More than 5,000 nail technicians across the UK are coming together to collectively raise their prices from Monday in what is being labelled “National Nail Price Increase Day”. The Nail Tech Org, the company behind the movement, said it decided to make the change after calculating that its members were making about £7 per hour, which is below minimum wage. Rising costs of utilities and products means that nail techs have said they are selling themselves short by charging less than their outgoings.
Ellie Jenkins from Aberdare, Rhondda Cynon Taf, has been doing nails for four years, and is one of many nail technicians taking part. “It will vary between £5 and £10 per service,” she said. Many would say having your nails done definitely falls under the “luxury service” category, and she is aware of that. Cost of overheads is one of the main reasons Ellie, 27, has decided to up her prices.
Nail sets like these, which are drawn freehand, can take up to three hours each time. Amy Guy from Liverpool, who founded the Nail Tech Org in 2020, after a decade working as a nail artist and educator, said the biggest problem in the industry for a long time was “unfair pricing”. She had the idea of price increase day to give nail techs the confidence to correctly calculate their prices based on the cost of running their business.
She said she wanted the nail techs “to understand exactly what it needs to be for them to make a profit and run a sustainable business, and if they do need to make changes”. Amy described having nails done as like a “therapy session”. Amy did a study through her business and said it showed her that on average their members were being paid £7 per hour.
The National Nail Price Increase Day has sparked a lot of controversy even before it started, with customers complaining about the high prices already. However, the nail technicians say that they have been working for less than minimum wage and that the increase in prices is justified to sustain their businesses. With the overhead costs and rising costs of products, it only makes sense to charge more to cover the losses and still have a profit.
Despite the controversy and backlash surrounding the initiative, many nail technicians are optimistic and see the value of what they’re doing. This initiative will serve as a reminder for the public that the people behind these services are also employees who require fair wage and benefits. It’s time to appreciate and respect the efforts of essential workers like these nail technicians
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