The Nail School Diaries | Week Two

Hi everyone! I'm not sure if I will make The Nail School Diaries a strict weekly thing - there will most likely be weeks where there isn't a lot to share. I may be completely wrong about this though - time will tell! I'll just see what happens, either way I'll take lots of photos and notes so I've got lots to share ☺.

The nail art I wore to nail school this week. Tutorial will be on YouTube soon!

Two weeks into nail school, we are yet to touch an actual nail. We need to complete the first boring-but-necessary unit standard that covers all the hygiene, health, nail implements and the like, before we get into the "cool stuff." We have a few assignments that we're doing/done, I'm planning on working on mine after I finish writing this, actually. We've also learnt some more interesting facts, which I'll add at the end of this post.

However, this week wasn't all theory - we got to play around with nail files on Thursday! Which, as it turns out, I am absolutely useless with. When I do people's nails from home I normally just apply the polish, unless their nails are really bad - then I might file them and do some cuticle care. I have literally never buffed someone else's nails, only my own. So when we were handed an egg (yes, an egg, it's actually a genius idea) and told to file on the horseshoe/nail shaped mark only, I failed. Miserably. There was only one other girl in the class who did as badly as me. I just couldn't control where the file was going, unless I used tiny movements which you're not supposed to! We did it twice, and at least there was an improvement the second time around. I forgot to take a photo of the first attempt, which is kind of a blessing in disguise, I think...

The hand in the middle isn't my own, it's another student who's really good at it! She was helping me out and I think the
plan is that I'll help her figure out her computer and she'll help me with filing ☺.

If you're wondering, we're practising filing on eggs so we don't ruin each other's nails while we're still learning. And at the moment we're not filing the end of the nail, but the "nail plate"/egg. Hopefully I'm not quite as terrible at doing the edge of the nail! I'm actually quite disappointed in myself, and a tad embarrassed. Most, if not all of my class have "found" my blog now (and some will probably read this) and it's a bit pathetic that I can paint Frozen on my nails but not file them properly (as you can tell, I am still nursing my bruised ego).

Here's the first task we had to do, before the horseshoe bit. Simple, just file off the square. However, I turned the square into a circle... Nope, no natural talent there at all.

Still, this will be good for me, a wake up call. I forget that it's taken me two years of doing nail art almost every day to get the standard I'm at now, and that's what I'll have to do with filing, and undoubtedly acrylic work and other nail enhancements. I tried practising on eggs at home but my files are too worn and odd-shaped, so I'm going out today to buy some more. I'll have to take a photo of my egg carton once I've attacked all the eggs!

Here are some more photos from this week.

Left: I've been making yummy sandwiches for lunch! They're so good. Right: There was a staff strike by some of the workers wanting a pay rise. Lots of noise and car horns!

Left: A reminder that I am definitely among teenagers again... Middle: The gardens around Palmerston North are so beautiful!  Right: I got a haircut, and love it. Please excuse the slight deer-in-headlights look!

Socially, everyone's getting to know each other and forming little groups. It's weird being around so many people who are younger than me, and just different in general but it's really cool, too. I've heard some crazy life stories and it really puts things into perspective. I have a huge amount of respect for some of these girls. And I found out this week that there is another girl my age, YAY! I was feeling very old for a while there.

Here are some interesting facts I learnt this week.

1. New Zealand's nail industry isn't regulated. I think I already knew this, but I didn't realise the extent of it. Literally anyone can start up shop, and not be checked to make sure they're not doing anything dangerously. No registering, necessary schooling, nothing. Ridiculous!

2. CND is awesome. We're using information about some of their products for our assignment, and I now have a nail crush on just about everything they have. Same with INM. Which reminds me, shout out to The Little Canvas for helping me with my assignment! I couldn't find any ingredient lists for some INM products, then realised she had a review of them on her blog. A few messages later and wah-lah, problem solved! I love the nail community :).

3. Filing your nails with a nail file with too lower grit will make them flake and peel. Interesting! 240 grit and higher is what you should use for the natural nail.

If you want to read my first nail school diary post, you can find it here.

Let me know if you enjoyed this post, and any tips you have about filing or nail care in general!