The Year Of - Shabana Karim, founder of the successful UAE chain The Nail Spa

We ask industry experts from the worlds of beauty, spa, nails and hair what shaped our industry in 2016 and what lies ahead for 2017

NAILS

Shabana Karim is the founder and owner of successful UAE chain The Nail Spa. She believes competition will be fierce in 2017 and that, consequently, service will need to be first class. Time-pressed women will be motivated by multitasking packages that offer simultaneous multiple treatments.

What, do you believe, was the most influential industry innovation in 2016?

At The Nail Spa we launched a new type of long-lasting gel polish called Evo Gel in September. Evo Gel was the first gel to have an oxygenating base, meaning the nail is able to breathe through the polish. The benefits of this are that the client’s nail doesn’t get damaged as is seen in traditional gel polishes, and it is also prayer friendly. We found this to be extremely popular across the region as ladies on the go are wanting longer wearing polishes but are knowledgeable about product ingredients and care about the health of their nails. Anything that can enhance, beautify and not damage your nails was always going to be a great success!

What product developments do you predict for 2017?

Continuing from 2016, I feel that 2017 is going to be about more revolutionary products that allow enhancements and extensions with a lot less damage than what is on the market right now. The trend for long nails is without a doubt going to continue so there will be a great demand for products that can sustain this. Of course, there will also be lots of fun nail art, which is exciting! This year (2016) was an interesting year where we saw everything from chrome to aquarium nails.

What treatment developments do you predict for 2017?

We predict that in 2017 more and more women will be increasingly motivated to have treatments that give value for their time. Convenience will become even more important! In preparation for this we are launching a new section to our menu called the TNS Multitasker, where you can chose from a variety of bundled treatment packages that can be done at the one chair, simultaneously. We are also phasing out the drying station and introducing dryers at the pedicure chair to make getting their and pedis even more convenient and quick!

What market changes do you anticipate in 2017?

Competition is fierce at the moment with new nail salons opening every month. In a bid to standout, there are a lot of establishments playing on gimmicks or aspects that aren’t related to nail services themselves. However, our customers are more knowledgeable than ever and want to understand more about the treatments and the products that we are using, rather than try gimmicks. I feel that there is going to be a big shift back to the basics of running nail salons – focusing on creating the perfect classic manicure as opposed to being able to do crazy chrome nails but not offering high-quality, basic services.

Do you foresee any great changes in business practice for our industry in 2017?

As I said, quality is going to be key as opposed to just following the trends. A beauty trend that is more popular than ever is the “natural look”. This is interlinked to the fact that classic manicures will always be the base of a nail salons business. If you don’t ensure that your classic treatments are of the highest standard and you just focus on the latest craze, your clientele will notice. After so many years of successful business, we only recently launched our artbar, which focuses on nail art and new trends. We wanted to wait until we had the basics to the highest standard we could possibly achieve. Now, we feel that we are able to branch out and have some fun knowing our quality will remain at the highest level in all aspects of our business.