.png)
NAIL ART CULTURE THRIVING AT CCA
- Julieta Ortiz
- Mar 9
- 3 min read
Updated: Apr 7
At Clear Creek Amana High School, the nail art culture is rich and kept alive by many students. Some students do simple DIY nails at home while others regularly support local salons like CCA Nails, 380 Nails, Sky Nails, and Revive Salon & Spa. Other students, with hopes of becoming a licensed nail tech someday, enjoy doing their friends’ and classmates’ nails, further growing their skills.
Taylor Herman is a senior at CCAHS and one of her favorite hobbies is doing her and her friends’ nails. She has over a year of experience and is self-taught, learning from TikTok tutorials, trial and error, and practicing on herself and her friends.
Friends and classmates reach out to Herman via text to discuss a time to meet up and do nails. Her busiest seasons include spring break, birthdays, summer, holidays, homecoming, prom, and other important events for people.
She does a wide variety of designs and types of nails for everyone. She enjoys the variety because she learns new things and her friends and family challenge her which helps her skills further improve. She focuses on Gel-X nails but also enjoys dip nails on occasion.
“I honestly love doing the designs people throw at me, usually the most fun ones are the more interesting ones, like my friend Brynn Tompkins,” Herman said.
Tompkins is also a senior and she frequently gets her nails done by Herman. Nail art designs she enjoys requesting include starfish and colorful French tips with a unique spin on them.
“Going to Taylor makes me feel more comfortable than a regular salon,” Tompkins said. “I can talk about anything while Taylor does my nails and it just feels like I’m hanging out with her rather than being just a ‘client’ to her.”
In addition to the more welcoming atmosphere that Herman provides for friends and classmates, Tompkins says she always feels "ecstatic" with how her nails turn out since Herman’s skills enable her to do complex and great quality designs that perfectly suit the inspiration her friends have in mind.
“I would 1,000% recommend Taylor, she makes it a personable experience and has never once given me a bad outcome with my nails,” says Tompkins. “The nails Taylor does for me also usually last me weeks longer than when I used to go to a typical salon.”
Sometimes her friends give at-will donations to support the financial cost of resupplying her nail polish and tools. Some also like to bring her coffee or energy drinks as a thank you. She shares her nail art on her Instagram page, @taylorh.nails.
Herman is considering getting a license and continuing doing nails after she graduates from Wartburg college.
Thea Nelson is a junior at CCAHS, who also loves to do nails for herself and her friends. She started learning how to do more complex nail designs about four years ago when she grew tired of paying so much money to get her nails done professionally frequently. She bought a nail starter kit, began researching, watched tutorials, and found tips for safety and sanitation. Doing her own nails and nails for friends has not only saved money but has also been a way to bond and spend quality time with friends.
Friends and classmates reach out to her by text or DM on her Instagram page which she uses to highlight her nail art, @nailsbythea11, to plan a day and time to meet up and get nails done.
During summer break and prior to homecoming and prom, she finds herself busy doing nails for friends, almost every day.
Nelson says her most requested designs are French tips along with 3D gel and charms. She enjoys doing colorful and complex nail art designs the most.
She also enjoys receiving coffee or snacks as a thank you from her friends for doing nails. At-will donations also help her fund her nail supplies.
After high school, Nelson plans on going into engineering and continuing doing nails as a hobby and eventually a side hustle, with the goal of getting her nail tech license in the near future.
