That Makes No Sense!

Yet another hair salon has opened up in my town. Not a full-service salon — a hair salon. Not another walk-in, Supercuts-style hair salon — a nice salon. An upscale, young, trendy, hip salon. In our downtown district, which, despite many locals' insistence that there's no parking and they don't like going downtown, remains the cool location for upscale salons.

And they don't want a nail tech.

This is the second salon downtown that I've heard of that doesn't want a nail tech.

Of course, this makes no sense to me.

But what really makes me think "hmmm" is that I see more salons opening that only want to offer hair services, while nails-only salons are becoming a vague memory for those of us who can remember back that far.

Gone are the days of the upscale nail boutique.

Sure. There's a nail salon on every corner — and in every shopping center here too. High-profile, walk-in salons that boast "spa pedicures" and low-cost nails with flashy banners, but there's also a high-profile, walk-in, budget service hair salon on every corner and in every shopping center here. I don't count those.

I'm talking about upscale salons where talented and enthusiastic professionals want to work.

And fewer of these salons are looking for manicurists. Despite the fact that nail services remain highly sought after by their clientele and their staff members! Why?

Over the years I've heard more than a couple hairstylist/salon owners say that they've had "nothing but bad luck" with nail techs. Techs who are filthy and don't keep a clean station. Techs who stand up their clients (making the salon look bad). Techs who skip out on rent. Techs who steal from the salon (helping themselves to retail products, etc.). It only takes a couple of bad experiences before these salon owners have decided that the square footage dedicated to the nail stations could be more profitable and less stressful if it held another hairstylist or more retail.

The problem is that there are still a few good techs out there. Professionals who want to work in an upscale environment, who are just as dedicated to their profession as any hairstylist, esthetician, or massage therapist. Who would be an asset to any salon's staff. And who aren't getting to work in the best and trendiest salons because the owners of those salons have never met a nail tech that impressed them — no matter how awesome her work was.

It aggravates me and hurts my feelings to face this type of discrimination. And it breaks my heart that I understand where these new salon owners are coming from and why they've made this decision.