L.A. Hair: Episode 5 -– Naja’s Client Has Down-to-the-Nub Nails

How many times have you met a stranger and been introduced as, “This is blank ______ (Naja in my case). She does nails.” The stranger immediately pulls her hands back in a hiding position and says, “Oh god, you don’t want to see my nails” or “My nails are terrible” or “I love what you have on your nails but mine are so short. I can’t do anything with mine.” I hear it almost every time I’m introduced to someone. The fact is I don’t really care. I’m not that judgmental and when it’s your job, I think one becomes unbothered by it from a judgmental viewpoint.

The client I did on this episode came in for a hair consultation or something -— I’m not exactly sure —- but I introduced myself and she did the whole pull her hand away, hide them, and say, “I love your nails. Mine are so short. I can’t do anything with my nails.”

OH SO NOT TRUE. You have met The Naja and I’m sure so many other nail professionals who like a challenge. We artists just need a canvas -- whether small or large, long or short -- I love to create on anything. I got a person who was in the salon originally not for nails to become a paying client. I told her we could do something that would be fun and look great. Her nails were VERY short. You know, the down-to-the-nubs ones. The kind you cannot get the file underneath and are tricky, to say the least, to shape and file. I have so much fun with clients like this. To see their happy faces full of wonder as if I just did a magic trick right in front of their eyes is SOOOO worth everything. I usually talk a lot about money and the business aspect of nails, but that look, that look right there is worth all the money in the world. That look bypasses the ever fading happiness and goes straight to actual fulfillment of the nail artist. Yummy! :)

There was a bit of a setback though. I am so used to doing Minx and/or gel-polish manis, when I use the cuticle oil and lotion AFTER the service, that in this regular polish mani my hands were so smooth and oily from the massage that I could not get a grip on the bottle of OPI to open it.

I still had no real actual service area or storage so I had my polishes separated by color in glass jars that I normally use for cotton, orangewood sticks, and files. My favorite trick is to use a rubber band wrapped around the neck of a stubborn bottle of polish —- it ALWAYS works. It has never failed me yet. I did not have all my boxes unpacked and rather than go hunting for it I asked for help. Dontay was the first one I saw so I asked him to help. Maybe there was dried polish in the cap because he couldn’t open it either. He gently tapped in on the ground, it didn’t budge -— then he banged it and it shattered. The glass bottle shattered, and there was blood. Oh Jesus, so much drama. I’m questioning whether this salon life is for me or not.

ANNNDDD THE OSCAR GOES TO…Dontay Savoy. What a drama king! I was baffled. I was a bit turned off that he didn’t bandage it up (think finger condom) and continue to do his scheduled client. That’s not my style. I played Nurse Naja and got the first aid kit and tried to help him bandage it up and to hopefully put an end to the theatrics. I think he was really hurt though. LOL

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Editor's Note: We're thrilled that celebrity nail tech Naja Rickette is blogging exclusively for NAILS Magazine during the second season of L.A. Hair. Read her past posts by clicking on the L.A. Hair (We TV Reality Show) link under "Post Categories"