Saturday, April 22, 2017

The Problem With Social Media "teachers"

Eep! I just realized it's been over a year since I have posted anything!  Ah, life tends to catch up with you doesn't it? Well I have tons of post drafts just waiting to be edited and I hope to start geting them out there for you soon!

Just a few years ago, we had to rely on books and in-person teaching and an occasional online forum (hi, beautytech.com!) to learn and collaborate with people.  Social media is amazing and the ability to share ideas, learn, network and more is there at the click of a mouse button.  Instagram is a fantastic place to see other tech's work. YouTube has a proliferation of videos on "how to do nails".  Facebook has groups galore with nails as the subject. It can be the best place to learn new things. Or the worst.

I follow a number of people on Instagram and YouTube - online nail "celebrities" - and am appalled at the number of problems I see being shown in the short videos they post. And so many of them are offering classes - even though they have never trained to teach and are using outdated and potentially harmful techniques.

I am not saying don't use social media, just to take what you see with a grain of salt. Over filing the natural nail, too much liquid and mixing product lines are all things I see online way too often. As an informed tech, it is up to you to do your research, know what is acceptable and what is not  - and when you see a tech online doing amazing nails - except they are slopping monomer all over the finger and mixing acrylic brands - you can take the good ideas that you see and leave the bad techniques.

Do what you can to keep this industry safe and healthy! There is no point pointing out to the tech that they have a bad habit or were poorly trained - you will get called a troll and there will always be people to stand up for them no matter how much you make sense  (been there!)

Keep Learning!!

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