What to Buy to Start Nail Styling? The Beginner Nail Tech Essentials
What to buy to start nail styling: bits, gels, lamp, e-file and accessories. A proven essentials checklist for beginner nail techs on Excellent PRO products.
Are you starting your journey with nail styling and wondering where to begin when putting together your workstation? Or maybe you want to start working with Excellent PRO products and you are not sure which ones are truly essential at the start?
We have prepared a list of products that will let you sit down and start doing nail styling practically right away. It is a set of proven accessories, products and devices that will make learning easier and help you develop your skills safely.
1. Accessories - the nail tech’s basic working tools
A bit for removing product
If you are just starting to work with an e-file, it is worth choosing bits that provide maximum control and safety.
Nail Makeover 1 is a very gentle bit with a non-working tip. Thanks to this, you do not have to worry about accidentally damaging the surrounding nail folds while working.
The bit removes product relatively slowly, which is a huge advantage for a beginner. It gives you more time to control your movements and reduces the risk of damaging the natural nail plate.
We especially recommend it for removing gel polish styling.
Tornado is a bit slightly sharper than Nail Makeover 1, but still very comfortable to work with.
Its tapering, cone shape makes it easier not only to remove product, but also to work on the underside of the nails. Thanks to its build, it is a very versatile tool that works well both during fills and with more advanced styling.
Mandrel 3 mm 320
This is one of the best bits for beginners.
The 3 mm diameter makes it easier to maneuver around the nail folds, and the 320 grit is very gentle, which minimizes the risk of damaging the natural nail plate.
This combination provides calm and safe practice when learning to work with an e-file.
A cuticle bit - Nail Makeover #8
The red flame cuticle bit is one of the most versatile bits for combined manicure.
It is extremely gentle and lets you work both on thin, moist cuticles and on more overgrown ones. The safe tip means the bit forgives many of a beginner tech’s mistakes.
A bit for working on the underside - Nail Makeover #3
This is a product that very quickly becomes an essential part of a nail tech’s kit.
The thin bit with a non-working tip lets you precisely work on the underside of the nail and reach hard-to-access spots. Thanks to it, it is easier to achieve an aesthetic, refined finish to your styling.
A wooden stick or a metal pusher
To push back cuticles, you can choose either a classic wooden stick or a metal pusher.
Both solutions work very well. Choose the tool you worked with during your training, or the one that gives you more control while working.
Scissors or nippers
The choice depends primarily on your preferences.
At Excellent PRO you will find:
- 19 mm scissors for everyday work for right-handed people,
- hooked scissors often chosen by people training with this tool,
- 17 mm scissors intended for left-handed people.
If you prefer working with nippers, you can choose models with a 3 mm or 5 mm blade.
Files
The choice of file depends mainly on your preferred stiffness.
At the start, we recommend gentler grits:
- 150/180,
- 180/240 especially for working with the natural nail plate.
Dust brushes
This is one of the most underrated pieces of equipment.
Regular dust removal lets you carefully control the surface of the nail while working, and at the same time helps keep your workstation hygienic.
2. Chemical products and styling products
Excellent PRO starter
Proper chemical preparation of the nail plate is one of the most important stages of long-lasting styling.
We will not discuss the entire system in detail in this article, because we have prepared a separate post devoted to this topic.
If you want to learn:
- how the Excellent PRO system works,
- why the order of applying products is so important,
- how to properly prepare the nail plate,
be sure to read the article System Excellent PRO.
Clean & Prep
This is isopropyl alcohol used for:
- cleaning the nail plate,
- degreasing,
- removing the inhibition layer.
It is an absolute must-have for every nail tech’s workstation.
Gels
The choice of gel should depend primarily on which products you learned with during your training.
You will find a detailed description of all the gels in our post Gel Knowledge Compendium, where we discuss their hardness, density and use.
However, if you are looking for products that are friendly to beginners, we especially recommend:
Gel With Tixotropy is one of the most popular gels in the Excellent PRO range.
They are stable during work, give you great control over the product and at the same time level very well. In addition, they are available in many color variants.
Cloud Mousse is a gel with an exceptional, mousse-jelly consistency.
It gives you more time to build the nail architecture, does not run quickly onto the cuticles and helps you calmly refine the styling structure.
Polyamide Plus Gel will work well if you prefer thinner products or mainly do shorter styling on the natural nail plate.
Thanks to its polyamide fiber content, the product stays stable and gives you a little more time to spread the material correctly.
Gel polishes
At the start they are not an essential product.
It is far more important to master proper nail plate preparation, nail building and working with the material.
However, if you plan to do colorful styling, we recommend starting with two basic colors:
- white Extreme White,
- black Extreme Black.
These are colors you will use not only for classic styling, but also for nail art and French manicure. On the website you will find over 140 gel polish colors to choose from.
Top coat
At the start we recommend Top No Wipe, one of Excellent PRO’s bestsellers.
It is a top coat without an inhibition layer, which eliminates one of the final stages of styling. It is convenient to apply, provides high gloss and works well both during learning and in a nail tech’s everyday work.
Styling finishing products
At the end of the styling, it is worth taking care of the client’s comfort and the appearance of the cuticles.
You can choose:
All these products will help finish the service aesthetically and take care of the area around the nails.
3. Electronic equipment
UV/LED lamp
If you work with light-curing products, the right lamp is an absolute basic.
We recommend Excellent PRO lamps, because they were designed to work with the brand’s products. Thanks to this, you can be sure that the light parameters are compatible with the products you use and that the curing process runs properly.
Master Power 2.0 e-file
This is an e-file we especially recommend for beginners.
The device starts working at very low speeds and has a wide adjustment range, so you can gradually build confidence while working.
An additional advantage is its safety features. If the bit is pressed too hard against the surface of the nail, the e-file will stop working and display an error message.
Thanks to this, it helps you develop the right technique and the proper pressure while working.
Additional equipment that makes work much easier
Desk lamp
Proper lighting of the workstation is hugely important both for the quality of the styling and for your eye health.
A good desk lamp lets you precisely light up the client’s hands, making it easier to notice unevenness, imperfections or product residue.
Dust collector
This is an investment in your health and comfort at work.
It reduces the amount of dust floating in the air, helps keep the workstation clean and improves visibility while working on the nails.
In addition, it reduces the amount of dust settling on the equipment, which can have a positive effect on its lifespan.
In closing - remember two things
If you are just starting your journey with nail styling, remember that success is made up of two elements.
The first is good products. High-quality materials let you focus on learning the technique and eliminate many problems that come from poor-quality products.
The second is knowledge and practice. Even the best products will not replace proper training and regular practice.
A very important rule goes: after training, work with the products you learned on.
If during your training you worked with jelly-type gels, choose exactly those products at the start. If you learned to work with medium-density or self-leveling gels, continue learning on similar consistencies.
Thanks to this, you will translate the knowledge you gained into practice faster and achieve repeatable results more easily.
Do not forget about theory either. Use educational materials and develop your awareness as a nail tech. The more you understand, the faster you notice mistakes and the more effectively you develop your skills.
Because it is exactly the combination of good products, knowledge and regular practice that gives the best results in nail styling.
Before you start, also check out the practical Excellent PRO tools: which gel to choose in the interactive comparison tool, curing times of the products and coverage levels of the colors.