Hi Beauties! My name is Rachael Pearson. I am currently working at two different spas as an esthetician and spa manager in the Seattle area in the beautiful northwest. I have always enjoyed experimenting with my nails. It started with dad painting my nails hot pink over the bathroom counter when I was 2. Acrylics and nail piercings came next in high school, and then short, all black nails before Chanel made it socially acceptable. :o) But it had never sparked my interest as something I wanted to do professionally until I picked up a copy of NAILS Magazine in the break room at work.

Let's go back a couple years and start from the beginning....

My first spa experience was a traditional Korean bathhouse/spa when I was 18 years old. After being out of school and having no idea what I wanted to do with my life, I remember sitting in the mud room and thinking, "This is it. I want to do this for a career. I want to work in a spa and someday have one of my own."

I got my esthetics license two years ago — skincare being my first love after struggling with acne for years. I went to an amazing school, the Euro Institute of Skin Care, and had the time of my life. It has been my dream job, and my love for this industry continues to grow every day.

Working at the front desk, I noticed a serious need for more education for clients about nail treatments and the importance of sanitary practices. I became very passionate about educating everyone who would listen. After reading the issue of NAILS Magazine in the break room from cover to cover I was hooked. Nail practices, treatments, artistry — I absorbed everything I could get my hands on and started creating my own nail spa treatment recipes.

I started looking into nail technician programs and was very surprised to find extremely limited options. Every community or major beauty school I inquired about said I had to go through the entire cosmetology program, and they didn’t offer a nail program alone. I finally came across Evergreen Beauty College. They offer a nail technician program, have a great reputation in the community, and are accredited so I could apply for financial aid. Unfortunately they are 52 miles away from my home. In traffic that's about a two-hour drive each way. A four-hour commute, 10-hour school days, and working full time was a little more than I wanted to commit to at that point so I decided to look elsewhere. After digging around the Internet I found a few more schools but unfortunately they did not speak English or had a bad reputation of fudging hours, not teaching their students actual curriculum, and not having proper sanitary procedures. Frustrated with the limited options available I decided to put the nail license on the back burner and chalk it up to a loss for now. That lasted about two days. I scheduled an appointment with the admissions counselor of Evergreen Beauty College, applied for financial aid and was enrolled in the next class within four days. I couldn't be more excited to get started!

I started October 16th and will go to school Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. for 5 months (600 hours). It's going to be a lot to juggle, but I figure if I'm ever going to do it, now is the time!

I have found the other student bloggers' insight to be so helpful. It's great to get a little peek inside their world to have an idea of what I am headed for. I am excited to bring you along on my journey and share my experiences with all of you! Stay tuned!

— Rachael Pearson