Browsing the home page of msnbc.com recently, I was surprised to find an article link containing the words "extreme manicure" at the top of the page. Before proceeding to the article, I hesitated a moment. Whenever reading or watching any news related to nails, I'm prepared to be disappointed and frustrated. It's not that I expect the news to be positive; that would be remarkable and promising, and likely not news at all.

There's a difference between journalism (investigating and reporting on current events, trends, etc.) and content marketing (providing information to alter consumer behavior and build brand loyalty). I expect journalistic integrity from my news, and hold the media accountable for what they present. What's the purpose and relevance of the news report? Who's the source? Is the information (facts, quotes, etc.) accurate and objective? Has the context been adequately established? What are the qualifications of any contributors? How was the research conducted? What conclusions can be drawn? What impact does the information have? And on a more personal note, why should I care?

Some defend content marketing by claiming that consumers are sophisticated enough to distinguish between journalism and marketing: "today's audiences are accustomed to filtering information from a great many sources and taking those sources into account" (When Worlds Collide by Peter Haapaniemi at www.customcontentcouncil.com). Really? If I were a consumer without any specialized knowledge about nail care (anatomy/physiology, infection control, product chemistry, etc.), I'd probably believe the following:

• nails need to breathe;
• clients should bring their own tools to the salon;
• professional nail services, pedicures in particular, can be deadly;
• nail polish adversely affects reproductive health and causes breast cancer;
• UV lamps used to cure gel nails cause skin cancer;
• products that smell are more toxic than ones that don't.

Repeated often enough in the media, this information, whether true or not, makes consumers afraid of nail salons and nail products, both professional and retail.

If having your nails done is dangerous, then doing nails must be very dangerous. Yet, manicurists don't even make the list of "The 15 Most Dangerous Jobs in America:"

1. Fishers and related fishing workers*
2. Logging workers
3. Aircraft pilots and flight engineers*
4. Farmers and ranchers*
5. Coal miners
6. Roofers
7. Refuse and recyclable material collectors*
8. Truck drivers*
9. Police officers*
10. Electrical power-line installers and repairers
11. Construction laborers
12. Taxi drivers and chauffeurs**
13. Grounds maintenance workers*
14. Athletes, coaches, umpires and related workers*
15. Operating engineers and construction equipment operators*

*Transportation incidents are the main cause of death.
** Assaults accounted for slightly more deaths than transportation incidents.
(Based on data compiled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in 2010 and reported by Gus Lubin and Kevin Lincoln for www.businessinsider.com).
My work as a nail professional does not require driving, which might explain why it doesn't rank among these other professions.

That being said, it's interesting that when I Googled "nail polish death," I could document an actual death related to nail polish. But it had nothing to do with "toxic" chemicals as some might expect In a tragic incident widely known as the "Nail Polish Crash," motorcyclist Anita Zaffke was killed by motorist Lora Hunt who was polishing her nails while behind the wheel. Hunt was subsequently convicted of reckless homicide and sentenced to 18 months. Meanwhile, Zaffke's son Greg honors his mother's memory with the Crash Coalition (www.crashcoalition.org), a non-profit organization advocating against DWD (driving while distracted). DWD is deliberate and avoidable, yet one of the the leading causes of fatalities and injuries according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (www.distraction.gov.).

I digress, so back to the article I found on msnbc.com, A whole new gloss: Consumers buy into 'extreme manicure' trend by Martha C. White. The author and I have different perspectives on what constitutes "extreme" or even "new;" she briefly mentions the "crack" polish look and "press-on decals" as if they were revolutionary. Within approximately 400 words, the word "bright" appears 3 times to emphasize the trend towards bolder and less traditional colors. White also cites some research from the NPD Group about increased polish sales at department stores (up 63%) and the popularity of blue polish, which accounts for 20% of the top 130 colors sold. (There's no data included on polish sales at salons or mass market retailers, like Target or Walmart.)

White concludes that "budget-minded," "DIY" shoppers are driving this "low-cost trend." That's laughable because I would never refer to consumers who buy department store polish as "budget-conscious" or likely to DIY; Chanel's Le Vernis Nail Color, at $26 a bottle, is hardly "low-cost" when compared to professional polish available for about $8 a bottle. So while the overall tone of the article is positive (no mention is made of the "toxicity" of nail polish ingredients), White ends her article by quoting a retail strategist: '"The customer that used to to get weekly manicures is probably doing her own nails," Levy said. That nail salon's loss is a beauty retailer's gain.' Here's some news: we're gaining clients who prefer to have their nails done professionally, and we also retail polish, some of it blue.

By Jaime Schrabeck, Ph.D.

New Leadership for Our Multi-cultural Industry

Article Published in Stylist Magazine, April 2012

The nail industry could use some good news, and I certainly don’t mean the introduction of another gel polish brand. Don’t get me wrong; I appreciate what reputable and innovative manufacturers contribute to our industry. But what manicurists really need we can’t buy from manufacturers, and that’s leadership. Despite being a growing, multi-cultural industry, we lack direction and have a serious image problem. Is it just me, or does it seem that most publicity about nails is bad (toxic chemicals, dirty salons, deadly pedicures, poor customer service, human trafficking, etc.)? Well-intentioned efforts to educate consumers can inadvertently damage our image further when not handled carefully.

Of course, it’s not just manicurists that suffer bad publicity. And the publicity doesn’t even have to be “real.” Have you seen the suggestive ads for the The Client List, an upcoming fictional television series made for Lifetime starring Jennifer Love Hewitt? The insulting characterization of massage therapists as sex workers has generated protests and online petitions to boycott. In defense of the show, Hewitt has been quoted as saying: "I feel badly that they feel offended, but I respect that people need to say what they need to say . . . At the end of the day, though, it's a television series. I'm not saying every massage parlor in the world gives happy endings, nor do I know which ones do, but it is a part of our society. And even if it wasn't, it's just a part of our story. It's entertainment."* I’m not sure that explanation would make me feel any better if I were a (therapeutic) massage professional.

For better, and more often worse, media portrayals of manicurists both reflect and influence how we’re perceived. Consider these characterizations, not so much for their accuracy, but for the powerful messages they convey about our career choice:

• Madge the Manicurist, played by accomplished actress Jan Miner, promoted the use of Palmolive dishwashing liquid with the assurance “You’re soaking in it.” She never lacked for clients at Salon East Beauty Parlor and had a longer career than most manicurists (1966-1992).
• Ms. (Bunny) Swan, played by Alex Borstein on MADtv, worked at the Gorgeous Pretty Beauty Nail Salon. Though somewhat ambiguous, her ethnicity was often perceived as Asian. She was known for her questionable language skills and frumpy work attire. Who can forget that colorful checkered smock with foot appliques that always covered her floral print dresses?
• Paulette Bonafonté, played by Jennifer Coolidge in Legally Blonde, was the insecure and unfashionable manicurist who befriends law student Elle Woods (Reese Witherspoon). She’s best remembered for learning the “bend and snap” to attract a man, not so much for doing great nails.
• Anjelah Johnson became famous for her stand-up routine in which she described  having her nails done by “Tammy,” a Vietnamese manicurist at Beautiful Nail. Johnson joined the cast of MADtv as a featured player and her videos have more than 50 million views on YouTube.
• Katie Cazorla stars in Nail Files, the first reality show based in a nail salon. While not a licensed manicurist herself, she and her staff at The Painted Nail (located in Sherman Oaks, California) earned ratings worthy of a second season premiering this summer.

As manicurists, we’ve allowed ourselves to be relegated into a position of inferiority, even within the beauty industry. We reinforce this by apologizing for our work as “Just nails;” I wouldn’t expect Robert Cromeans or Vivienne Mackinder to say “I only do hair.” We’ll never achieve a more favorable public image if we don’t value ourselves and respect our colleagues. In last month’s column, I encouraged licensees and salon owners to advocate for our industry, particularly at the state level. But we need to proceed with integrity and fairness, and without prejudice. We cannot tolerate derogatory and divisive language related to cultural, socio-economic and/or gender stereotypes (words such as “Oriental/Asian,” “chop shop,” “white-trash,” “ghetto,” “bimbo” or “gay”). I’ve heard this language used by both consumers and professionals as they make broad generalizations about the nail industry. Whether derived from prejudice or limited experience, it’s entirely unfair and serves no purpose other than to perpetuate negative stereotypes.

Our responsibilities as licensees do not change according to our backgrounds or circumstances; we all must follow the applicable laws and regulations. Anyone who wants to be a nail professional and/or salon owner must meet the minimum standards, whatever those may be in your particular state. If those standards do not prevent incompetent licensees from entering the workforce or ignorant owners from operating salons, don’t blame the licensees, the owners, the beauty schools or the examination. The fault lies with the governmental agency that established the standards in the first place. Mediocrity should not be the standard; we should expect more of ourselves and consumers deserve better. The good news? California’s state board recently elected a licensed manicurist and salon owner, Christie Truc Tran, as president. With her leadership, I expect that we’ll make significant progress in unifying as nail professionals and advancing our best interests.

* Reported by Jay Bobbin of Zap2it on March 1, 2012.

By Jaime Schrabeck, Ph.D.