We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Adriana Gutierrez. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Adriana below.

Hi Adriana, thanks for joining us today. So, let’s start with trends – what are some of the largest or more impactful trends you are seeing in the industry?

Thank you for having me on your platform, I am incredibly grateful. The nail industry is ever-evolving with its trends as well as client and public perception. It is one of the fastest-growing beauty services making my job dynamic and challenging.

One of the many places I’ve seen a shift in my profession is the perception of us within the beauty industry. The way I’ve seen it, nail technicians have been working their way up from the bottom of the totem pole, where hair professionals have always dominated this industry. While a hair client would justify paying upwards of hundreds, even thousands of dollars for hair services, they would attempt to haggle prices and belittle the skills of a nail technician. This is rapidly changing and I am witnessing it with my very eyes. Nail clients have come to appreciate specialty nail services and slower-paced environments and recognize that it comes at a premium price that they are more than happy to compensate us for.

Within the nail art space, trends move very quickly, if you blink, you might miss them. Clients are becoming less intimidated by bold nail art and are using their nails as an expression of their personal style and individuality. Lately, I’ve seen an uptick in chrome nails, not only on its own but with airbrushing and textured elements. One month we had the glazed donut nail, which was a nude color with a soft white chrome on top. The next month, clients were sporting metallic 3D blobs, and the month after that, they were making their nails look like seashells. Who knows what next month will bring, but I am hyped about any new trend and I love catching the waves as they roll by.

Adriana, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My name is Adriana Gutierrez, and I am a Nail Artist based in Los Angeles. I have been licensed for 8 years and I specialize in hand-painted nail art as well as helping clients grow their natural nails with structured manicures. I work out of a private studio, which makes for a more comfortable and relaxed environment. Growing up, I dabbled in all kinds of art mediums. I would paint, draw, sculpt, and sew among many other things. I always knew I wanted to pursue a creative and artistic career so, once I graduated high school, I attended an occupational art school to study graphic design, and although I was very handy with Photoshop, I ultimately excelled in my classes where I was required to draw and sculpt. That is when I came to the realization that I would be more fulfilled and better suited in a career that utilizes my hands in a more tangible manner. I pushed through my schooling and after earning my degree, I went straight into beauty school and got my Manicure License.
The world of manicuring was so different to me as I had never stepped foot in a nail salon before. I had to work hard to learn the salon culture, how to service clients, and have them walk out of the salon satisfied. All I knew was that I wanted to create artwork on people’s hands that expressed their individuality, but I learned the hard way that it was not enough to make pretty art if it was going to chip, break or pop off prematurely.
It took me years of taking continued education classes and private lessons to achieve strong, long-lasting nail services for my clients. Through these classes, I learned that beauty school really does a disservice to their manicure students because it teaches antiquated and rudimental techniques that simply don’t produce durable nail services.
I am proud to have come to a point where my clients come to see me only once a month as opposed to once every 2 weeks with the traditional salon approach. On top of that, I have helped my clients grow out their natural nails to lengths they have not been able to achieve on their own. It is always fulfilling to me when my client come back and tell me how nobody believes that those are their natural nails as well as hearing all the compliments they received and the heads they turned out on the street.

Have you ever had to pivot?

One of the biggest pivots I made in my career was going from being a commission-earning manicurist in a nail salon, to a private nail tech in a salon studio. I worked at many different nail salons, all with their own array of limitations and workplace culture. When working for commission at a traditional nail salon, you don’t have a say on the products you are using or the services you provide. And unless the salon owner is aware of the latest crazes, chances are you will fall behind on trends too. On top of that, you have to work quickly in order to get that customer out the door and get the next person in your chair. That environment does not allow for customer retention and satisfaction. Running my own private business was scary at first, I had never had to worry before about attracting clients or scheduling them, let alone buying inventory and restocking supplies. All these changes have allowed me to choose the highest quality products to use on my clients, and specialized in only a few types of services instead of offering everything under the sun. I now also have full control of my schedule
and have the ability to be more selective of the type of clientele I want to cater to as well as charge my worth.
Regardless of all the challenges, I would not have it any other way and I am proud of my big jump.

If you have multiple revenue streams in your business, would you mind opening up about what those streams are and how they fit together?

As a nail tech, I have several supplementary revenue streams that don’t involve servicing a client in the salon. I create content for brands in my industry using upcoming product drops and get paid per video I produce. These videos vary from product reviews to nail art tutorials. A secondary way I make money is by promoting products on my Instagram page and earning commission on every item I sell when customers use my coupon code at checkout. I promote several nail-related brands on my page that have products ranging from gel colors to chrome powders, stamping plates, glitters, and more. My future plans involve having my own online store with an assortment of nail art supplies and helpful tools for nail techs. On top of working on my own, I have also participated in New York Fashion Week and Los Angeles Fashion Week. These kinds of gigs are a big team effort, and they are fast-paced and exhilarating. I recommend all nail techs participate at least once in their career!

Contact Info:

• Website: trendytalons.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/trendy_talons/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TrendyTalonsNails