Good Morning and welcome back to another wonderful article of Nail Tech Spotlight! Today were have one of the greatest nail chemist in the industry. He is wonderful adored for his amazing contributions to the education of the nail community and highly esteemed nail judge for Nailympia, I want to welcome, my good friend, Vitaly Solomonoff!
Good Morning, how are you doing today?
Good morning, Calvin! Never better! Thank you for asking! 😊
I must say I am very excited and eager to interview you today, it’s wonderful to have such a highly regarded and respected chemist in our industry devote their time. I must ask, how did you get started being a chemist?
I should admit that I am very honored to answer your questions because I love your blog and I love your smart queries you address to your audience. They awaken the professionalism among nail professionals, which is so important nowadays. Needless to mention, that our industry is not currently in the best shape due to many circumstances. You are one of those who belong to the youngest generation who DO care about this profession, which is the most precious thing.
My way to the cosmetic world began with a medical university many years ago. I have always been dedicated to chemistry. All medical students’ study so many chemistries including pharmaceutical, organic, colloidal chemistry. The latter is a base for the entire cosmetic chemistry. When I graduated the university, I constantly felt that the clinical medicine is nice and so important for people, but… ups… I didn’t feel one important component in there… Creativity. I wanted to make this world as healthy as it is a beautiful place. So, eventually, I found myself in esthetic medicine and later in the nail part of it.
Everything started with a beauty school, which I took as a hobby. At the same school I quickly came to the conclusion that the level of education was so low and dramatically outdated. Then I elaborated the course for manicure and pedicure and the course became highly popular because it explained the skin, nail structures and it explained how the ingredients of products really worked in the nails and skin, not as the advertising campaigns promised. I disclosed the truth to the cosmetic and nail professionals, and it became my top priority.
Later I was invited to be a part of the group that formulated highly professional topical products for skin and nails issues and sort of pathologies. They were chemists and pharmacologists while I had the medical background which they needed in regard to the skin and nails. So, we quickly became a group of professionals. We could spend 24/7 in the labs and salons performing the endless tests with the help of volunteers. It was very similar to the pop music industry when the people come together and create unforgettable creations such as Beatles,ABBA, or Rolling Stones. We literally created the same symphonies in the language of chemical molecules that could delight the skin as melody can with the musical tunes. Later, I met professor Puchkova and graduated from her Cosmetic chemist school. A year after I was invited by Society of Cosmetic Chemists of the USA to become their constant member for my several formulations and studies.
Well thank you, I am very glad you enjoy my blog, I try my best to shake up the industry as best as I can. I’m glad you saw a flaw such as the outdated information in schools, and took it as a way to change it for the better that is really admirable of you. What keeps you going in the nail industry?
Creativity and the very special atmosphere of it. Lovely, passionate and simultaneously competitive spirit of people who belong to this profession. I have always felt it in the air.
Do you believe we need more scientifically driven people in our industry?
In the ideal world that would be perfect. In our real world I wish nail-techs… No, a “technician” is the wrong word and I insist on it. I prefer other terms like nail professionals or nail cosmetologists. So, I wish they were a bit more knowledgeable.The current educating system and sometimes regulations are generally outdated. There is a gap between modern science and education in our industry. I bet that knowledgeable specialists can do miracles for their clients. We have everything for it. We can recover nails, we can solve the problems if we know how things work in the nail unit or skin. Trust me, it is not space science.
A knowledgeable professional can obtain the professional mindset and thinking in few months of intensive studies. Unfortunately, the education system in our industry focuses on the so-called technical skills, which are illusive and misleading. Knowledge, professional thinking and understanding should lead before you perform some technical skill. It works magically. If you try to study the details on the skin structures or chemical composition of your product, this knowledge is passing to your hands with much less efforts and useless training. What we currently have is the situation when students are trained without any knowledge and understanding. After all they are constantly trying to collect the information and answers for their questions and issues they have got during their work.
I 100% agree! I wish we had more education than just the borderline surface level materials. We don’t have to be doctors, but we can really go above and beyond and answer the burning questions that do circulate every year. Being a chemist in our industry, what are some dangers you are seeing happening frequently?
I see that nail professionals pay little attention to the ingredients, labels and the functionality of the products. Our colleagues often blindly trust manufacturers’ ads and follow their persuasions and encouragement. For instance, let’s take scrubs or peelings. According to the ads “our scrubs will slough your dead skin cells and make your skin better… “ In fact, any peel or scrub induces very significant physiological processes in the skin. It doesn’t only remove the “dead skin’ to make your skin happy. If you understand those processes it will allow you to magically transform your nail and skin to a better an healthier state. Just learn how to do so. Again, all this knowledge doesn’t require to be Einstein or Mr. Mask 😊
Another concern is allergy and ways to prevent them. Again, if the topic is learned, I would wager it can be completely avoided for the sake of you and your clients!
Ahh yes I do see what you mean, it is one thing to take a class or watch a demo on a nail product but very often do we just assume how it works and go with the flow. Well let me ask, what are some ways we can tackle those issues and prevent them from happening?
The key is knowledge and education. My dear colleagues such as Doug Schoon, Vivian Valenty, Perry Romanowsky, Marian Newman, Tracy Ann Shelverton, Manuel Mignorance, Jim McConnel, the journalists like Alex Fox, who devoted to our industry do their best for it.
Yes! you and them put out some amazing educational articles, videos, and in person tutorials that are really amazing, I hope nail techs can take this and add them on social media or follow their works to get a deeper understanding of what they are suing and doing. Now I see you have been a judge for Nailympia, how rewarding has it been for you?
Yes. I have been always interested in perfect professional works. The esthetic aspects of our works are always a sign of professionalism. Judging had been my greatest challenge on my way to the industry before I kindly asked the legend Vicki Peters to become her student at her judging school. I was on heaven when she replied that I can be her student in several competitions. By the way, I learned the art of the professional judging in the same group with Jim McConnell 😊 Vicki generously shared the meaning of the perfect structure and the laws of esthetics and nail beauty with us. My next mentor in judging was Rise’ Carter. There is a very popular proverb – “The beauty is in an eye of beholder”… or “every man to his taste”… Well guys, it is true for our clients, but not for us, professionals, because the professional beauty has its own laws, which is combination of color, lines, angles, arches, etc… When we know those laws, we have a key to make anybody beautiful. Thus, we can change the world for the better.
Nailympia is a perfect place to make this statement true.
To be honest, my wildest dream is resurgence of the Vicki’s judging school for the sake of our industry. It’s a part of our profession and passion as well.
I am very jealous to got the opportunity to train with Vicki, I hear nothing but constant amazing things about her. Do you have any advice for new nail techs interested in participating in competitions?
Yes, I do. The simple and short answer – become a judge. It sounds paradoxical. But become the judge! Thoroughly study the rules and requirements and don’t be afraid to ask questions.Ask every judge in the internet who is suggested to judge your competition. You should get clear and professional answers from organizers or experts. If you don’t get them – don’t waste your time and money. Take it as a rule of your professional life –evaluate your own works as well as works of your colleagues, people on the streets according the professional 10-point system and train your eye. Be honest, critical, but kind and friendly and know the solution to the issues if you see them. ….And… don’t afraid to offer something wrong, don’t be afraid to break the rules if you are sure in your success – sometimes the wildest ideas or extremely brave styles become a part of the world fashion.
Should I mention another legend Tom Holcomb, who offered his famous and extremely elegant addition to the classic “pink-and white” in the form of sculptured lunulas at one of the competitions??? He performed it so impeccably and flawless, that even the experienced judges couldn’t recognize that they were created with white acrylic powder. Later it became a long term fashionable trend while Tom won all the world competitions! I can also mention my spouse, whose “decadence” style became a moto for many fashion brands in Europe.
I think that is wonderful advice, and gaining a deeper understanding into the rules and regulations could very well help serious competitors. I think you have led a trailblazing career, and have given so much news and insight to helping nail techs create a safer environment and healthier practices. What is in store for your future in the nail industry?
Well, I am not a fortune-teller like the famous character by lovely Whoopi Goldberg in the “Ghost” the movie 😊 But I believe in the clear brains and the prosperous future.
I love the mystery! Thank you for letting me interview you today, how can we reach you on social media?
I can’t tell I am active in the social media because of my work. However I am open to every contact via facebook or email or What’sApp. Thank you for your time, Calvin. Thank you for the opportunity to share my thoughts through your smart and nice questions with our colleagues! It was a real pleasure!
Oh I am just very thankful you could devote your precious time. Thank you all out there for tuning int to our latest issue of Nail Tech Spotlight and if you ever see Vitaly at shows be sure to stop by and say hello! Until then, I will see you later sweets!
Leave a Reply