Good morning and welcome back to another special episode of Nail Tech Spotlight, today we have the amazing Hazel Dixon! Hazel Dixon is from the United Kingdom and was so gracious to extend her time and chat for this lovely interview. are you all ready to meet the celebrity competition winner, herself? Let’s bring her in!
Hi! Good morning, how are you today?
Hiiii, I’ve got soooo much to do today, no different to any other day to be honest but I am one of those people that have to be kept busy or I get bored lol
I wouldn’t say that it’s my best trait as I’m always knackered but it’s also very fulfilling.
I thrive on it and also I love helping people and seeing others excel, most of my day is answering emails, researching new products, ordering and filming new tutorials etc.
My goodness you do sound like such a busy bee! I would imagine thats how you became so accomplished today! Well, if you’re ready to begin, I wanted to start off with how did you get started the nail industry?
It all started in 2006 after having my 3rd child, I wanted to be able to do something that would enable me to work around my children. I was a full-time mum to three children before I started my nail career in 2005, qualifying in 2006. I realized they would all be going to school and I needed to find something to fill my time. I’ve always been interested in the hair and beauty industries but had an equal interest in art & interior design, however as you can imagine, with three young kiddies under the age of five it was very hard to find a course that fit around my commitments. I’d had my nails done by a friend’s mum a few times when I was younger, and although I liked them, I found pink & whites boring. Quite a few years later, I noticed a woman with glitter tips – they caught my eye as they were stunning and I thought that was something I could do as it was ‘only’ nails. I admit, I was one of those people who thought I could do one course and start earning money.
I did my homework before booking onto a beginner’s course, as in the UK, currently we do not have to hold a government qualification to work as a nail technician. I started with Google and one company kept popping up with very good reviews on all nail forums; it was CND. I then looked at its website to see where I could train. I spoke to my partner about the cost of babysitters while I was away and he was very supportive and happy for me to do the course, yet financially it was a stretch, so we had to borrow the money.
I was extremely nervous, as a young adult I was confident, but I was a stay-at-home mum who hardly ever went out. I’d dedicated the last five years to my husband and children, but in the process I’d unknowingly lost myself and all my confidence. Walking into that classroom was very daunting and I started to doubt whether I could do it. However, I had no choice but to go for it as we’d borrowed the money. I was lucky, I had a fabulous educator who was extremely good at what she did and very supportive. The first day was theory and I was totally bamboozled. I never realized there was so much to know about nails, anatomy, health & safety, chemicals… the list goes on and it all intrigued me. As the course progressed I soon understood that doing nails was far from an easy option, as there was so much to learn and I loved it. Since then I have been addicted to nails, I wanted to learn everything I could so I attended around 3-5 courses every year for many, many years. I’ve travelled to Europe, America and Canada to learn from some of the best nail artists.
I never expected in a million years that I would run a nail salon, and be a director & owner of the Hazel Dixon Nail Artist Academy where I write all our course materials, teach, do maintenance of the website & teaching via our online platform plus the HD Nail TV subscription. In addition I am the owner & Director of Hazel Dixon Nails Ltd which are the UK distributor’s for Akzentz and my own brand HD Professional Nail Systems®.
I run all the day to day operations including the website, ordering, inventory, R&D for new products & trends, social media etc . It can be so overwhelming sometimes but I wouldn’t have it any other way!
Oh my goodness. Just, my goodness. Wow! You are stellar. And I am not saying that for the future Hazel Dixon discount. *laughs* But no seriously, what a story! To be honest, my very favorite part of your story is actually you borrowing money. Because on the outside looking in, especially at all your achievements, you seem so “achieved” and of high status. So to know you had the most beautiful humble beginning its very heart warming. It’s so down to earth, and I treasure that. It shows how much a simple dream can do in reality if you just work hard enough at it. So may I ask, when did you start competing, and how has that been like for you?
I started entering competitions in 2009, One of the main incentives for me was to get my timings down because I wasn’t making much profit from my clients as I was taking far too long. I was also struggling financially to afford to attend some of the classes I wanted to do and entering the competition was around £20 at the time so I decided to go and do that so I could get feedback from judges and It “made” me practice hard to get my timings down. As usual with nails – I became addicted to competing lol I continued to compete regularly for the following 10 years and then in the last few years I became a judge at many national and international competitions. Competing has made me into the tech I am today, I truly believe if I hadn’t of competed I wouldn’t be doing what I am now and I would not have met the amazing people I know now. It has been and continues to be one the best things I decided to do. It’s not all champagne and roses but even when things go wrong and you don’t get the results you wanted, I always learn from the experience.
Oh I love that, Im personally afraid to compete, the idea of someone judging whats fun for me, sounds like such a downer. But maybe one day I will muster the courage, however I am super critical and would love to nitpick someone else! The evil in me just gets off on it. *laughs again*. As a competitor what did you find the most challenging?
The most challenging for me is finding the time to practice and finding models that are reliable. It is often said that a models nails can make up to “50%” of your scores, essentially what this means is the models nails and skin is so important as it can make what your creating “easier” or harder, a model with long, slender nails and beautiful skin is much easier to work on than someone with bitten, chewed nails and rough skin.
However finding a model that has the perfect nails and skin plus someone that will show up for practices, take time off work to attend the competitions with can be very hard. For me I always choose my model based on reliability and “decent” nails, so they may not have the perfect nails for a comp but they will always show up, be patient and understand how important it is to me. It can cost anywhere around the £2,000-£5,000 per competition when I compete depending on where I go, it’s a huge commitment for both the competitor and the models. I do though love the process and how much I learn throughout it all, it’s a fantastic way to improve your skillset.
It costs how much? Do you know many packets of ramen noodles and yum yum sauce I can buy with that? Oh hunny I would rather go to Disney! I definitely applaud your commitment. Jokes aside, that takes heart, I would say investing in yourself is one of the best things anyone could ever do. And look at what it has done for you, you have a beautiful business! I can now borrow from you! I see you have since began educating, what brought you on to becoming a nail educator?
I never thought about teaching or being an educator, it wasn’t something I initially wanted to do, I was focused on being a better tech, building up my clientele and earning a living from something I loved doing. Becoming an educator was a natural progression though, as after winning some competitions and other techs seeing my work, I was being asked regularly to teach them. Being an educator comes with big responsibilities and it’s not something I took lightly when I went on to complete my L4 PTTLS Teaching Qualification. Teaching nails and being able to do nails are 2 completely different things and many get these confused. At first I wasn’t sure if I would be able to be a good educator but I knew, like with everything I do, I would put my all into it and do my upmost to pass on all my skills to the up and coming techs. I never teach anything that I am not 100% competent in and know that I can confidently teach it. Writing your own course manuals, lesson plans, assessments etc is not for the faint hearted, It takes a lot of time and research to ensure it’s done properly. My driving force is knowing that I can help to carve out new career paths and share my knowledge with so many others. Now with being an educator and product developer I can really help to make positive changes in the industry and lead by example. It isn’t a feeling I can describe really but I love seeing others doing well and knowing that I have helped them on their way.
I swear having passionate educators like you is what really drives this industry forward. Passion does so much for the new nail tech. How is your style of educating different from others in this industry?
I never did well at school as I found nearly all the subjects super boring, the teacher would stand up in front of the class, read things out of a text book and it was never fun. The teachers never “engaged” with the students, it was very typically a traditional way of teaching.
I feel my style is a bit different to most as I personally have always struggled with theory and retaining the information I’m taught, I am definitely more of a practical type of person so I incorporate a lot of practical, hands on for the theory elements where possible, so that my students find it easier to learn and retain the information. A lot of theory that we teach at my academy is done with videos and images not just “text” books and manuals – I genuinely feel by adding all the different learning styles into the theory it really helps students retain the information. I have what my students call “silly” phrases and words that relate to what I’m teaching them and they always comment on remembering what I said because I make it fun and relatable.
Yes! Perfect! I love fun educators, I too struggle with retaining information. I’m what you can call a double reader, I read the first time for clarity, and the second for comprehension. It’s a struggle, but I am glad you made your academy well rounded for all learning styles. What made you start HD Academy?
When I first started my academy back in 2012 there were many training schools that taught the basics but hardly any that offered more intermediate and advanced training in nails. I had travelled a lot learning what I wanted and I wanted to be able to offer this type of training to techs in the UK. Being able to offer different trainings in shapes like the edge, stiletto, dragon, butterfly etc along with art techniques like one stroke, aquarelle, flat 3d, fantasy art etc was a passion of mine. Roll on 10 plus years later this type of training is readily accessible to every tech be it in house or online, things have progressed and move on which fantastic.
As of today I have over 100 courses/workshops I offer through my academy which means there is something for everyone, no matter what stage of their career they are at we have a class for them.
Oh that is beautiful! I will admit, I am very envious of learning overseas, you can just tell it’s more advanced than what we receive in the states. I can travel from Georgia to Utah, and I’m still gonna get the same thing, but London to Germany? Nope, different world. What is your highlight of running HD Academy?
Here in the UK we have the Scratch Star Awards, it’s the most prestigious awards for nail technicians in the country. My academy won Nail Team of the year for 3 years consecutively for its dedication to education and training, we went on to go into the “Hall of Fame” – For me the academy and my team winning these awards is an absolute honour.
As a team we truly believe that our passion, knowledge, skills and our 100% dedication to raising the industry standards year on year helps our students go on to be successful. Our entire team share the same aspirations and dreams to deliver the very best education we can; passing on everything we know and wanting every techncian that leaves the classroom to be full of knowledge, to have learnt new skills and techniques and, to leave feeling inspired. I can not put into words how much respect and admiration I have for every single one of my team, the way they handeled and adapted to the “covid-19” situation with such a hard 12 months and beyond is testimant to exceptional qualities they behold and the unrivalled support they have for each other and the industry. As indiviuals we all have a voice which is one of the keys to the success of ourteam. When everyone feels heard, then they feel valued, this means we have positive working relationships (and friendships) and we are all consistent and confident in delivering the academies message through our education- skilled and knowledgeable education provided with honesty and putting the needs of the students first and foremost- before profit and ‘popularity’.
I often have to pinch myself as to how “lucky” I am to be surrounded and supported by a group of Educators that I can also call my friends and know, no matter what, they are behind me all the way even when difficult situations arise. I’m honoured to have such hard working, enthusiatic and like minded Education team who consistantly go above and beyond to make sure the standards we have come to expect of the HD Nail Artist Academy are continually fulfilled year after year. We all take our role as Educators extremely seriously and know we have a huge responsibility in ensuring what we deliver continues to meet this fast paced and ever-changing industry by continuously updating our own skills (CPD), while bringing awareness of the issues currently affecting our industry.
We all feel incredibly honoured and will continue to usethe great platform winning this award has given us to continue to showcase just how important it is to have not only quality and informative education, but also show when you work together as a team and all have the same mindset, just how much of difference and impact it can have on everyone in the industry.
I love the passion you have for your team, your brand, what you all have to give. It’s all so remarkable. I could just listen to your story all day, it is very satisfying and makes me want to grow more within myself as well. You are such a great speaker. And just so superb! HD Pro Nails is also a superb brand, how did you get started having your own line of products?
This is something I said 10 years ago I would never ever do!!! But here we are. I started out in R&D (Research and development of products) with NSI in America. I did this alongside Denise Wright, we helped NSI to develop new ranges and products for their brand. I did this for around 2 years and it was this, that “peaked” my interest in how and why nail products are made the way they are and how sometimes tweaking a formula just a little bit had a huge impact on how it applied as well as its longevity. It was fascinating!!!
As an educator that also had an academy I found it increasingly difficult to find a brand that would “work” with us as an independent academy, being independent was something I felt strongly about as I wanted my students to be able to come on my courses and not HAVE purchase a specific brand just to be able to attend. Many brands, which I respect and understand why they do, make students buy their kit to attend the training, I wanted my students have more freedom.
As I had worked with so many brands over the years I knew I had a good understanding and working knowledge of them to be able to guide students to make their own choices on the products they used but also what I wanted and needed form a product which is why I started my own line. I initially started out with an Acrylic range after working with a UK manufacturer on its development, since then it has snowballed into an entire range of products from brushes, tools, gel polish, hard gels and nail art. It is so much hard work but worth it, the regulations are constantly changing and keeping up with it can be difficult but as I said before I love a challenge and like to be busy.
Having my own brand is very rewarding and is great for the academy as we have an entire product line that students can use and have access to for their training but still to do this day we do not make students purchase our products to attend our courses – we give our students the choice to bring any professional product of their choosing. We also offer brand specific training for those that want to learn specifically about HD pro products and application techniques as well as Akzentz product training too.
Oh wow! That is so cool. I love how you didn’t want to do it, but now that you have you love it. And how nice of you to offer flexibility into other products as well. Thats very kind of you, because secretly new students are so wide eyed for what they like, and we can only change their mind so much. But having your own brand for your own academy I bet it the most amazing thing. It is two in one! Lastly, how can nail techs get in touch with you, and HD Pro Nails?
Facebook: Hazel Dixon Nail Artist & Academy, Hazel Dixon, HD Professional Nail Systems, Akzentz_uk
Instagram: @hazeldixon @hdnailacademy @hdpronails @akzentz_uk
Website: www.hazeldixonnailartistacademy.com, www.hazeldixonnails.com, www.hdnailacademyonline.com
USA HD Pro Distributors: www.gelessentialz.com (Gina Silvestro) and www.hdnailsupply.com (Carrie Timmons)
Email: hazeldixonnails@yahoo.com
Hazel, can I call you just Hazel? I thank you so much for taking the time out of your busy schedule and schooling to be here with me today. I have enjoyed you immensely and have a new found sense of pride and love for you. It was already an all time high, but now it’s just to the moon. Everyone, be sure to follow Hazel Dixon on all platforms, and don’t hesitate to reach out if you have educational questions about her academy. Until then, I will see you all later sweets.
Leave a Reply