Tips for Teachers

My name is MaeLing Parrish, and I am the North American Director of Education for Gelish. Working in the nail industry for over thirty years has given me many insights into different aspects of the industry. Some of the aspects range from everyday salon things like booth rental, handling clientele, ordering supplies, budgets, and taxes (yuck but necessary), and continuing education for products.

Early in my career, I became interested in education. How the products work, where they are made, who invented it, who improved it, and who can I go to learn more about them This is how I became an educator for a nail manufacturer.

It was fantastic to become part of a team that was like-minded and so inspiring. As one of the directors of education, I am responsible for ensuring that the educators are kept up to date on current and new products. We, as the education team, must know the proper application procedures for the product, the product information, how to teach the applications, sales aspects, and how to troubleshoot possible problems.

Teamwork can be a powerful tool for personal and professional growth and as a nail educator, it can help you develop new skills and enhance your expertise.  Here are a few ways that working with a team can make you a better nail educator.

Sharing knowledge: Working in a team allows you to share your knowledge with others, and vice versa.  This can help you gain new insights and perspectives on topics that you may not have considered before, which can in turn help you become a more well-rounded and knowledgeable nail educator.

Learning from others:  When you work with a team, you have the opportunity to learn from others who may have different experience, expertise, and backgrounds that you do.  This can broaden your knowledge base and help you better understand your students’ needs and perspectives.

Collaboration:  Collaboration is an essential part of teamwork, and it can help you develop new approaches and strategies for teaching.  By working with others, you can combine your strengths and expertise to create a more effective and engaging learning experience for your students.

Feedback: Working with a team also means receiving feedback on your work.  This can be a valuable tool for improving your teaching methods, as it allows you to identify areas where you may need to improve and adjust your approach accordingly.

Support:  Finally, working with a team can provide you with emotional and professional support, which can be invaluable in a challenging and demanding field like nail education.  Especially since our audience is very diverse in age and in where they are in the world.  Having a network of colleagues who can offer advice, encouragement, and assistance can help you stay motivated and inspired to continue growing and developing as an educator.

Even though I discussed all these different topics of teamwork from a nail educator’s point of view, they can all be applied to any type of beauty industry technician, whether you are an instructor, hair stylist, esthetician, make-up artist, massage therapist, or nail technician.