Why it is important to tailor your nail service to each individual client

 

Just as a hairdresser wouldn’t give every customer that sits in their chair the same hairstyle because it wouldn’t suit them or their lifestyle, Nail Techs should tailor their services for different clientele. Which leads into the all-important client consultation; not the form we often pass to clients and take no notice of.  The conversation where you sit down and chat to your client about their concerns and what they’d like to achieve from the treatment, which is especially important for manicure services.  You can present several options and explain the best treatment before continuing the treatment.  This can be particularly valuable when treating men rather than women to ensure you are offering a suitable treatment for their needs. 

Many men seek manicures to tidy up their nails and hands and make them more presentable but finding a tech to offer a suitable service to them, rather than a standard manicure that would be offered to women is almost impossible.

Numerous manicures involve soaking the fingers in bowls, often with petals and feminine scents.  Girlish colours such as pinks often dominate and can be intimidating to men.  This routine is often of no benefit to those with manual jobs where callused hands, dry skin and cuticles can be a concern.  If we have dry skin and just moisturise over the top, we will be doing nothing to address the issue, just covering it up. 

Since the popularity of enhancements and gel polish, the traditional manicure has become overlooked. Manicures have become too standardised – soak, file, cuticles, massage, paint or something similar.  It is important to address the needs of each individual client.  One customer may attend the appointment with well cared for skin and nails and only need more of a tidy up and more focus can be spent on the pampering side with luxurious creams and massaging.  Another customer may have very bitten nails, with extremely tough, hardened cuticle growth, where the need is to address the hard skin with exfoliation, cuticle work or offering a dry manicure.  Another customer may have very uneven nail lengths and nail plates that requires most of the attention on the nail plates themselves with shaping and buffing.  It is important to treat each one of these client’s services differently and focus on their individual needs. 

When it comes to understanding each individual client, it is important to recognise that everyone will have different personalities and lifestyles that will suit different colours, styles and lengths. As well as discussing client preference, it is also necessary to use your professional judgement.  Understanding an individual’s personality style and adapting your service to suit this is important. It can be a good exercise to study the different personality types to ensure you are offering your clients the best tailor made service to suit their personality and requirements.  Age is often irrelevant when considering this, if a client has an outgoing personality, they will be drawn to bold, bright colours and nail art techniques that draw attention.  A shy, introverted personality will most likely be drawn to a natural style.

Further maintenance services and aftercare is paramount, again this should be tailored to the individual.  Some may need to return every 2 weeks, others every 6 weeks. For a successful service and outcome, aftercare is essential for the best results.  It would be a very boring world if everyone was the same and liked the same styles.  This is what makes our job as Nail Technicians so interesting – no two clients are the same and this gives us the opportunity for variety in our work.

Learn how to crack the consultation step here.