How to: Do More Nails per Day Without Cutting on Quality

Nails by Alina Hoyo

How many times have we heard our colleagues talk about the huge amounts of time they spend preparing a new set of nails, or even just doing a refill? Many nail techs need an hour-and-a half or even up to two hours for one client. Not to mention the time needed to create elaborate designs involving different nail art methods that comes on top of that.

Most of nail techs think that working faster is only related to the techniques they use. “If I file or paint faster, then, and only then, will I be able to do more in less time.” So, faster means lower quality, right? Fortunately, this is not necessarily true. Regardless of your experience and the strategies you use, there are other factors that affect the speed of your work. I will share with you some of my favorite tricks that will allow you to create the same quality nails, in less time.

Adjust Your Agenda

Your agenda is the first thing you need to take care of. If you think an appointment will take you two hours then for sure it will.

To minimize the time spent working with the same client, all you have to do is change your strategy and start working under a bit of pressure. Don’t be scared! Start by moving from two hours to one hour and forty minutes (or whatever small, but still ambitious step you need to take back from your current planning). Believe me, twenty minutes can make a huge difference in your day and you will be able to make it. The next step will be reducing your time to one hour and 30 minutes, then to one hour and fifteen minutes.

Working under pressure has helped me set a new pace and beat my own record. Preparing a full color set used to take me 2 full hours of work. Currently, it takes me between 45 minutes and 1 hour. By making slight time adjustments to your agenda, you will certainly get amazing results.

Use a Clock

Having a clock in your work area will save you time. You need to plan every step of your routine. For instance, take 15 minutes for nail preparation, another 15 minutes to apply the products, and so on. By tracking the time you use, you will be able to know if you are taking too long on a specific step. Managing your time properly will improve your performance.

Focus and Let Them Talk

Our clients always love to talk, but if we get involved in the chit-chat, we might lose our concentration. My best advice in this case: Stay focused and just listen to their stories without getting totally engaged. They’ll be happy to have you listen, really! All you have to do, is keep your eyes on their nails.

Invest in Good Materials

I have heard the same questions so many times: “For how long can I work with the same e-file bit?” “After how many uses should I change a file?” These questions always surprise me.

Many nail techs want to work faster with products and equipment they have been using for an entire year. Or even worse, they want to keep on working with a 20 year old e-file that looks more like a pneumatic hammer than like a nail tool. If you are planning to work faster, then invest in good materials.

For example: a client comes for a refill. By using a new e-file bit you could remove the nail color in approximately 6-7 minutes. This could take up to 15 minutes if you use an old or low quality bit

Now, let’s do some math…

If you have 6 clients per day and with each one of them you save 7 minutes, at the end of the day that represents 42 extra minutes. Now, 42 minutes times 20 working days makes 840 extra minutes which is equivalent to 14 extra hours per month. And that is only for filing off their old nails!

Here comes the most interesting part: suppose you have one client per hour. (after implementing my tips, that is a realistic time for a quality set) With the extra 14 hours, you could actually book 14 extra clients per month.

If you charge 40-50 euros per client, then you could earn 560- 700 extra euros per month just by investing 20-40 euros in a new high-quality e-file bit. Do you get the picture now? To work faster and to earn more money, you certainly need to invest in good materials. And this is not only restricted to e-file bits but could also be extended to files, brushes, lamps, and so on.

When Less is More

Many nail techs use tons of art brushes and e-file bits each time they do a set. I always wonder why. 3 or 4 e-file bits are more than enough to prepare any nail set. If you want to spend a fortune in brushes, be my guest, but keep in mind that 10 brushes is an optimal quantity. I work with 2 e-file bits for the preparation, one to remove colors and another one for dust removal. I usually use 6-7 different brushes, no more than that. Want to take an afternoon and do a crazy design for which you need 20 tools? Sure, you have time for that now! But don’t do that during regular treatments in your salon when you’re there to make money

Use Your Budget Wisely

We spend a lot of money on new colors… it’s not uncommon to spend 100, 200, 300 euros each time we visit our supplier, without even thinking about it. On the other hand, we overthink when it comes to investing on new equipment: lamps, brushes, e-files and other high-quality equipment. Colors are beautiful and you definitely need them, but colors alone do not save you time nor help you earn more money. Plan your budget and use it on the products that will boost your finances, then you will have more to spend on those desired colors afterwards!

Color Choices

A client could easily spend more than 15 minutes choosing a color. The more color choices you provide, the more chances you get to waste your time. How to avoid this?

Hide your color displays! Display 10 to 15 season colors and try to sell them to your clients. Just show confidence and tell them these are all the trend right now, wear them yourself, too! They will be really happy that you help them choose… and so will you.

Technique Matters

Using the right techniques is also important to be able to save time, for example:

• Optimize your work by creating your own routines

• Repeat every step on each finger

• Do your best to avoid mistakes

• Use materials that you really like

• Invest in your education: go to workshops, ask and find out about new techniques…

• Keep your workspace clean and organized

• Offer your clients what you like the most, what you love and do effortlessly. You will be stress free and at the same time, you will be able to concentrate better.

I am still learning new techniques and strategies every day. I have come to the conclusion that by saving time on small things, you will have more time available in general, which you can use either to have more clients, or to get home earlier.

Are you ready to speed up now?