HONA's guide to pricing your nail services.

As a nail tech, knowing and charging your worth is essential for building a thriving business. Setting the right price for your services not only reflects the value of your expertise but also ensures that your business stays sustainable and profitable. However, determining your rates can be tricky, especially with the many factors to consider: overhead costs, market trends, and the cost of products you use.

At HONA, we believe in empowering nail techs to charge what they deserve! In this blog, we’ll walk you through how to approach pricing with confidence, ensuring that your rates reflect your skills and the quality of the services you provide.

Understanding Your HONA Cost Price

Before you can set your prices, it's crucial to understand the cost of the products you use. Knowing your HONA cost price gives you a clear picture of how much you are spending per treatment and helps you set rates that ensure both profitability and value for your clients.

Here’s a breakdown of the cost prices for some of our most popular products:

PureFoundation 

PureFoundation is a versatile hybrid gel, offering a long-lasting, hypoallergenic option for clients seeking a flawless finish. If you’re offering PureFoundation as a standalone service or with a gel polish, here’s how the costs break down:

• Total cost with gel polish: £1.46
• Express manicure approach (using only PureFoundation and topcoat): £0.90

When pricing this service, consider how much time you’ll spend applying the gel and how much product you use. You can adjust your pricing accordingly depending on whether you’re adding gel polish or just using PureFoundation for a quick, express manicure service.

PureBuild 

PureBuild is our builder gel, designed to support natural nail growth and enhance strength. For clients seeking long-lasting results, this builder gel is a great option.

• Total cost with gel polish: £1.60
• Standard builder gel application with PureBond, Complete Base, PureBuild, and SuperShine Topcoat: £1.16

Pricing based on these cost breakdowns, you ensure that you’re covering your expenses while also making a healthy profit. If you're using gel polish over your builder service, be sure to charge accordingly to cover that additional product cost.

Swift Tips 

Adding Swift Tips to your services is a great way to boost your profits by expanding your offerings beyond gel and builder manicures. These fast-to-apply, hypoallergenic soak-off tips are a safer, more efficient alternative to traditional acrylic extensions. Not only do they offer a quicker service time, but they also deliver excellent retention, giving your clients the long-lasting results they desire without compromising on quality.

• Service cost for Swift Tips: £1.94

While this service has a slightly higher cost, it creates a valuable opportunity to boost your profit margins by pricing accordingly.

True Sculpt 

TrueSculpt hard gel offers ultimate versatility for creating durable long extensions or natural overlays. It’s available in three formulas: Core, Express, and Fibre, allowing you to follow a prescriptive manicure and choose the best option for your clients.

• Core overlay service cost: £0.90
• TrueSculpt Fibre overlay service cost: £0.96
• Cost increase with gel polish and topcoat: £0.68

The cost price of a TrueSculpt service ranges from £0.90 for an overlay using Core to £0.96 for an overlay using TrueSculpt Fibre. It's important to note that when creating extensions, you may use more product, which can increase your cost price. Additionally, when pricing your hard gel services, keep in mind that adding gel polish and topcoat will increase the service cost by £0.68. With the total cost of the service being higher, this provides an opportunity to increase your profit margins while delivering premium results to your clients

Approaching Pricing With Confidence 

Understanding your product costs is the first step in determining what you should charge for your services. Once you have an accurate idea of your product costs, you can factor in other variables like overheads, time, and expertise to determine your rates.

Here’s how to approach pricing with confidence:

1. Calculate Your Costs
   Knowing your cost per treatment allows you to set a minimum price to cover your expenses. By adding a profit margin to that, you ensure your business remains sustainable.

2. Factor in Your Time
   Don’t forget to factor in your time when setting rates. Consider how long each service takes and ensure you're charging enough to cover not only the product cost but also the time and effort you put in.

3. Consider Your Expertise
   As a professional, your skills and experience are valuable. Don’t undersell yourself. If you’ve invested in training, advanced techniques, or high-quality products, your prices should reflect that.

4. Evaluate the Market
   While it’s important to know your worth, it’s also important to consider what others in your area are charging. This helps you stay competitive and gives clients a sense of value for their money.

Charging Your Worth 

By understanding your product costs, time, and expertise, you can confidently price your services, ensuring both profitability and value for your clients. Don't forget to account for overheads, time spent on each service, and any additional offerings, like gel polish or tips, that add value to your services.

Remember, charging your worth means recognising the value you bring to your clients and ensuring your business remains sustainable. Take the time to evaluate your services, adjust your prices accordingly, and watch your business thrive.