Beginner nail tech kit. Tools you need as a nail artist
Diana Muresan
If you are just starting your nail tech career and don’t know what you need to buy to start working, you’re in the right place. We’ll share with you the best beginner nail tech kit and all you need to know before starting to work as a nail artist.
Doing nails sounds easy, but in reality, it takes a lot of patience, knowledge, and a kit with some professional nail tools. Some online influencers recommend different brands or tools, but if you want to create a long-lasting manicure, you should focus on the brands, products, and tools that professional nail technicians recommend.
Well, I’ve researched for you what nail artists use in their daily activity, and I’ve created this complete beginner nail tech kit guide for you. At the end of this article, you will also determine how much money you should invest in your beginner nail tech kit containing only high-quality and useful products.
I will recommend websites and brands that have good customer reviews and are accessible for you to buy, as we already know that many products are almost always out of stock. For that, I find Amazon and other nail professional websites good for you, as you can include in your beginner nail artist kit products at a reasonable price that are in stock and that are easily accessible for you. So get ready for shopping, ladies!
Beginner nail tech must-haves
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High-quality gel removal
When it comes to gel nails, removal is often the most challenging part. Most nail artists use an electric nail file to remove acrylic or gels. If you want to work with semi-permanent gels, too, you can also include some soak-off gel removers in your beginner nail tech kit. Below you can find some product recommendations from professional nail artists and nail academy owners.
SensatioNail Gel Nail Polish Remover
To remove gel or acrylic with acetone-based solutions, you will need nail remover pads and nail clips to let the solution stay for 5 minutes.
Nail Remover Tools Kit with Nail Clippers
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Accessories and furniture
Nail desk
If you are a little bit out of the budget, you can look for nail salon furniture and nail desk on Facebook groups for nail artists in your area or on other second-hand sites. Anyway, if you are ready to invest in your accessories and care about design too, here are some ideas for you.
Manicure Station with Dust Collector
You can find more new or second-hand nail salon furniture here.
Lamp
A professional nail desk lamp is another must-have in your beginner nail tech kit. Light is an essential aspect of creating a perfect manicure, so make sure that you have a flexible lamp, preferably one that has both cold and warm light.
USB LED Adjustable Nail Desk Lamp
Nail tips and glue
False nails are out of trend, and many modern techniques replaced them, but they are still helpful in some cases. For example, if a client comes with big nail deformities or broken nails, you can immediately fix the problem by applying a false nail tip. Therefore, make sure you store a case in your beginner nail tech kit with some plastic nail tips and nail glue.
For those who want a simple, classic nail polish manicure, you will have to clean the nails in warm water and soap. For that, a manicure bowl for beginner nail artists is just perfect.
Organizers
It doesn’t matter if you’re working in a nail salon or at home; you must always organize your nail tools. For that, you will need some suppliers, drawers, and box cases for all your nail accessories and gels. Below, you can find some organizers that might be very helpful to include in your beginner nail tech kit.
Scissors
When cutting cuticles, you must make sure that you use professional and qualitative cuticle scissors; otherwise, you risk hurting your clients. You can find some cuticle scissors on Amazon with a high review rate, but you can also buy them from your nail products distributor. It doesn’t matter where you buy your scissors; always look at reviews and test them before using them on your clients.
Nail files
All nail artists have an impressive nail files collection, so why wouldn’t you have one? You can find many nail file packs on Amazon with different forms and hardness. Don’t worry; you’ll have too many: you’ll use them all, anyway. 🙂
To work on the small details and create the perfect manicure, you’ll need different brushes in your beginner nail tech kit. I think the ones you see below are just perfect for a beginner artist, as they come in different sizes and shapes and are not expensive at all. Of course, after you become more professional and gain some experience, you can invest in some professional nail brushes that are more expensive and more qualitative.
Toe separators
Many nail technicians use silicone toe separators to clean them after every client. Anyway, if you want to make sure you provide 100% clean services, I’d recommend you buy one-time use toe separators and change them after every client. They don’t cost a penny, and it’s worth the money to keep your client’s health safe.
Cuticle pusher
You can opt for stainless steel cuticle pusher (which is more efficient) and sterilize it together with your other nail tech tools, or you can go for one-time use cuticle pushers made of wood. It doesn’t matter which one you choose; make sure you keep your hygiene at high standards.
Stainless Steel Cuticle Pusher
Dispensers
You can consider including some empty dispensers in your beginner nail tech kit so that when you need to fill them with alcohol, acetone, or other substances, you have them at hand.
Nail forms
Nail forms are the best solution when clients ask for longer nails. All you’ll have to do is put the form, apply the gel on it, let it dry in the lamp, and throw away the used nail forms. Below, you can find a 500 pieces nail form that you can buy from Amazon.
UV lamp
At the very beginning of your career, you can purchase just one UV lamp, but in time, you can consider including more lamps for different uses in your nail tech kit. For example, you can have a one-hand UV lamp, a two hands UV lamp (that will allow you to work faster), and a UV lamp destined mainly for pedicures. When buying your UV lamp, I highly recommend you purchase one that doesn’t have a bottom tray for hygiene reasons.
Gloves and face masks
As a nail artist, you have to think about your health too. Therefore, don’t forget to provide stock gloves and face masks in your nail tech kit. Gloves and face masks will protect you from viruses and the dust and chemical substances found in nail products.
Hand pillow
Having a hand pillow will help your clients be more comfortable with their hand position and ease your work. So, hurry up and get one. 🙂
A palette
Probably you’ll not have all sorts of colors in your nail tech kit, or you will finish one, and a client might ask for it. In such situations, you can use a resin palette to mix colors and reach the one your client wishes. You can both go for a ring palette or a raisin palette to place on your desk.
Glitters, stickers, and foils
With all the craziness for glitters, stickers, and colorful foils, you don’t want to miss them. Here you can find all sorts of accessories and glitters for nails, ready to shine on your client’s hands.
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Disinfectants
Sterilizing and disinfecting nail salon tools is essential, and you have to follow some steps to make sure that the process is correct. First, you will need a barbicide solution and a barbicide jar to disinfect your nail tools. Read on the product’s label to prepare the solution before using it to avoid damaging your tools.
You will not always have enough time to disinfect with barbicide all your tools after every client; that’s why you need some professional disinfectant sprays to kill bacteria and germs fast and easily. The ones I mentioned below have excellent reviews in the online stores, and they seem to do their job accordingly.
Disinfecting sprays
Once or twice a week, you have to sterilize all your nail salon tools. Ensure you know all the processes about sterilizing nail salon equipment and invest in sterilizing tools. Trust me, even if it costs a little bit more, it’s a one-time investment, and it’s worth all the money.
High-Temperature Nail Salon Disinfecting Tool
Besides disinfectants and sterilizers, rubbing alcohol is another thing that doesn’t have to miss from your nail tech kit. Some solutions like nail gels are sticky, and the best way to remove stickiness without damaging the manicure is by rubbing alcohol.
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Nail materials
In your nail artist kit, besides all the accessories that I mentioned above, you have to make sure that you have nail prep solutions, primers, nail base, acrylic, gels of all colors, semi-permanent gels, nail laque, a matte, and a shiny manicure finish, and cuticle oil.
Below, you can find some nail product brands that are highly recommended by famous nail technicians:
Some extras that are good to have in your nail tech kit
An appointment scheduling app
A must-have for every professional in the nail industry is an appointment scheduling app. That’s because, for nail technicians, it is very difficult to schedule appointments on a paper agenda. With an app like Goldie, you can let clients book themselves via your own booking link in just a few seconds. Plus, you have many options like sending text message reminders, take payments contactless or via payment link, financial reports to keep track of your income, and many more.
You can download the Goldie app from the App Store or Google Play and give it a try, you’ll find it helpful for sure!
“As a super busy nail tech and nail instructor, I can’t afford last-minute cancellations or forgotten appointments. With Goldie, I have zero missed appointments. I added a message to please confirm or cancel when clients get my 24-hour notification, so if they can’t make it I can immediately book from my waiting list. It syncs with my Google calendar and contacts, so I didn’t have to enter anything (except new clients)! This has made my life so much easier! My clients love the instant notification when they book and appreciate the 24-hour reminder. Thanks for creating this simple to use, super professional nail salon software!! Makes me happy!!” – Rose Resendez-Soria
How much does it cost you a complete beginner nail tech kit?
The cost of purchasing your beginner nail kit can seem to be a huge investment, but in reality, it is not. It’s a one-time payment that is worth the cost and that will last a long time from now on. If we consider that a nail drill costs between $20- $60, all your nail accessories can cost you somewhere around $350, the disinfecting tools and sterilizers can cost around $200, multi-color gels and other nail materials around $300, your total investment will be around $900- $1000. Plus, if you consider also purchasing a subscription for a nail salon scheduling app, I’d recommend you invest in a one-year subscription.
I think it’s important for beginners to start with a nail technician kit. The truth is, no matter what level of experience you have, it’s always good to have the right tools on hand.