Insider nails

The nail industry is facing many challenges at the moment – the rise of dodgy online academies and non-standard salons damaging the industry’s reputation, to name just two – but one area that you feel should be getting more attention is product development. An incredible three quarters (75%) of you believe there is a real lack of innovation in this arena, especially in comparison to the strides being made in accredited training.

Meanwhile, following the story of a school near Newcastle that made headlines for its ban on nail extensions after a dispute with a pupil and her mother, we asked you whether it’s appropriate for students to be wearing these when learning and it has divided opinion. Contact allergies is another big issue – read PB’s Nail Professional of the Year 2019 Kayley Cairns’s top tips for preventing them on page 103.

On the spot

Product is the area of the industry you think lacks innovation

49% think pupils should be allowed to wear nail extensions at school

What’s the most annoying thing your fellow nail techs do in salon?

1. Borrowing and never returning my product

2. Using and abusing my station when I’m not there

3. Turning up/down the thermostat so I’m too hot/cold

METHODOLOGY Insider is compiled from a monthly survey of spas and beauty salons. The people who participated represent a cross -section of the industry and were polled by email from September 27 to October 7, regarding business for the month to September 30. Nail business for the Insider Nails page was calculated from data provided by salons that offer nail services among other treatments. The figures given represent the average score for each answer. Brands are ranked when mentioned by several respondents.

September 2019 in numbers

HOW DID TREATMENT BUSINESS IN SEPTEMBER 2019 COMPARE WITH SEPTEMBER 2018?