Regardless of whether you are starting up your own salon or you are reorganizing your salon’s cluttered closets, ensuring that you have the right acrylic nail supplies list that can help you to better serve your customers, stay organized, and keep your salon running like a well-oiled machine.
So how do you make sure that you have the right nail technician supplies and acrylic nails supplies on hand? Read on for a complete nail salon equipment checklist to follow when ordering, restocking, or re-organizing your nail salon supplies, and to ensure that your customers leave with beautiful nails!
Nail Salon Equipment Checklist
Although nail salons require a lot of equipment, including spa pedicure chairs, furniture, manicure desks, chairs and administrative supplies, the list of nail technician supplies can be overwhelming—and easy to forget an item or two. Below is a summary of the nail technician supplies you need, and why you need them.
1. Nail Clippers – First and foremost, you can’t very well trim your customers’ nails to begin their manicures without having the proper nail clippers. However, nail technicians and salon owners shouldn’t purchase any old nail clippers to do the job. A true nail technician requires a few different types of nail clippers, including the following:
- Nail edge clippers – Standard nail clippers aren’t strong enough to clip a customer’s acrylic nails. Nail edge clippers allow you to shape acrylic nails, such as creating a straight edge or rounded edge easily.
- Standard nail clippers – It’s also helpful to have a pair of standard nail clippers on hand for customers who do not have acrylic nails.
- Toenail clippers – Although you might feel compelled to use standard nail clippers for pedicures, you are likely to find that these also aren’t strong enough to trim toenails. Having a pair of clippers designed specifically for trimming toenails will make your pedicure that much easier.
2. Acrylic Nail Tips – Although you can purchase acrylic nail tips practically anywhere now but before you could’ve gotten them at any regular department or beauty supply store, and not all of them are designed for salon quality.
Additionally, many salon suppliers offer sets of nail tips of up to 500. Purchasing these larger sets will not only give you a variety of sizes for different sized nails and hands but also keep your salon stocked.
3. Acrylic Nails Kit – Acrylic nails are a very popular customer request in today’s salons; therefore, it’s important to ensure that your salon has acrylic nail supplies on the list for nail technician kits. A complete acrylic nails kit should include the following items:
- Acrylic Powder
- Acrylic Liquid
- Dappen Dish (glass cup)
- Brush
4. Nail Cleanser – Nail cleanser is different from nail polish remover, which also makes an appearance on this nail salon equipment checklist. Nail cleanser helps keep nails as well as the skin around the nails clean to help prevent infections. It also helps acrylic nails tips to stick better to the natural nail after application.
5. Nail Polish Remover – As mentioned above, nail polish remover is a must-have item on the nail salon equipment checklist. Our advice? Be sure to select a quality nail polish remover that also serves as a moisturizer to prevent dryness in the hands.
6. Hand Soap – Although many nail technicians opt to use any old antibacterial soap, it’s best to use a soap that is good for soaking as well as cleansing hands. However, antibacterial soap can also leave hands feeling dry and tight. Using a hand soap that is gentle for soaking will help soften the nails and nail beds.
7. Manicure Bowl – A manicure bowl is a good item to have nearby when soaking is necessary. A small, round bowl will certainly do the trick, however, there are bowls designed specifically for resting hands on it while nails soak. It is a must-have in every acrylic nail supplies.
8. Moisturizer – One of the parts of a mani or pedi that customers look forward to most is leaving with soft and smooth hands; therefore, a quality moisturizer is necessary. This is especially important for customers who have dry or sensitive skin.
9. Nail File Kit – Having a good nail file kit on hand will make your job that much easier. With a variety of files, such as ones with rougher and smoother edges, you can file away rough edges of acrylic nails, broken acrylic nails, or even remove stubborn nail polish with ease. A good nail file should always be available in your acrylic nail supplies.
10. Nail bits set – In addition to having a robust nail file kit, having a good set of bits are also great to have on hand. These types of nail bits set are made with high-quality carbine which makes the file incredibly durable and hygienic which is a great addition to your acrylic nail supplies.
11. Electric Nail File – In your supplies, you may also want to keep an electric nail file. This enables you to file customers’ nails in half the time. We wrote a great article where we reviewed 10 of the best. Read to find out more!
12. Nail Buffer Blocks – Nail buffer blocks are made with four different surfaces, each designed to file, buff, polish, and shine nails. A good acrylic nail supplies should have a nail buffer.
13. Nail Glue – Sometimes nail glue can be used to repair a broken acrylic nail instead of mixing acrylic powder and liquid. Nail glue is easy and convenient to use in a snap to repair one broken acrylic nail. However, if a customer’s acrylic nails are in really rough shape or if a full set is needed, then it may be best to use acrylic powder and liquid.
14. Cuticle Exfoliator – You can’t give your customer a proper manicure without tending to their cuticles. A cuticle exfoliator is a great tool to help you remove dry, rough cuticles without causing pain.
15. Cuticle Oil – In addition to using a cuticle exfoliator, cuticle oil will help you soften cuticles, making it easier to push them back, exposing more of the nail bed. When creating acrylic designs a good cuticle oil is a must in your acrylic nail supplies.
16. Cuticle Pusher – Pushing cuticles back exposes more of the nail bed, which provides a clean and neat look as well as a better surface to apply acrylics.
17. Cuticle Nippers – This is a great tool to be added to your acrylic nail supplies. It aids in the process of cleaning up cuticles. However, it’s best not to rely on these for every manicure as excessive cutting can cause infection and bleeding.
18. Bond Aid – Bond Aid is a chemical that is applied on the natural nail before applying nail glue and/ or acrylic powder and liquid. It also helps balance the pH levels in natural nails prior to applying acrylic nails.
19. Topcoat – You can’t complete a manicure without a quality topcoat. Applying a topcoat to your customers’ nails will protect the nails as well as help keep their manicures looking fresh until their next visit.
20. Manicure Towelettes – These are handy for removing chemicals from customers’ hands after the manicure is complete. These can also be used to clean brushes after use. Although many nail technicians can purchase manicure towelettes in bulk from various suppliers, some nail technicians simply use pieces of paper towels instead.
21. Toe Separators – Toe separators are another must-have item in your acrylic nail supplies. Especially for pedicures. Depending on the size and shape of the feet, top separators can make it easy for nail technicians to paint each toenail without one toe smudging polish on the other.
22. Pedicure Foot File – Yes, a pedicure foot file is also known as a callus remover and it is different than the various nail files we reviewed above. A pedicure foot file is designed with both rough and fine surfaces can be used to help smooth rough areas of the feet and even rid the feet of calluses.
23. Salon Smock – A salon smock is a good thing to keep nearby your workspace as it is can help protect your clothes from chemicals as well as keep your clothes clean for your next appointment!
24. Nail Technician Supplies Toolbox – The number of nail technician supplies and salon equipment we mentioned in this list can be overwhelming, especially when you think about where you are going to store it! This is why we recommend having a toolbox to store and keep all your acrylic nail supplies organized.
Keeping your equipment and acrylic nail supplies in one place will not only help you to stay organized but will also make it easy to find the tool you are looking for when you need it. We also recommend purchasing this item last so you know which size is necessary.
A Handy Nail Salon Equipment Checklist
All in all, having a complete nail salon equipment checklist can help keep your salon stocked. By having the right equipment and the right acrylic nail supplies handy, you can ensure that you appear organized and professional for customers.
Did we forget anything? If so, we’d love to be able to add it to our list! Be sure to let us know your thoughts in the comments box below. Be sure to also share this article with your friends!
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