July 22, 2020
Confessions of a Nail Tech x Timothy
Throughout history, society has attached unfair stigmas to men who wear nail polish or follow a nail tech career. To learn more, we spoke with the talented Tim, knows as timnailsstudio and came up with this amazing interview! Let's read his story and see what challenges he had to face along the way, what are his goals and what he loves most about doing nails!
MG: How did you get your start in your nail career?
I love telling this story because it makes it seem like it's fate for me to go down this path. So while I was on YouTube just watching random videos, a video called "10 Cute Halloween Nail Designs" from cutepolish popped up on my recommended videos. I clicked on it out of curiosity and watched the video and thought that it was really cute and impressive. But after that I just moved on to watching something else. Then a few days later I went to get candy from a grocery store because it was approaching Halloween. At checkout, I saw that they were selling the kids polish, 4 glow in the dark polish for $4. I bought it, went home and pulled up that YouTube video, followed the tutorial, and the rest was history :D
MG: What challenges did you face along the way?
The biggest thing was probably a lot of judgement from other people. I started doing my own nails 6 years ago and it was a different time back then. Guys don't walk around wearing nail polish, let alone nails with designs on them. I remember receiving weird looks in public, and even when I'm at the register trying to purchase nail polish. But a couple of side eyes didn't stop me from my creativity! There shouldn't be a gender associated to self expression and I want to normalize that!
MG: Where do you get your inspiration from?
When I first started out I got a bunch of inspiration from YouTube. Nail tutorial videos from cutepolish or simplynailogical inspired me with designs, channels like thenailhub, Naio Nails, Celina Ryden inspired me to learn more about gels, acrylics and nail fundamentals. Later on, I started getting inspiration from Instagram. The nail industry blossomed so much over the last few years and I think it's all thanks to social media. Seeing all these amazing nail techs from all around the world is really inspiring and they constantly make me want to improve my craft and learn more!
MG: Your biggest tip for the perfect DIY manicure?
My biggest tip is definitely be patient with yourself! Practice makes perfect! It's easy to beat yourself down by comparing yourself to nail techs on Instagram or YouTube. Just always keep in mind that these people all started from the beginning too and have honed their craft for a long time before even posting them on social media! So be patient with yourself :)
MG: How many nail polishes do you own? What are your 3 fav gels from Madam Glam?
I purchased SO many nail polishes over the years, and eventually investing in a lot of good quality gel polishes and gel pods, more than I care to admit :D my 3 favorite gels from Madam Glam is definitely 'Perfect Black' because of the coverage, 'The Winston' because it's very versatile to add shimmer, and my new favorite is 'Neon Sun' because it's a very bright happy yellow!
MG: What nail trend are you loving right now?
Recently I'm OBSSESSED with jelly/glass nails! I think it's so cool! Doing stained glass nails, or jelly tips with designs on top, or solid color nail bed with matching jelly tips. Even doing ocean designs with jelly blue to add depth and the fact that it's see through makes it more like water! The possibilities are endless!
MG: What are your goals/dreams for the future?
My goal is to one day own my very own studio, and I also want to be an educator. But on top of teaching my skills to all, I've always envisioned an idea to custom tailor nail classes according to the person. I've taken a few classes myself and one thing is noticed is sometimes there are people who benefit more from the class because of their skill level. So when I become an educator I would love to tailor my classes according to my student and help them learn the most according to their skill level.
MG: Which celebrity would be your dream client? Why?
I think either Billie Eilish or Lady Gaga. Billie Eilish because her style is so out there, very different but very much her own. I vibe with her out-of-the-box style! I also want to create some crazy over the top nails for Lady Gaga for her music video or live performance! I would also love to do nails for male celebrities too!
I love telling this story because it makes it seem like it's fate for me to go down this path. So while I was on YouTube just watching random videos, a video called "10 Cute Halloween Nail Designs" from cutepolish popped up on my recommended videos. I clicked on it out of curiosity and watched the video and thought that it was really cute and impressive. But after that I just moved on to watching something else. Then a few days later I went to get candy from a grocery store because it was approaching Halloween. At checkout, I saw that they were selling the kids polish, 4 glow in the dark polish for $4. I bought it, went home and pulled up that YouTube video, followed the tutorial, and the rest was history :D
MG: What challenges did you face along the way?
The biggest thing was probably a lot of judgement from other people. I started doing my own nails 6 years ago and it was a different time back then. Guys don't walk around wearing nail polish, let alone nails with designs on them. I remember receiving weird looks in public, and even when I'm at the register trying to purchase nail polish. But a couple of side eyes didn't stop me from my creativity! There shouldn't be a gender associated to self expression and I want to normalize that!
MG: Where do you get your inspiration from?
When I first started out I got a bunch of inspiration from YouTube. Nail tutorial videos from cutepolish or simplynailogical inspired me with designs, channels like thenailhub, Naio Nails, Celina Ryden inspired me to learn more about gels, acrylics and nail fundamentals. Later on, I started getting inspiration from Instagram. The nail industry blossomed so much over the last few years and I think it's all thanks to social media. Seeing all these amazing nail techs from all around the world is really inspiring and they constantly make me want to improve my craft and learn more!
MG: Your biggest tip for the perfect DIY manicure?
My biggest tip is definitely be patient with yourself! Practice makes perfect! It's easy to beat yourself down by comparing yourself to nail techs on Instagram or YouTube. Just always keep in mind that these people all started from the beginning too and have honed their craft for a long time before even posting them on social media! So be patient with yourself :)
MG: How many nail polishes do you own? What are your 3 fav gels from Madam Glam?
I purchased SO many nail polishes over the years, and eventually investing in a lot of good quality gel polishes and gel pods, more than I care to admit :D my 3 favorite gels from Madam Glam is definitely 'Perfect Black' because of the coverage, 'The Winston' because it's very versatile to add shimmer, and my new favorite is 'Neon Sun' because it's a very bright happy yellow!
MG: What nail trend are you loving right now?
Recently I'm OBSSESSED with jelly/glass nails! I think it's so cool! Doing stained glass nails, or jelly tips with designs on top, or solid color nail bed with matching jelly tips. Even doing ocean designs with jelly blue to add depth and the fact that it's see through makes it more like water! The possibilities are endless!
MG: What are your goals/dreams for the future?
My goal is to one day own my very own studio, and I also want to be an educator. But on top of teaching my skills to all, I've always envisioned an idea to custom tailor nail classes according to the person. I've taken a few classes myself and one thing is noticed is sometimes there are people who benefit more from the class because of their skill level. So when I become an educator I would love to tailor my classes according to my student and help them learn the most according to their skill level.
MG: Which celebrity would be your dream client? Why?
I think either Billie Eilish or Lady Gaga. Billie Eilish because her style is so out there, very different but very much her own. I vibe with her out-of-the-box style! I also want to create some crazy over the top nails for Lady Gaga for her music video or live performance! I would also love to do nails for male celebrities too!
MG: What is most challenging about what you do?
The most challenging thing is definitely the subconscious need to compare myself with others, and also being compared to other nail techs by other people. Being original is definitely challenging. I always have to remind myself that I'm still learning and have a lot more to learn! So instead of comparing myself to others, I use them as inspiration, striving to reach that level one day. I'm also hyper critical with myself and it's kind of a double-edged sword. It helps keep me in check on what to improve on but sometimes also beat myself down because of a tiny mistake. But I'm glad to say that I'm happy to say that the latter doesn't happen often thanks to my tech friends who keep encouraging me!
MG: What advice would you offer someone considering this career?
Be courageous! Be adventurous! The nail industry has evolved so much and there are so many talented techs out there creating bomb sets every day. Don't compare but be inspired! Don't be afraid to make mistakes because that is how you learn! Be thirsty for knowledge! Learn and keep learning! Most of all, pursue this career with love, because nothing beats seeing my clients face at the end of the appointment, the joy on their faces is what keeps me going!
Tim's
💅 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/timsnailstudio/
For more glam, everyday inspiration
💅 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/madam_glam/
