• May, 2012 (2)
• April, 2012 (3)
• March, 2012 (3)
• February, 2012 (2)
• January, 2012 (3)
• December, 2011 (1)
• November, 2011 (3)
• September, 2011 (1)
• August, 2011 (1)
• July, 2011 (2)
• June, 2011 (1)
• May, 2011 (1)
• April, 2011 (2)
• March, 2011 (4)
• February, 2011 (1)
• January, 2011 (4)
• December, 2010 (1)
• November, 2010 (1)
• September, 2010 (1)
• August, 2010 (1)
• July, 2010 (2)
• June, 2010 (1)
• May, 2010 (2)
• March, 2010 (2)
• January, 2010 (1)
• December, 2009 (1)
• September, 2009 (1)
• June, 2009 (4)

• 365 Days of Nail Art
• Blueprint of a First Year
• Competition Insider
• FingerNailFixer
• From the Editors
• Maggie Rants [and Raves]
• Nails 101: A Student Blog
• The Coaching Chronicles

Calif. state senator Lou Correa presents a certificate of recognition to VANA president Mike Vo. From left to right: Howard Ngo, secretary Thong Vu, president Mike Vo, Senator Lou Correa, vice president John Nguyen, Dee Nguyen (board of directors), treasurer Barbara Trinh, and Lisa Huey (board of directors).

Big change is on the horizon and one non-profit organization aims to succeed where others have failed before. “We can finally unite the nail industry. We are well-structured, we have a solid foundation, and good individuals that are excited and want to be a part of it,” says Mike Vo, president of the Vietnamese American Nail Association (VANA).

I attended VANA’s installation banquet in early March in Little Saigon, Calif. Its objective is to assist its members in all aspects of the nail salon industry, including product usage, state board issues, health education, and legal issues, to help better their businesses. Mike has only been actively involved in the nail industry for three years, practicing law before then. Drawing on his legal experiences in the industry, he realized that a lot of salon professionals don’t know where to turn if they run into problems. VANA is his answer for this.

As listed on VANA's website, the main focus of the organization is to:

• establish a communication link between its members and government agencies such as the State Board of Barbering & Cosmetology, Department of Labor, Department of Occupational Safety and Health, Food and Drug Administration and Environmental Protection Agency
• promote educational programs and voluntary compliance with federal and state laws
• disseminate information and educational materials in matters related to scientific, social, economic, legal, and political development in and affecting the beauty salon industry nationwide
• promote injury and illness prevention programs among its members
• assist members in the limited defense and appeal of any harassment or violation not founded upon evidence through the use of a legal and/or legislative process and any other legal means permissible by law

During my trip to South Korea for the Global Nail Cup competition, I learned that the Korean nail industry prospers with the help of strong nail associations. These associations function for their members, and in turn, the members have the skill set and mentality early on to strive for the best in all aspects, in competition and within the salon.

Whether or not this is the kind of future we will see within the U.S nail industry, VANA is the start of positive change in our nail community. Mai Vo, owner of Nails 2000, says that VANA is the dream she’s been waiting for. “I’ve been in the industry for over 30 years but it isn’t currently what I’d like it to be. Today I’m really happy to see the commitment of those in the nail industry to further improve our industry so that we can all continue to prosper.”



Here's a segment in Vietnamese on VANA's installation banquet held on March 1, 2012. My Linh from Vietnam America TV (VNA-TV, channel 57.3) talks to Tri Ta and Dee Nguyen, who is on VANA's board of directors. She also talks to Ann and Ngoc Thu who are salon owners. They say as salon owners, it is difficult to keep up with changing state board regulations and Ann has had to deal with a salon inspector who unfairly cited her salon in the past. Mike hopes that VANA will be able to help its members with these kinds of difficulties and in keeping up to date with state regulations.

But again, no one can build up the industry alone. By continuing to learn and refine your skills and collaborating with organizations such as VANA, you can help turn our industry into something even more amazing down the road. For more information on joining VANA, visit www.vnana.org.

— Kim

As everyone here in the office knows, I’m a geek at heart. (In the grand spectrum of things, I’m right there in-between the self-proclaimed Jedi and those who think it’s OK to wear red shirts on missions. More along the lines of Jedi.)

Imagine my excitement when I see this Star Wars-themed nail art. What a perfect way to celebrate Star Wars day! Today is May the 4th. The most often-quoted line from the Star Wars trilogy is “May the force be with you.” Get it? (I know there are fans among us in the nail world...)




Stephanie Lee, based in Irvine, Calif. created the Star Wars nails along with the Batman and Cinderella nails above. As a fashion designer and artist, she as a knack for designing creative nail art patterns and pulling from comics and pop culture and applying them to the nail.



She also created Avengers nails to celebrate the live-action depiction of the comic book characters in the new movie The Avengers, which is out in theaters this week.

You can view more of her amazing nail art designs on her Tumblr: jeealee.tumblr.com. She categorizes her nail art in the left-hand column on her Tumblr, from TV shows and movies to fashion.

May the 4th be with you!

— Kim

The Year of the Dragon seems to be the year of travel for me. In early January, I went to Vietnam to visit my grandmother and extended family. On the way back to the U.S, we had a four-hour layover in the Taipei International Airport. My brother and I walked the entire first and second terminals (nearly taking up all four hours).

The Taipei airport is one of my favorites, filled with shops and cultural exhibits that paint a beautiful image of Taiwan. From calligraphy to paper doll crafts, tribal artifacts to an orchid garden, there is a little bit of everything for every curious traveler.

They even had nail art on display! The nail art in the photos above and below were inspired by apparel worn by Taiwan's indigenous women. Based on the exhibit's description, the designs are based off of the Amis indigenous tribal group and were created by craftsman Pudal ada at the Lisin Giyaw Workshop. "The artist attempts to transform variant apparel characteristics of Indigenous Peoples into exquisite graphics on nails," the description reads.

I love this idea. The patterns are so vibrant and bold, making them perfect designs for nail art.



This just goes to show that you can find inspiration anywhere in the world for exquisite nail art design. Now looking at our own Vietnamese culture and apparel, have you ever been inspired by Vietnamese traditional aó dài to create nail art? I'd love to see photos of your aó dài patterns and aó dài-inspired nail art. Please e-mail your aó dài and matching nail art photos to me at kim.pham@bobit.com. I will post photos and nail art once I receive a good amount.

— Kim

I had the chance to fly to Korea for the 6th Global Nail Cup held in Seoul, my first experience at an international competition. The two-day-long event covered 8 different competitions: Design Sculpture, Tip Overlay, UV Gel, Nail Care, Acrylic Sculpture, Team Relay, Top Artist Competition, and 3-D Multimedia Nail Art.

You can read my article in NAILS Magazine here. It links to photo galleries of the competition and 3-D Multimedia Nail Art.

There are two big differences between the South Korean nail industry and the U.S industry. The biggest difference is that South Korea’s nail industry is pretty much run by nail associations. If you’re a nail tech, you probably belong to an association, and nail schools are closely affiliated with these associations. Catherine Wong, an international educator and competitor, says that “Korean nail schools are serious business in the nail industry. They have many branches in major parts of the country, are well-equipped, and they have a curriculum like a typical school would.”

Another difference is South Korea currently does not require a nail license to be a nail technician. (This may soon change if the government decides to implement licensing.) However, even without the requirement for licensing, the nail industry is held to a high standard, and this may be due to the strength of the associations. There are four major associations, the largest being the Korean Nail Association (KNA). “The KNA runs their own nail expo and competition and they conduct a yearly examination attended by hundreds to thousands of nail techs tested in different levels to set high standards for the Korean nail industry,” Catherine says.

In the United States, focus is predominantly set on owning one’s own salon, and most nail techs that I’ve spoken to are way too busy running their salons or taking clients to even think about making time to practice and compete. Throw in the cost of travel and hotel stays and it may not outweigh the benefit of competing. But just in case you may be interested, NAILS Magazine’s Competition Insider blog is written by new and veteran competitors and is a great window into the small but thriving nail competitions in the states.

Here are some highlights of the different competitions during the Global Nail Cup.


The Acrylic Sculpture competition had the most competitors and took up two full rooms with 245 competitors and their models.


The Design Sculpture competition was one of the more creative categories.


The Team Relay competition was the loudest and most spirited nail competition I have ever seen. Team members on the sidelines cheered on their fellow competitors. Pictured here is Team Mexico (who won the Best Costume Award) and the Choi Kyung Hee Nail Academy.


From left to right: Anita Lime-Sims, Viv Simmonds, and Catherine Wong teamed up for the Top Artist competition as a relay team. This was Anita's first competition in roughly 12 years.


The 3-D Multimedia Nail Art were displayed in the lobby of the competition venue with entries from all around the world. The art on the left portrays a traditional South Korean wedding. The art on the right portrays an under the sea adventure.


Here I am with Phoi, Nguyen, and Thanh Pang, who came in from the Kelly Pang Professional Nail Care Training Center in Saigon, Vietnam. This was their first time at an international competition.

— Kim

On April 10, 2012, scientists from the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) revealed their findings for a study they conducted last year. Out of 25 nail products tested, 12 products that claimed they were “three free” had in them one or more of the ingredients they claimed to be free of. The Nail Manufacturers Council (NMC) issued a statement not long after the conference saying that it “does not have reason at this time to dispute or disagree with the quantitative results of the laboratory tests, however, it strongly objects to the report’s lack of perspective and balance.”

The term “three free” refers to being free of toluene, formaldehyde, and dibutyl phthalates (DBP), ingredients that, in high concentrations, can lead to side effects like headaches and nausea with the potential risk of cancer in even higher concentration and prolonged exposure. Nail companies began placing the “three free” label on polish bottles after reformulating their products to remove these ingredients in response to the “toxic trio” scare, which was coined by health groups to say that products that contained these three ingredients were not safe to use. The “three free” label is now backfiring on those whose polish was tested in the study.

One of the manufacturers with product that was tested, Miss Professional, is taking the study seriously and issued a statement: “Miss Professional has endeavored at all times, to rigorously comply with all labeling and bottling laws in order to allow consumers and technicians to make informed decisions ... and is undertaking a thorough investigation of its manufacturing and labeling procedures to ensure that all rules and regulations are complied with. The public can be assured that at no time did Miss Professional knowingly or willingly mislabel its products with any intention to harm or deceive any person.”

The purpose of the study’s findings “highlight the need for DTSC’s proposed Safer Consumer Products Regulations which would catalyze efforts to remove unsafe ingredients from consumer goods” as explained by the DTSC. They look closely at toluene and dibutyl phthalate (DBP) levels within the 25 product samples they obtained for the study.

The Nail Manufacturers Council (NMC) refutes the study’s aim. Doug Schoon, chemist at Schoon Scientific and co-chair of the NMC, says that the levels of toluene in the polish samples within the study are already well under safe limits set by the U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Expert Panel of the Cosmetic Ingredient Review (CIR). Schoon stresses that “the most relevant health-related concerns in nail salons are not ingredients, but ventilation, sanitation, education, and work practices. NMC members have worked hard not only to re-formulate their products, but to reach out and educate nail technicians and consumers, in many languages, about best practices.”

Still, it is true that salon workers are being exposed to chemicals that have adverse health risks. One study done by the Boston Public Health Commission in collaboration with Brandeis University measured air quality in nail salons throughout Boston and found high levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the air within salons that did not have adequate ventilation.

So what does this mean for you?

This news reminds us that it is very important that your salon is well ventilated. Use an air conditioner, install ventilation units at each nail station that can suck in acrylic dust and fumes, and keep open doors and windows when possible to prevent you from inhaling harmful chemicals.

Also, don’t let news coverage and negative media attention scare you. You play an active role in maintaining the safety of your clients and your own safety. We have plenty of health and educational resources available to you on NAILS Magazine's website. The PBA also has reports and safety guides in many languages.

You can download the full DTSC report here. You can also download the factual statement by the Professional Beauty Association (PBA) and the NMC here.

If there is anything within the nail industry that concerns you that you would like us to cover, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

— Kim

Jonathan Phan and Sophie Bao Tran are the hosts of the Top Entertainment Report, a weekly show on the Saigon Broadcasting Television Network (SBTN) hosted in both English and Vietnamese. The show aims to create a bridge between the first and second generations of Vietnamese-Americans, covering a mixture of news and events both cultural and modern that affect the Vietnamese community.

In the bottom two clips, Sophie visits Advance Beauty College for a chat with Porter Lynn and John Ruby, the lead actors for Touch, a film by Minh Duc Nguyen. (You can forward the first clip to 7:12 to watch the segment about the film.) I’ve written a few things on the film, Touch, here and here.





Head instructor of nail education for the school, Nancy Nguyen, shows Sophie the basic steps of filing and nail prep. Advance Beauty College gave the actors who play nail techs in the movie a crash course on dong nails for the movie. In the second clip, John Ruby also tries his hand at speaking Vietnamese.

The Top Entertainment Report airs on SBTN on Fridays at 8:30 AM and 8:30 PM, and on Saturdays at 4:30 AM PST. You can check out past episodes of the Top Entertainment Report on their YouTube channel: www.youtube.ug/user/TopEReport.

You can also find The Top Entertainment Report on Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheTopEntertainmentReport

— Kim

Look what I found in my March/April issue of VietSALON Magazine — lì xì! To help celebrate Tết in the Year of the Dragon, Hand and Nail Harmony has come out with a limited edition Gelish gel polish color called Spicy Fortune. It’s a shade of red similar to the red color found on traditional li xi money envelopes and is the perfect shade to help you attract the good fortune already coming your way.


You’ll find one of four different variations of li xi money envelopes in the March/April issue and you’ll also find a little gift within the envelopes — just as good as money!


Thảo Nguyễn, educator for Hand & Nail Harmony, helped create Spicy Fortune especially for the Vietnamese New Year. Thao has also been active in the nail industry, attending beauty shows and helping attendees with proper use of products and techniques in both English and Vietnamese. “I became an educator because I want to be able to help our Vietnamese technician community. I want nail techs to work smarter and earn a better living rather than work harder,” she says. “I'd like to deliver their message to the manufacturer about what they want to see and to help make the working environment safer and friendlier for our techs.”


Thao also helped create the delicious colors in Gelish’s new Spring 2012 gel-polish collection, Candy Land. These glossy colors from left to right are: You’re So Sweet You’re Giving Me A Toothache (pink), You’re Such a Sweet-Tart (lime), Sugar N’ Spice & Everything Nice (magenta), Sugar Daddy (blue), Orange Cream Dream, and Don’t Be Such a Sourpuss (yellow). For more information on any of these products, visit www.nailharmony.com.

— Kim

For anyone in San Jose and Orange County, Calif., Touch, a film by Minh Nguyen, is making its way to select theaters and it needs your help to make its way to more.

The film is about a Vietnamese-American manicurist named Tam, played by Porter Lynn, and her relationships with those around her. Check out the movie trailer above.

I had the chance to catch the film last year at the Vietnamese International Film Festival (ViFF). You can read my original blog post about the movie here.

The film is beautifully made and has won various awards at film festivals throughout the U.S., including Best Cinematography, Best Actress, and Best Storyline at the Boston International Film Festival and Best First Feature at the Santa Rosa International Film Festival. It was also the winner of the Audience Award at ViFF and the Jury Award at the Atlanta Asian Film Festival.

I was hoping the film would steer clear of the stereotypical badmouthing of clients by Vietnamese nail techs, something that has gone viral with comedienne Anjelah Johnson’s comic skit, but there is a scene with this exact subject matter that I felt a little uneasy about. I asked Minh about this during ViFF’s screening of the movie.

“If we can’t poke fun at ourselves then who can?” Minh says.

Sure, in a room mostly filled with a Vietnamese audience during a Vietnamese film festival, it was funny. But does this depiction of Vietnamese nail techs badmouthing clients in Vietnamese reflect negatively on the already negative view of Vietnamese salons? Or is this just lighthearted humor that the general audience will accept simply as humor within the story?

Luckily, this is just one scene. These nail techs provide the comic relief throughout the film and they do a great job at livening up the nail salon. One of the actors is even a nail tech herself. Tam, the main character, distances herself from the gossiping nail techs and does her best to help her client through his problems. She goes just a little further than an actual nail tech might go in helping her client, and that’s where things get interesting.

"It’s important that you try to catch Touch on the opening weekend because that’s the only way to ensure that this film will stay in the theaters beyond the opening week. If you have family and friends in San Jose and Orange County, please help us spread this news," director Minh Nguyen writes on his blog.

TOUCH opens on Friday, March 9, at AMC Eastbridge 15:
2190 Eastridge Loop, San Jose, CA 95122

The film will make its way to Southern California on Friday, March 16 at AMC Block 30:
20 City Blvd West, Orange, CA 92868

I’m a big supporter of independent films, especially those made by Vietnamese-American film makers, and hope this film does well. Hopefully movie-goers will enjoy the movie so much that they will forget about that one scene which must not be named.

— Kim

ISSE Long Beach just happened to be the same weekend as the Tết Festival held in Garden Grove, Calif. (20 minutes away from Long Beach). I invited anyone who was willing to accompany me to head down to Little Saigon to attend the festival. Held by the Union of Vietnamese Student Associations (UVSA), a highly-spirited, dedicated, and hard-working group of mostly high school and college students, this Tết Festival is the largest Vietnamese Lunar New Year festival in the world held outside of Vietnam filled with traditional and modern food, games, and entertainment.


I passed by a booth owned by Lexor, whose corporate offices are located not too far from the festival. They have been a proud sponsor of UVSA’s Tet Festival for many years. For a few hours each day, Lexor turned their booth into a photo booth for photo ops. Visitors were able to pick out cards that carried their zodiac signs and take photos in Lexor’s Lumnious pedicure spa chairs. The photos were printed and given to visitors as a Year of the Dragon souvenir. Lexor's Jennifer Nguyen holds a "My friend is a Dragon" sign with a friend who just happened to be born in the Year of the Dragon.



Here's a photo of Nguyễn Hằng Ny, the winner of the Miss Vietnam of Southern California pageant, at the Lexor booth. The pageant was held on the first night of the festival.


In the heart of the festival was Làng Việt Nam, a cultural village built from scratch by various student groups. Here I am drinking tea in a hut constructed out of dried banana leaves.



And here I am selling bread.



There was even a (plastic) fish market.



Vietnamese calligraphy.



Old friends from the college days working as the operations team made sure the festival ran smoothly.

I’m so glad I had the chance to attend.

— Kim

I love going to beauty trade shows and getting the chance to talk to manufacturers and educators about their new inventions and products. The International Salon & Spa Expo (ISSE) Long Beach was held January 28-30 at the Long Beach Convention Center and brought in more than 40,000 attendees from around the world.

In the Esthetics America & Wellness Pavilion, attendees enjoyed a quieter and more intimate room to try out new products from skin care to make-up airbrush kits.

Nubar’s Diane Self and Lona Martinez are pictured with Katie Cazorla, star of the reality TV show Nail Files, who promoted her consumer polish line named after her salon, The Painted Nail.

The team at Odyssey Nail Systems comes out to nail shows in full force. Pictured from left to right are Yeojung Shim, founder Trang Nguyen, CEO Vannie Luu, Amy Oung, Darcy Lenhardt-Murray, Malia Ball, and Fabian Faccio.

Odyssey educator Amy Oung, who is also a contributing writer for VietSALON Magazine, created these designs using the company’s iGel pure soak-off gel. She dropped three i-Gel colors into the nail (#2 Lilac Luster, #25 Arctic Circle white, and #14 Tahitian Tides blue) and marbleized it with a gel brush. After curing, she added hologram discs and sparkles.

Christrio’s owner Christine Le gathered quite an audience as she demonstrated her new eye-catching gel techniques.

The Backscratchers team, Christine Vargas, Don Adler, Carol McCoy, Diana Snipe, and co-founder Michael Megna promoted a wide range of products including a new Herbal Synergy cuticle enhancer made of natural ingredients.

Christina Korodan, Jessica Ayala, Chris Hofer, Garrett Kellenberger, and Juli Miller introduced INM’s new Gelavish Enhance-It Transforming Tint Gel Polish.

The Gelavish Enhance-It Transforming Tint Gel Polish comes in 5 colors with a Dual base/top coat. The 5 tints will change color or add effect to any of INM's 70 Gelavish colors.

For more coverage of ISSE Long Beach 2012, here's a photo gallery from the NAILS Magazine website. I also wrote about nail art at the show and about a cool heat-activated self heating product on the NAILS From the Editor's Blog.

Next year's ISSE Long Beach will be held January 26-28, 2013.

— Kim