2.2 Current trends

As you have seen already, the beauty industry is always evolving, and there are new techniques, products and styles that are continually being introduced. As a professional nail technician, it is essential that you are aware of and incorporate the latest fashion trends, styles, and products in your service offerings!

Catwalk trends can be a main source of influence when it comes to determining what looks are ‘in’ for a particular season. Fashion designers can draw inspiration from anywhere; however, once these trends have made their way onto a fashion week runway, we tend to see them toned down and made wearable by the everyday woman. Here are a few examples of nail trends we saw at the New York Fashion Week (NYFW Spring/Summer 2022 Runways:

Rodarte: Celebrity nail artist and manicurist Julie Kandalec created several different nails looks for the Rodarte show, one being a zebra inspired animal print.

Peter Do: For Peter Do’s runway show, nail artist Jin Soon Choi opted for a minimalist look of sheer square-shaped nails. The shape of the nail was almond and included a black wavy accent to make them pop!

Rebecca Minkoff: Celebrity nail artist Gina Edwards and her team had two looks that featured – bling embellishments and a chrome look. For the look pictured left, the team applied individual crystals to acrylic nails for a true wow factor. For the look on the right, a glam mix and match of trio-toned and monotoned nails with a pop of metallic was used.

Naeem Khan: Nail artist and manicurist Aki Hirayama applied a fire-engine red polish which truly complemented the designers’ collection beautifully.

Sandy Liang: Nail artist Mei Kawajiri used press-on nails for application and then applied gel nail art stickers to accent the look. The final result added a touch of interest without detracting from the designers’ collection.

Nail technicians who do not keep up to date with the trends will quickly see themselves and their sales fall behind the competition! In this course, we will look at a range of techniques, products and styles that will ensure you can confidently provide your services in line with the latest industry trends. No one has a crystal ball, and much like any trend in fashion, some are short-lived, and others stand the test of time! With nail artistry – the options are actually endless. Unlike industries such as tanning and lash artistry, where there are only so many looks that can be achieved, with creativity and the right tools, a nail technician can create living art! In addition to the trends identified in NYFW Spring/Summer 2022, the images below provide examples of current trends that are likely to be the focus for the next few years:

Nail trends, like anything in beauty and fashion, will vary from decade to decade in terms of thickness, shape, length, colour, nail art and method of application. While it is crucial you are aware of trends, you will learn later in this course that certain nail shapes and lengths look better on different handshapes. Of course, if your client really wants stiletto nails, then you can make their nail dreams come true regardless of their hand shape. When applying acrylics and gels, it is important to think about the longer-term consequences. If your client has very damaged natural nails, is being on-trend now worth destroying the nail integrity? We will look at this more in the next module.

Much like the evolution of nail shapes and colours, the tools and products we use are also continually evolving. Nowadays, there are heaps of different polishes, acrylics, nail art stencils and embellishments that can help us to achieve #nailgoals for our clients. In this course, we will look at a range of products and tools that will help you to hit the ground running, but it is important that you also keep up to date on advancements with products and tools. Given the industry is continually evolving, you can keep up to date by:

Conducting research online
Watching online tutorials
Attending industry events
Networking
Attending professional development workshops and training sessions

Another excellent way to keep up to date and to test your skills is to enter competitions! There are numerous competitions in Australia and globally that nail technicians can enter to compete at a professional level.

Whether competing or attending these competitions, you are guaranteed to be exposed to the latest trends, techniques, and products available. To learn more about previous competitions that have been held and to better understand the sorts of skills and techniques you can showcase. Many brands such as OPI and Kinetics SolarGel hold their own competitions, so it is always a good idea to keep a lookout for opportunities to showcase your skills. As a starting point, check out the competitions linked:

Nailympia

World cup of nail art – Nailpolis

Australian Nail Championships

Nail camp

In addition to our own videos and content, throughout this course, you will see that we will provide a wide variety of links to external articles, videos, and websites. Exposure to a range of sources and approaches is critical for you to build extensive skills and knowledge base. Because approaches, styles and techniques are continually evolving, it is good for you to have the ability to research and familiarise yourself with other professionals in the industry.

YouTube is an excellent source for inspiration, product reviews and guidance. There are many ways to perfect certain looks, and once you start perfecting your techniques, you won’t be able to help but look at peoples nails and ways you would enhance or correct them! A good tip for building your knowledge base is to start a catalogue of nail designs using a Pinterest account or other applications – that way, you have a great reference library to help you determine what nail shapes will enhance your clients’ features and what nails are on-trend. If you are ever struggling with something as a nail technician, you can pretty much guarantee other Nail technicians are as well! Engage online, join industry groups, watch other Nail technicians on YouTube and contribute by sharing your own knowledge and expertise.

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