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SEARCHFor nail techs who are constantly on the go, their box of tools may be the only constant in their lives. Traveling techs share their toolkit must-haves that help them thrive while on the road.
THE BASICS
These are the essential items all traveling techs are sure to bring along.
Application brushes | Extension cord | Orangewood sticks |
Base coat | Hand sanitizer | Polish (a variety of colors) |
Buffers and files | Implement sanitizer | Polish remover/acetone |
Cotton | Implements (cuticle pusher, | Table lamp |
Cuticle oil | nippers, nail clipper, etc.) | Top coat |
Cuticle remover | Lotion | Towels |
Kimmie Kyees
Home base: Los Angeles
Some travel required: MobileSPA Los Angeles nail tech and Luxe Management celebrity tech
Won’t leave home without:
✓ A few kitschy drugstore polishes (in addition to 100 or so professional polishes)
✓Organic silk soaps
✓Homemade sugar scrubs (a blend of organic sugar, apricot seed oil, grapeseed oil, and almond oil that I store in a screw-top jar)
✓Scented massage oils (to blend into the sugar scrubs on location)
✓Candy tower (for the clients)
✓Pedi-slippers (only if on set)
✓Magazines (People and Us Weekly are the two most popular)
✓Portable speakers and my iPod
✓My new portable airbrush machine (it seems to be popular on sets)
Spa Chicks on the Go and MaMa Spa, Prenatal Spa On-the-Go (standard toolkit for all techs)
Home base: New York City
Some travel required: sister mobile spas that service Manhattan clients, as well as other select metro areas
Won’t leave home without:
✓The latest magazines
✓ Essie polishes, plus SpaRitual (popular with MaMa Spa’s pregnant clients)
✓Waterproof bag for all the liquids (like nail polish remover and cuticle remover)
✓Towels to wrap anything glass (an essential when traveling via New York City subway)
✓Scented candle
✓ Spa gifts like a free nail polish or box of chocolates (when it’s in the contract)
✓Granola bars (for energy)
✓Aquafina water (for hydration)
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Spa Movement (standard toolkit for all techs)
Home base: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Some travel required: mobile spa that services clients throughout Ontario
Won’t leave home without:
✓Essential oils | ✓Candles and a lighter |
✓Two sets of implements | ✓Scented room spray |
✓Scrubs | ✓Incense |
✓Hydro Masque | ✓CDs (ambiance music) |
✓Box of gloves | ✓Laundry bag for soiled towels |
✓Tissue box | ✓Manicure and pedicure stools |
DeVonne Sturdivant
Home base: Atlanta
Some travel required: Bliss Mobile Spa nail tech
Won’t leave home without:
✓Be Natural Callus Eliminator
✓Custom blended foot scrubs and creams
✓Tea Tree Oil
✓Just Add Honey teas (for breaks between clients)
Sara Holden
Home base: Bullhead City, Ariz.
Some travel required: INM educator
Won’t leave home without:
✓Every color from every INM colored acrylic collection
✓ Pencil boxes to store the .25 oz. jars (so they’re easily accessible during a demo)
✓Nail tips
✓Forms
✓Extra pair of shoes (for walking to and from the tradeshow floor)
✓Soda cans, water, and snacks (for nourishment)
✓ Air can (to remove the dust from the nail plate, instead of using a manicure brush)
✓Demo-specific products, like fiberglass, gel, or acrylic systems
Nail Taxi (standard toolkit for all techs)
Home base: Atlanta, Chicago, Washington D.C., Richmond, Va.
Some travel required: mobile spa that services clients in four different metro areas
Won’t leave home without:
✓Pink table towels (the official company color) | ✓Toe separators |
✓Warm lotion dispenser | ✓PDA or cell phone with text messaging enabled |
✓Belava foot tub with disposable liners | ✓Breath mints |
✓Pedicure slippers |
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Jenna Hipp
Home base: Los Angeles
Some travel required: The Celestine Agency celebrity tech
Won’t leave home without:
✓ Dermalogica Hydro-Active mineral salts, stress relief treatment oil, and other products (to incorporate into manicures and pedicures)
✓95° and Sunny customized crystal glass manicure files with my name on them
✓95° and Sunny breast cancer awareness products
✓ Carolyn New York entire polish line (DBP-free!) and Essie Polishes
Rachel Mouritsen
Home base: Vancouver, Wash.
Some travel required: top-ranked competitor
Won’t leave home without:
✓Heating pad (to keep my nail model warm)
✓Can of air (to remove dust from the table area and off the model)
✓Shop towels (really thick and great absorption!)
✓INM Winners Red nail polish (red polish is required to compete)
✓Add-ons depending on the competition — for example, if it is a design competition, I’ll pack my colored powders.
Lynn Lammers
Home base: Redlands, Calif.
Some travel required: top-ranked competitor
Won’t leave home without:
✓Bright green name tag (for the suitcase itself, to identify it at the airport baggage claim)
✓The red nail polish required to compete
✓ Coffee cup warmer (to use under a metal bowl to warm water for washing nails)
✓ Greens+ Natural Energy Bars (you don’t get much time to eat during a competition)
✓Blanket (for whomever I may be working on)
✓Travel clock with a thermometer
✓Orbit gum
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Heather Matteson and Amy Sassman
Home base: Atlanta
Some travel required: Bliss Mobile Spa nail techs (the sisters work many mobile events together)
Won’t leave home without:
✓Pumice stone
✓Towels scented with J.R. Watkins lavender essential oil
✓Yankee Candle tealights (for that spa experience)
✓ Spiral notebook (to write down polish color requests and directions to where we’re headed)
✓Arbonnes Lavender Dead Sea Salts (for spa-style pedicures)
✓Rose Petals
✓Dasani water
✓Nature Valley granola bars (for in-between-client snacks)
Beth Fricke
Home base: West Hollywood, Calif.
Some travel required: Artists by Timothy Priano celebrity tech
Won’t leave home without:
✓“Rag mags,” like Us Weekly (Unless, of course, I’m working on Lindsay Lohan or Katie Holmes; in that case, those magazines definitely stay in the car.)
✓First aid supplies
✓Give-aways (files, oil, lotion samples)
✓Gum
✓Bit of a rubber glove (to open tricky polishes)
✓Disposable flip-flops
Oasis Mobile Spa (standard toolkit for all techs)
Home base: Barrie, Ontario, Canada
Some travel required: mobile spa that services clients in Barrie and its surrounding areas
Won’t leave home without:
✓Crock pot (to heat the towels) | ✓Tablecloth |
✓iPod and small speakers | ✓Stool for pedicures |
✓Tealights with holders | ✓Decorative baskets to display products |
✓Folding table | ✓Q-tips |
✓Folding chairs (2) |
Arlene Estrada-Hernandez
Home base: Los Angeles
Some travel required: MobileSPA Los Angeles nail tech
Won’t leave home without:
✓Bamboo mat | ✓Boombox and spa music CDs |
✓Candy jars | ✓Wrist pillow (for the client’s comfort) |
✓Sterling silver manicure and pedicure bowls (easy to clean) | ✓Pedicure slippers |
✓Paraffin bags and mittens | ✓Toe separators |
✓Candles and a lighter (to create a spa ambiance) |
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