Re: Nail Techs (Need A License?)

ChynnaBlue · ‎05-22-2012

On 11/11/2014 Sunshine Kate said:
On 11/11/2014 ChynnaBlue said:
On 11/11/2014 Sunshine Kate said:
On 11/11/2014 sidsmom said:
Buckle up...it's gonna be a bumpy ride. I recollect this topic discussed months ago...with many, many pages of 'discussion'.

Yes, all nail technicians require a license by the state they reside. They are a viable business & must be treated as such.

I was just wondering because I went to a salon yesterday and the lady doing my pedicure couldn't speak English.

Just wondering how she could be licensed in the U. S. if she couldn't read/speak English.

Speaking English is not a requirement for a nail technician license. Most states offer licensing exams in multiple languages, especially where an entire industry relies on people who are non-native English speakers. Most states also allow an interpreter to help with language. The same is true of voting - you can get ballots in multiple languages or have an interpreter enter the booths. The United States does not have an official language and states who try to establish one usually fail.

I figured a nail tech could take an exam in their own language. If they can't speak English well, (and I've seen them not understand AT ALL), then how can they read English directions on a container? How do they know the disinfecting solution from something else?

Also, do the cosmetology salons for nail techs have Vietnamese teachers? The majority of nail salons in strip centers are Vietnamese.

In my area, it's almost impossible to find a salon tech that can speak English. Or, it's so little that I still have a hard time communicating.

As far as the nail tech's license in public view, I haven't seen that. A certificate would be easy to duplicate and not sure I would trust it anyway.

I'm getting very discouraged at what I'm seeing in these salons. I just might have to give myself manicures and pedicures. ${#emotions_dlg.w00t}$

You don't need to be able to read if someone else explains it to you and yes, they have Vietnamese teachers. How many of the things you use every single day are you using based on instructions you read from the container? You can also learn to differentiate one thing from another without being able to read. Visual cues, like color, container shape or size, font type, etc are all things people can use to identify something without being able to read.

My day job is training people and years ago I worked at a summer camp that had a contract with a Japanese tourism company. We would get a group of 20 Japanese students at our camp for two weeks every summer. I taught non-English speakers how to shoot rifles, bows and arrows, do arts and crafts, and learn the rules of games like Capture the Flag. Could I teach someone how to perform brain surgery without knowing the language? No, that's very complex. But manicures are not brain surgery. Not speaking English doesn't make someone an idiot who can't manage a manicure or acrylic nails.

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reese2 · ‎03-10-2010

On 11/12/2014 Clover29 said:
On 11/12/2014 Margo Channing said:
On 11/11/2014 sidsmom said:
On 11/11/2014 Margo Channing said:
SHe is an American.

What does that mean?

It means she was born in America, OK? Can I get any clearer? Or are you trying to start an internet fire?

Wow. I am an American (I have a passport to prove it) but I wasn't born in America. Flame on.

The attitudes here never cease to amaze me. Hey, there, my fellow American! ${#emotions_dlg.wub}$

ChynnaBlue · ‎05-22-2012

On 11/12/2014 suzyQ3 said:
On 11/11/2014 sparklestar said:
Trust me, they can speak English. They just don't.

They speak $$$.

"They"???????

Why the need to talk about a whole group of people as if they aren't even individuals? Some probably speak English fairly well; others, not so much.

And anyway, good for them if they do speak $$$. Isn't that the "American" way?

${#emotions_dlg.thumbup}$

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abbeythe 8th · ‎04-17-2010

In a pinch I've gone to a strip mall salon for a manicure. On the wall near the waxing room hung at least 10 licenses. There were only 4 stations in the salon. I do not know whether they rotate employees or just hang any license. That day there was an older man working and unless it was 20 years old, there was no license for this guy.

Mj12 · ‎03-09-2010

On 11/12/2014 reese2 said:
On 11/12/2014 Clover29 said:
On 11/12/2014 Margo Channing said:
On 11/11/2014 sidsmom said:
On 11/11/2014 Margo Channing said:
SHe is an American.

What does that mean?

It means she was born in America, OK? Can I get any clearer? Or are you trying to start an internet fire?

Wow. I am an American (I have a passport to prove it) but I wasn't born in America. Flame on.

The attitudes here never cease to amaze me. Hey, there, my fellow American! ${#emotions_dlg.wub}$

Welcome to 1950!

suzyQ3 · ‎03-09-2010

On 11/12/2014 abbeythe8th said:
In a pinch I've gone to a strip mall salon for a manicure. On the wall near the waxing room hung at least 10 licenses. There were only 4 stations in the salon. I do not know whether they rotate employees or just hang any license. That day there was an older man working and unless it was 20 years old, there was no license for this guy.

But the fact is, any possible wrong-doing when it comes to licensing or following the rules of the profession is not at all confined to any particular race or ethnic group.

The idea that immigrants (from any country) are more prone to deception or outright illegal actions or skirting the rules when it comes to such employment than those born here has no basis in fact but, IMO, stems from fear and ignorance of the Other, the ones who are not US.

~Who in the world am I? Ah, that's the great puzzle~ Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

mstyrion 1 · ‎09-18-2014

On 11/12/2014 MJ 12 said:
On 11/12/2014 reese2 said:
On 11/12/2014 Clover29 said:
On 11/12/2014 Margo Channing said:
On 11/11/2014 sidsmom said:
On 11/11/2014 Margo Channing said:
SHe is an American.

What does that mean?

It means she was born in America, OK? Can I get any clearer? Or are you trying to start an internet fire?

Wow. I am an American (I have a passport to prove it) but I wasn't born in America. Flame on.

The attitudes here never cease to amaze me. Hey, there, my fellow American! ${#emotions_dlg.wub}$

Welcome to 1950!

somehow I knew this thread was going to end up going down this same old, tired, predictable road.

Just when I think we are growing up as a nation, I see we are still have those snotty little brat-like prejudices.

I've had my nails done for years by an AMERICAN woman who just happened to be born in Vietnam. She is a perfectionist and a successful salon owner. I am proud to know her.

~Enough is enough~

islandgrrl · ‎06-20-2010

This thread is amazing to me on so many levels. Not the least of which is the expectation that women (and occasionally men) who wash feet all day are also supposed to speak fluent English. That's a wow.

There is religious symbolism in the washing of feet that is never lost on me when I get a pedicure. It feels like an honor.

If you are concerned about the license status, respectfully ask the owner about it or Google nail salon licensing in your state. That seems simple.

Mj12 · ‎03-09-2010

I recall a thread several months ago here, cannot remember who the OP of it was - she was BRAGGING that she turned her interest in filing her own nails/giving herself manicures - into a side business, doing manicures and who knows what else for friends for $$$. Eeewwwww. Uneducated/unlicensed. THAT would bother me far more, than any language barrier that might exist between a client and a licensed, educated professional.

abbeythe 8th · ‎04-17-2010

On 11/12/2014 suzyQ3 said:
On 11/12/2014 abbeythe8th said:
In a pinch I've gone to a strip mall salon for a manicure. On the wall near the waxing room hung at least 10 licenses. There were only 4 stations in the salon. I do not know whether they rotate employees or just hang any license. That day there was an older man working and unless it was 20 years old, there was no license for this guy.

But the fact is, any possible wrong-doing when it comes to licensing or following the rules of the profession is not at all confined to any particular race or ethnic group.

The idea that immigrants (from any country) are more prone to deception or outright illegal actions or skirting the rules when it comes to such employment than those born here has no basis in fact but, IMO, stems from fear and ignorance of the Other, the ones who are not US.

Did I say immigrants (from any country) are more prone to deception or outright illegal actions or skirting the rules?