You’ve landed a job in a nail salon, or maybe you’ve even graduated to renting your own salon suite or even opening your own salon where you employ other nail technicians! Congratulations! Now, you have to think about furnishings, tools, and materials. Here are a few must-have nail technician supplies for your salon.
Worktable and Chairs
A nail technician must have a work surface and chairs that are comfortable for both the client and the technician. Shop around for nail workstations that have enough space to work on nails easily, but that don’t take up too much floor space. Determine if your nail table must be lightweight and portable, or if you expect to place it and leave it where it stands.
Sanitizers and Disinfectants
Licensed nail technicians know there’s a difference between “sanitizers” and “disinfectants.” Sanitizers kill bacteria on surfaces, while disinfectants kill both bacteria and viruses. Salons will use both; most often sanitizers to clean tables and chairs, and disinfectants to clean tools. Make sure whatever supplies you choose are FDA approved and comply with local and state regulations.
Files, Buffers, and Clippers
Quality manicure equipment is a must for any nail technician. A complete set of files, buffers, and clippers is essential. Most clients are more comfortable, and some states require, that files and buffers be disposable, so they are never used on more than one client, for health reasons. Some clients will bring their own tools. If you will be using clippers, scissors, or files on multiple clients, you must have appropriate sterilization equipment, like an autoclave, as required by local, state, or federal health regulations.
Disposable Nail Forms
Nail forms help you create the optimal, consistent, shape for your clients’ nails. When you build an acrylic nail using a nail form, you can be confident the nails will all come out the same shape.
Brushes, Bottles, and Bowls
Acrylic and gel polish brushes are different—gel brushes are usually thinner and flatter in shape. You’ll also need a dusting brush for getting rid of nail debris after buffing. You’ll also need manicure and pedicure cleaning brushes—the type made with plastic handles and bristles—for cleaning nails prior to treatment.
Stock up on bowls for soaking a client’s nails to soften them prior to a treatment, and separate bowls for soaking nails in polish remover.
Finally, you’ll need an assortment of empty glass bottles for storing nail color, as well as clear base and topcoats. It is critically important that you use bottles that are correctly labeled, and that you clean and disinfect them before refilling, including cleaning the brush and top of the bottle. Nail Company Wholesale Supply offers bulk nail polish bottles so you can get all the empty bottles you need to set up your workstations the way you want them.
This is just a brief list of must-have nail technician supplies for your salon. You’ll discover more supplies you need as your business grows.
