By: Samantha Branson

​

Embellish Nail Salon and boutique owners, Wendy Pursch and Lisa McQueen, are founding an apprenticeship program for Crockett High School cosmetology program students with the ultimate goal to hire them as they graduate.

 

Crockett High School is a tuition free vocational school in west Austin that offers a program in cosmetology, which allows students to graduate with a high school diploma and the license needed to practice hair or nails.

 

“Nowadays it’s important to have a trade or a skill unless you want to make minimum wage,” Ida Villarreal, Crockett High School cosmetology teacher, said. “It’s really wonderful that we have these in high school so that when they graduate high school they have a job or profession and if they want to go to college they can make more money putting themselves through college.”

 

Although the school has been around since the 1960s a recent remodel drew media attention and ultimately the attention of salon owners like Pursch and McQueen whom are looking to hire.

 

“One thing a lot of people don’t realize is that in the state of Texas you have to have a license to perform nail services. Most people go to a private school so a lot of our nail technicians have $25,000 in debt,” Pursch said. “We were excited that this opportunity existed for kids out there who wanted to get ahead. We went and visited and were just so impressed with the facilities but even more so the students. They were so poised and professional and friendly and excited about getting a jumpstart on their career in their industry.”

 

The Embellish Salon owners were so impressed that they created an internship program that allows Crockett students to work with Embellish technicians one-on-one and networking opportunities with other high-end salons in the Austin area.

 

“Because they came here and they enjoyed our enthusiasm they created their own apprenticeship program which is very exciting because it’s inspired by us,” Keierra Colins, Crockett High School cosmetology student, said. “They want workers like us which is crazy because we’re still teenagers but it’s because of the level of maturity we have and the level of technique that we learn here.”

 

One thing that these young potential Embellish technicians like about the salon is the level of care taken regarding the nail technician’s health. By ditching toxic nail polishes, acrylic nail services and whirlpool foot spas, Embellish provides a cleaner, safer environment for technicians and clients.

“They’re natural nails and that brings us down to the basics of what we know about nails and nail anatomy and how to keep the nail healthy,” Colins said. “So it’s exciting to use the knowledge that we have and throw it into our workplace.”

 

Infections for clients and respiratory issues for technicians are common in nail salons even though these problems are easily preventable.

 

“The main reason we don’t offer any type of artificial nail service is for safety and health,” Pursch said. “The dust from grinding it off and all the chemicals that go into it can create a pretty hazardous work environment for our employees that are exposed to it everyday. Austin is such a natural and health conscious city we just didn’t feel like there was a huge demand for that.”

 

The movement away from acrylic nails combined with the rise of technicians wanting careers at natural nail salons will help raise the bar for expectations of cleanliness in all nail salons.

 

“We just [want to] let the students know that there are places like Embellish that you can go work at,” McQueen said. “You don’t have to go work in a nail salon that doesn’t have a nice environment or doesn’t focus on the sanitation and cleanliness that we do.”