Sitting at a table splayed with UV lights, and a rainbow of polishes and brushes, University of Iowa first-year student Charlie DeGroot had meticulously arranged her station. As I sat down for our appointment, I showed her a design I found after hours spent scouring Pinterest, and, like some kind of magical nail technician genie, she deftly pulled out the exact colors and got to work.
Gently holding my hands in hers, DeGroot carefully examined the length of each fake nail she had just finished adhering. After ensuring they matched up just right on each finger, she flipped the switch to turn on her drill and began filing down the edges of the fake nails to make them blend seamlessly with the rest of my natural nails.
DeGroot applies this kind of care to all of the many nail appointments she has weekly, students flocking from all corners of Iowa City to the fourth-floor lounge of Rienow Residence Hall.
What started as a hobby and way to save cash for the first-year student has blossomed into a legitimate side hustle, making DeGroot roughly $700 a week. The Cedar Rapids native said in high school, she only ever had her nails done at salons for special occasions such as homecoming or prom, but she quickly fell in love with the feeling of having her nails done and wanted to learn how to do her own to avoid frequent and expensive trips to the salon. Aside from doing her own nails, DeGroot now sees the practice as a chance to earn a steady income between her classes.
“It’s hard to have a job here,” she said. “This is just a super comfortable job where I roll my cart down the hallway and do people’s nails and talk to them. I’m not someone that wants to ask my parents for money forever. They already paid for my school.”
From her baseline price of $40 per Gel-X set, a press-on with gel polish, or builder gel on natural nails DeGroot raises her price by increments of $5 or $10 depending on the designs or labor required to achieve a client’s desired look. For my tortoise shell-inspired design, DeGroot only tacked on an extra $5. Smaller, more intricate patterns, like cheetah print or mini stars, run a bit more.
DeGroot said her expenses are very manageable. Many of her lamps and drills were Christmas gifts from her parents, and she spends an average of $50 a week on supplies, although she can go weeks paying nothing. She must order tools such as files and drill bits in bulk because she can’t use the same tools on different clients, but she cleans items such as brushes between each appointment, which helps keep costs down.
DeGroot, however, does not see herself pursuing nail technology as a career as much as a side hustle she can continue in tandem with her professional career. As an entrepreneurship major, she has been focusing on the business side of doing nails as an opportunity to get hands-on experience to supplement what she learns in class. She said working on a college campus, especially, has helped her business over the past few months.
“Take advantage of the student body,” she said. “Just talk to people about it all the time. Someone will listen, someone’s interested.”
Second-year UI student Lauren Justus lives off campus and has been doing nails every so often for her friends but wants to create an Instagram account to advertise her services and build relationships with consistent clients.
“I just don’t have much time because I also have another job, so I’ve just been trying to work on more time management, and then I’m probably going to make an account for more people to come,” Justus said.
Justus said she feels going to an independent nail technician rather than a salon can be a better experience because she can offer a more extensive range of designs many salons cannot due to time constraints.
Safety and health concerns
Sanitation is a considerable concern for any nail technician, which is why the state requires a license to do any professional work. Education at a cosmetology school is required to obtain a nail technician license in Iowa, where students can practice doing nails on models and learn the proper sanitation and safety precautions necessary for the job.
Jo Lampe, an esthetics and nail technology expert at PCI Academy Iowa City, said roughly 375 hours of practice and education are required to obtain a license, which she said is very manageable for anyone interested in the industry.
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When nails are applied incorrectly or a client is nicked by a file or drill, there are many different infections or rashes that may result. Lampe said she’s seen infections before that cause clients’ nail beds to become red and inflamed. She said nail infections can also be painful and feel like there’s bruising under the nails.
She also said tools are typically cleaned with Barbicide after each use to avoid infections.
“There’s all sorts of fungus you can get,” Lampe said. “I’ve seen all sorts of horror stories in the nail groups that I’m in. I’ve seen people’s toenails fall off.”
UI first-year student Emma Woodford said she had her nails done by a peer in a dorm and experienced a lot of pain after her appointment.
“I thought she did a good job, but when I went to go get my nails done at a real salon, they said that it was a good thing I went to the salon while I did because the way that she put them on, I could have gotten an infection on my nails,” Woodward said.
To avoid safety issues, Lampe said it’s always a good idea to invest in earning a license whether a nail tech wants to be independent or work at an established salon.
“Schooling is always a good idea,” Lampe said. “Not only are you going to learn a lot more, have the proper disinfection protocols — there’s not going to be as much risk. You have that supportive system of being able to ask questions and troubleshoot. I think that’s what school’s for. You get to make your mistakes, and you get to ask questions and have some fun with it.”