Crunching Numbers

According to data released by the United States Department of Labor in December 2007, manicurists and pedicurists are among the top 30 projected fastest-growing jobs between 2006 and 2016. Nail

© iStockphoto.com

technicians will see job opportunities grow by 28 percent, in comparison to 14 percent for barbers, cosmetologists and other personal appearance workers combined and an average across all occupations of 10 percent. The Department of Labor also predicts that the greatest area of growth for nail techs will be in arts, entertainment and recreational facilities, which will see a 33 percent increase, while the personal care services market where the lion's share of nail technicians work should grow by about 23 percent. Other professions among the top 30 are home health aides, personal financial advisor and veterinarian. The Department of Labor bases these statistics on recent industry trends.

Kicking It Old-School

Schoolchildren and tourists have long visited Virginia's Colonial Williamsburg for a slice of American history. Now, salon enthusiasts can do the same at the Spa of Colonial Williamsburg, which offers a number of services that incorporate health

© iStockphoto.com

and beauty practices of centuries past. The oldest of the treatments, the Cleansing Hot Stones Spa Experience, evokes a 17th-century Powhatan Indian practice with its use of hot stones and herb-infused, steaming linens to release toxins from the skin. The 18th-century Colonial Herbal service includes a cleansing footbath and an orange-ginger foot scrub. The Root and Herbal service calls on African-American healing practices that utilize root powders such as lavender and rose exfoliating powder and combines them with spring water, which was quite popular in the 19th century. Following the development of bathing rituals over the 20th century, the Williamsburg Water Cures service includes a dry brush exfoliation and milk footbath. And of course, the 21st century Skin Rejuvenation Spa Experience features state-of-the-art laser treatments and microdermabrasion.

E-Education
Continuing your education online just became easier with a new slate of courses offered by DrSpalding.com. Dr. Robert Spalding, a podiatrist and author, has developed three classes based on his own experiences and writings. The first, "How to Prevent 'Death By Pedicure' and Sterilization Techniques," expands upon Spalding's book Death By Pedicure. "Salon Emergencies and Disaster Concepts" deals with handling dire situations in the salon which spalding base on his 30 years of experience as a paramedic. The third, "Podiatry and Biomechanics for the Nail Technician," explores the anatomy of the foot and how we develop common ailments. The completion of these three classes can lead to a fourth eight-hour course that must be taken on-site at one of Spaulding's Tennessee offices; the course will train manicurists for the title of medical nail technician. For more information, visit www.drspalding.com.

In the Red

In the early days of nail polish, many colors became popular because of their coverage in newspaper society pages or Hollywood films. One of those colors was Jungle Red, a shade of cerise made famous by Joan Crawford in the 1939 film The Women. That shade is inspiring even today; a steel art piece recently installed in the Warm Sands neighborhood of

Palm Springs, CA, is named for and painted to match that same Jungle Red shade. Artist Delos Van Earl chose the striking color for the city's desert setting from the suggestion of Palm Springs hotel rep Robert Stone. "This piece is from my 'Luna Series,' which is based on linear form and movement. 'Jungle Red' is a subterranean piece," he says. "The sculpture moves in and out of the ground, juxtaposing the linear line against the sky and the imaginary line beneath the ground. 'Jungle Red' is meant to be experienced from several different viewpoints--while driving by at a distance, walking within the giant spiral or standing inside the arches." Who knows? This could work both ways--maybe you'll get some inspiration from Van Earl's work as well.

Health and Beauty

To take some of the discomfort out of an important procedure, the Department of Radiological Sciences at the University of California, Los Angeles, has

© iStockphoto.com

inaugurated the Midnight Mammo, Manicure &

Massage. A monthly after-hours event, the pampering-and-inspecting get-together encourages L.A.-area women to get mammograms, which are vital for the detection of breast cancer. Only 66 percent of U.S. women get one annually (and that number is falling!). We applaud this move and think it's a great idea for your own salon; offer a service discount to any client who brings in proof that they received a mammogram in the past week. Let's replace those pink ribbons with pink nails instead.

Hot Potatoes

When Nailpro spoke to Young Nails CFO Habib Salo in late 2006, his company had just moved into a brand-new building, and he thought the burgeoning

Habib & Greg Salo

nailcare manufacturer would have a home there for at least five years. Now, less than two years later, Young Nails is jumping ship again from its current 8,400-square-foot headquarters in Santa Fe Springs, CA, to a 19,000-square-foot building in nearby Anaheim, the location of Young Nails' original offices. "I never thought this would happen so quickly, but we have pallets on top of pallets on top of pallets," Salo says. That 19,000 square feet will contain 16,000 square feet of warehouse space and room for a training facility, space that Young Nails has always had to go outside of the building to obtain. "We'll be able to get orders out even more quickly now, but the fact that we'll be able to hold educational training on-site that's the most exciting part," Salo says.

go to last month's news

Shiny, Moving Objects...
You may think that you have clients with limited attention spans, but Chopperz The NON-Salon in Hillsboro, Oregon, has taken it to a new level. The salon, which caters to a male clientele, features flat-screen satellite TVs at each station, iMacs with wireless Internet capabilities and video games to play while you wait. While this may seem like something that should stay in the male domain, there are fixes that could make this idea work for a more unisex environment. You could go for Sex and the City DVDs instead of ESPN, and video games can be customized. DreamAuthentics, the company that supplied Chopperz with its personal arcade cabinet, preloads more than 200 classic video games into each system and can go so far as adding your salon's logo to the cabinet. It might not be the sleekest piece of salon décor, but don't gamer chicks get their nails done too?

Gold Stars

Winners at this year's 50th Annual Grammy Awards took home more than gold statues; they also got a bottle of Strikin' Gold lacquer from Be! Cosmetics. The shining color, as well as a vinyl mini-tote and bottles of 2Be! Nail Strengthener and Be! eXpress

Accelerated Topcoat, represented the only nailcare line in the celebrity gift bags. "Be! is proud and incredibly grateful to be part of this momentous 50th anniversary occasion," said Neli Vazquez-Rowland, CEO of Be! Cosmetics. "We love the venue, the energy and the opportunity to provide Be! to the red carpet authorities a world of glitz, fame and high expectations."
   In other Be! Cosmetics celebrity news, makeup artist Reggie Wells, who has worked with Oprah Winfrey since 1989 and done the makeup for all 80 covers of O magazine, is now a member of the Be! advisory board. Wells will provide creative support for the Be! nailcare line and job placement services for A Safe Haven, the nonprofit organization that Be! sponsors. "I am excited and looking forward to this," Wells said. "I feel that one of the most important things I can do is to give back to the community and to the cosmetics world."

A Leg Up

One of the hardest parts of starting a salon is gathering the appropriate equipment for your new venture. Five Point Capital offers a new way for prospective salon owners to get stable footing in the industry through equipment leasing. Dan Feder, the CEO of Five Point, learned through his time as an industrial auctioneer that getting help with these initial steps is crucial to the success of a business.

"Unfortunately, the process of acquiring the latest equipment to attract clients to your salon can be extremely time-consuming," Feder said. "Experiencing the hurdles faced with beginning your own business, I understand that time is of the essence when you are trying to establish yourself." The company can provide one lease agreement that will cover not only equipment, but furniture and training as well, with a personalized manager to oversee the deal. For more information, visit www.fivepointcapital.com.

A New Year
Farouk Systems Group held its Semi-Annual Conference in early 2008, kicking things off with an awards ceremony on January 10 that saw the giveaway of 30 Chi Mustangs and 28 BioSilk Harley-Davidsons as recognition for increased sales both in the United States and across 92 countries. The next day, the conference continued with announcements of the company's new products for 2008 as well as announcements of the company's sponsorship of the Miss Universe pageant and Miami Fashion Week. Events came to a close with sessions dedicated to shows and education.

En Francais, S'il Vous Plait
PND, the exclusive distributor for NSI in France, recently held a two-day seminar for five of its local distributors at its brand-new headquarters in the town

of Villeneuve Loubet. Jean-Luc Rigaux, president of PND, shared the information he learned at the NSI global conference 2007 in Belgium, which included

new product information. Christel De Cock, European sales manager for NSI, was also present to share the NSI sales and marketing strategy for 2008. "With the encouragement of NSI, PND and their colleagues, each distributor left with enormous enthusiasm to spread the NSI message further in their region," De Cock said.

Burgeoning Popularity

The Global Salon Business Awards has nearly doubled the number of nominations it received for its most recent awards ceremony. About 1,700 nominations were submitted for the 2006 event in Barcelona, Spain; that number skyrocketed to 3,000 for this year's event in Los Angeles. The nominations for the awards, which recognize entrepreneurial and managerial excellence in a salon setting, represent 23 countries. "It proves the incredible strides we are making in motivating excellence in the industry and bringing international salon leaders together to receive recognition for their global business success and superiority," said Paula Kent Meehan, founder and president of the Global Salon Business Awards.

Spa Companies Merge
SpaFinder, a spa marketing, media and gifting company, has acquired the gift certificate and gift card assets of SpaWish, a spa gift company. SpaFinder will rebrand this new division as Spa & Salon Wish, located online at www.spawish.com, and projects that the gift cards and certificates will double in popularity and be accepted at 8,000 locations by the end of 2008. "Spa & Salon Wish will provide a new dimension to our business with a huge upside for spas, salons and consumers," said Pete Ellis, chairman and CEO of SpaFinder. "It opens the door to our bringing thousands and thousands of salons into our gifting network while providing us with an opportunity to reach a much broader audience eager to enjoy spa and salon services."