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Behind the Scenes: Chris Haubruge
by Staff
January 1, 1996
After more than three hours of work on the cover model, perfectionist Chris Haubruge and her model Julie Ebin show off cover-perfect nails.
2 min to read
With 17 years’ experience in the nail industry, Chris Haubruge, co-owner of Classic Cuts in Mojave, Calif., has seen her share of changes. “The available education is more impressive now than it was in the beginning,” she says. “There are also higher-quality products available and a better variety to choose from.”
After more than three hours of work on the cover model, perfectionist Chris Haubruge and her model Julie Ebin show off cover-perfect nails.
As an award-winning competitor and a manufacturer’s educator for Galaxy Nail Products, Haubruge is well-versed in the art of doing nails. She began competing 13 years ago to challenge herself and to avoid burnout. “I learn something new at every competition and take it back to the salon and perfect it. Competition is a way to educate myself — it motivates me,” she says.
Haubruge has also been known in competition circles to share her supplies with other technicians because she brings everything but the salon sink to the competition. “I want to be prepared for anything that might happen so I bring everything. I’d rather bring something and not use it than to not have it and need it.”
Recently, Haubruge joined Galaxy’s competition team, which consists of top competitors who use the company’s products. She has been a Galaxy educator for about a year and a half, and says she learned about the company and Kym Lee through competitions. “I watched how she built her business over the years, and the classes she offers are very structured and educational.”
Ironically, Haubruge never planned on making nails a lifelong career. After getting married and having a child, she wanted to have something to fall hack on if need he so she went to cosmetology school. Alter graduating, she did both nails and hair, but since she was one of the few cosmetologists in her area who could do nails, her nail clientele grew faster than her hair clientele. Then, when she and her mother, Julie, a hairstylist, opened their own salon 10 years ago, Haubruge became a full-time nail technician. “I’m a perfectionist so doing nails suits me better because it requires more precise work,” she says.
In her spare time, Haubruge enjoys snow skiing, waterskiing, and dirt biking with her husband and two kids. “My career allows mo to spend time with my family,” she says.
In the future, Haubruge says she would like to give back to the industry by sharing her knowledge of nails with other technicians all over the country. She says. “I think if everyone shared their knowledge, whether in the salon or at competitions, the quality of technicians’ work overall would improve.”
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