On-campus nail techs: affordable manicures and a listening ear

Keeping up with a beauty routine can be a challenge in college. Students’ time is split between classes, schoolwork, jobs, extracurricular activities, studying and socialization. Without a car, free time and extra spending money, students are left without many options. Luckily, some students on campus have taken this deficiency and created an opportunity. 

“I’m like, you know what?” Ella Schneider, a business administration freshman and on-campus nail tech working in Governors Hall said. Schneider thought “[When] I get to college I’m not going to have money to get my nails done all the time, so why don’t I just do my own nails?” 

Schneider, like many college students, realized that going to a nail salon or off-campus nail tech was a luxury that would have to be given up. She was determined to keep up with her nails. 

She recalls getting her nails done for the first time for her junior prom and loving the experience of having nails, “I had them on until they were truly absolutely grown out and I’m like, ‘I love this so much.’”

Despite this, she had some complaints.

“It’s like eighty bucks for nails, and I always want the fun designs and everything like that,” she says. Designs or extra additions to basic nails often come with extra costs. “I just don’t want to pay even more for something that I can do myself.”

And she didn’t. 

“I tried doing more, I was having fun with different things, I was getting more products, and then I got to a level where I was like, Okay, like, I can get money off doing this.” 

She explains that, as a non-earning college student, doing nails was a perfect fit. To make the situation even more perfect, she already had a space to take clients in: her dorm. 

Students like Schneider have transformed their dorms into multi-use spaces that can function as bedrooms, gathering spaces and workplaces.

Jada-Lynn Aikens, a sophomore architecture student and nail tech operating out of Goodyear Hall on South Campus, has also converted her dorm room into a nail salon. Like Schneider, she had a love for getting her nails done but was underwhelmed by the results and horrified by the price.

Aikens explains that, like Schneider, she realized that salons were charging high prices but delivering a product that did not meet expectations.

“I decided to do my own so I don’t have to pay for [bad] quality,” She said  after explaining how she was charged double for a manicure because she had on old polish. 

When asked what differentiates her from off-campus nail techs, Aikens responded, “I try to keep affordability as one of my main concerns for my business because [my clients] are all college students.”

She explains that, unlike most techs, she charges clients based on the entire design, rather than having a base price and adding for each individual design. She said that sometimes, when the time starts to wane on, timing becomes a part of her pricing process as well but is usually not considered. 

Similarly, Schneider utilizes affordability to attract clients. 

“I’m a little cheaper than most people,” she emphasizes. “I just want other people to have nails accessible to them.” 

Considering the transportation realities of students, Schneider, for example, travels to meet with clients from time to time in order to cut out transportation issues.

“It’s whatever’s most convenient”, she said. “If I can come to you and you can be comfortable and be where you want to be and not have to come all the way to me then, yeah.”

The proximity of on-campus techs to students also saves students time, allowing them to carve out a shorter time slot from their schedule and spend more time on important commitments.

These techs also provide a space to be listened to and understood. Both Aikens and Schneider emphasize how much they enjoy talking to and getting to know their clients, as well as the relationship they develop as they share more time together. 

“Being located on campus …allows for a more intimate connection with my clients,” She explains. “Because, again, we’re all college students.” 

Not only do on-campus techs provide a more accessible option, they also provide an understanding of student life at UB and companionship.

“Some of the best parts are the conversations I have with my clients,” she said. “It’s nice to have college students to relate to.”

The combination of these two perspectives  position on-campus nail techs as extremely valuable, yet affordable, service providers for students. On-campus techs provide a viable option for students who are struggling to stay on top of their routines while they juggle school, jobs, and extracurriculars.

So, next time you find yourself missing your nail tech and struggling to paint a straight line, open Instagram and find an on-campus tech to listen to your drama and provide you quality service for an affordable price.

Jada-Lynn and Ella can both be reached at their Instagram accounts, @luv.lynnails and @ellafrancisnails (respectively), for bookings, pricing questions and other concerns. 

The features desk can be reached at features@ubspectrum.com