“It’s not just ‘girls, sign up for nails’, but a whole art”: an interview with a bearded manicurist Ivan Dobrov

Ivan Dobrov on social networks calls himself a "bearded manicurist" and opposes the stereotype that "men who paint their nails are faggots." He told Lifehacker about the difficulties he had to face when changing his profession, and shared useful tips for those who go to a beauty salon.

About work

- Where did you work before?

Before that, I worked in sales for about 10 years. Already at the end of this period, I began to feel professional burnout. The work did not give me any pleasure and brought only pain and suffering.

But soon he met his future wife, who has been doing manicures and pedicures for a long time. When I first visited her house, I was horrified to see a huge amount of varnishes, nail files, stickers, a special table and a lamp, bending in different directions... It was my wife who helped me understand that it was not just “girls who signed up on nails”, but a whole art.

At first I just watched what she was doing. But once he suggested: “Nast, do you want to accidentally teach me?” She said, "Of course, let's go." Slowly, little by little, we began to understand. And I realized that I was interested!

Then I quit my main job and went to do it professionally at a nail service school. That's where it started!

- How did you feel being in the female company of nail masters?

— Amazing! Felt very comfortable. Basically, I'm one of those people who loves attention, and here I didn’t even have to do anything: I just went into the class and everyone was looking at me.

I am sure that among themselves the girls probably discussed me and, perhaps, in some negative context. But there were no direct confrontations.

— Where did you look for your first clients?

— Even before I started promotion, I started a blog. In it he talked about his training: about how he sawed his nails for the first time, covered them with gel polish, and made a design. I noticed that this is of interest: in a couple of weeks, about 600 people signed up for me. Therefore, some clients came to me directly from Instagram.

At one time I was looking for clients on dating sites. In the profile he indicated: "I am a manicure master." Some girls signed up.

Also, for the first time, I advertised in the VKontakte public - people also came from there. And then word of mouth started working.

Have you done your own manicure before? Now, the profession, probably, obliges you to keep your nails in order.

“Before, I, like a true man, cut off my nails to the point I didn’t want to and moved on. But when he began training, he became do your own manicure. In addition, it helped out: after all, my nails are always at hand! I tried absolutely everything on them: coatings, and different manicure options... And I still try. For example, do you need to test a new material? Either my hands or my wife's hands are used.

- Do you and your wife do manicures to each other?

- It depends! Most of the time I do my own nails. My wife and I do not have the same schedule, because we share the same room, work in shifts and do not really see each other. But it happens that we plan some kind of day off to spend it together. Then we go to the salon, do manicures, pedicures to each other, communicate.

So you're working for yourself now? Have you had any experience in a salon?

Yes, I am self-employed. In the salon, I probably worked for a maximum of a month. I don’t really like it when they point out something, impose a work schedule. It's easier to work for yourself.

Has your business changed during the pandemic?

— Yes, COVID-19 has shaken the business. At first we could not work at all - everyone was closed. Then, when concessions were introduced, people slowly began to return. I think they always want to be beautiful.

- What is the most difficult thing in the work of a nail master?

— At first glance, the work looks simple. In the summer you sit under the air conditioner, in the winter you sit next to the radiator, music plays in the background, a movie is on. Conditions are comfortable.

But when you receive 4-5 clients a day, then, of course, sedentary work backfires. Each one is different: back hurt, neck, shoulders, eyes. So at the end of the day you get up and think: “Oh, how old I am!” Everything hurts, nothing helps.

Also, at first, in principle, it was difficult for me to develop in this area. I am a person who does not really like chore work. And freaked out if something did not work out - for example, to drive the varnish under the cuticle.

It's easier for me to chop wood - to do something for which only strength is needed. In manicure, perseverance and accuracy are important, and this is difficult.

But at some point I realized: if I want to achieve something, then all these “I want”, “I don’t want” need to be put somewhere far away.

Is there anything that annoys you at work? Maybe some actions or habits of customers?

- Things known to all: when a person late Or, on the contrary, it arrives ahead of time. This greatly disrupts the schedule. But the most annoying thing is when he doesn’t come at all, especially if you have arranged for the earliest appointment, in the morning. It happens: you get up at 8:00, come to the salon by 9:30, wait for a client by 10:00. And he does not appear and does not even warn about it. You think: “Damn, what the hell? I could lie in bed for an extra hour."

But I didn’t have inadequate clients like “Elena, hello”. Although they may have been strange.

I have many gay clients. Some of them try to get acquainted, flirt with me. One once tried to pay for services with a blowjob.

It's weird because my Instagram seems to be screaming "I have a wife and a child." I do not hide this side of my life - it would be another matter if I were silent about it and did not wear a wedding ring.

What do you like doing to your clients the most? Manicure or pedicure? What exactly?

— I like doing pedicures much more. Because, firstly, the result is much better visible there. Let's just say that the source is usually much worse than on hand. Unfortunately, even the most caring girls or men do not reach their legs.

And I, like a kind of magician, make beauty with a wave of my magic nail file. Plus it's faster and more expensive. I'm more interested in doing one pedicure than one manicure.

About manicure and pedicure

— How to check that the instruments are precisely sterilized?

- Almost all craft packages have an indicator that shows whether the tools are processed or not. True, it is easy to deceive him - simply by heating the round with a lighter.

But there are separate indicators that are invested in the craft package itself. It will no longer be possible to heat them up: if you use a lighter next to such, they will simply burn out.

The master must paste these indicators into a special magazine according to sterilization. The date, number and contents of the kraft package are entered there. An indicator is glued next to it. Any client has the right to request this magazine - especially if he comes to the salon for the first time.

And this is the most effective way to check your master. Neither availability dry heatEquipment for sterilizing instruments with dry hot air., nor the presence autoclaveSteam sterilization equipment., unfortunately, do not give a guarantee that the master has processed the tools.

- And if, for example, a person is embarrassed to ask all this? How do craftsmen feel about questions like: “Are the instruments well sterilized?”

— I can't answer for all the masters. Maybe someone really cares about such questions. But, it seems to me, it is much more important to make sure that you are completely safe than to be afraid of seeming tactless.

Some people think: “Damn, I won’t ask the master if he sterilized the instruments well. What if I offend him?" Well, you'll be offended and that's okay.

A normal adequate master, most likely, will react to this with understanding: a person simply takes care of himself. In addition, if he really has everything according to SanPiN and he does a great job, then you will probably advise him to your girlfriends and friends.

- Can you cut nails with nail clippers - or do you need scissors?

- Who said you can't? Can! This is only potentially dangerous if the person has long nails. If you look under the nail, you will see hyponychium there, or, as many people call it, “some kind of meat”.

So, it can be different, but often the longer the nail, the longer it is. This is already living tissue, which has nothing to do with the dead - the nail plate. And if a person with long nails cuts them especially short, it can hurt the hyponychium. It will most likely hurt, it may bleed.

And over time it can cause onycholysis - when the nail plate peels off from the nail bed and a “pocket” forms under the nail. If you cut your nails neatly and not too short, then you can do it with anything: nippers, scissors.

Why remove cuticles?

- The cuticle is removed, first of all, so that the manicure looks more aesthetically pleasing. Plus, if this is not done, then it will interfere with the coating. After all, we are driving varnish under it.

What kind of nails do your clients most often do? Long with design or nude jacket?

— I don’t do extensions, so I rarely have requests for long nails. Mostly people come to me with short nails - not quite under the root, but not very long. As for design, it's different.

I have a couple of clients who always choose red. They just like a particular shade and no design! Someone likes to constantly invent the unusual. Someone - according to mood or depending on the season. For example, it's winter now, and some people ask to apply sprinkles, sparkles, Christmas trees, snowmen.

If we take all clients, then more often they do it with design. I can't draw, so I save myself with sliders, stickers and stamping. I have a very large assortment, and customers always have plenty to choose from. They rarely leave without a design.

Although there are times when you made some color, you look at big picture - the shape of the fingers, the length of the palm - and you understand that no design is needed here. For example, solid black will look much better.

- Are colored or extended ones still in trend?

- I do not like the words "trend", "fashion". And I dream that, regardless of them, people do what they like. If in winter you want lilac nails with flowers (a la spring), why not? If you want - do it.

Shade trends defines Pantone Color Institute. I don't know how they decide that 2022, for example, will be purple. Even if there is some kind of system, it doesn't matter - what the hell? The color of the year will be whatever I want.

- What are the latest innovations in the field of manicure?

1. Nail tattoo - this is a technology in which the paint is shallowly hammered into the nail - not under the skin, but into the plate itself. As far as I know, it's harmless, but...useless. After all, why should something be beaten into a nail, into dead tissue, if it grows together in the same way as a sticker? In addition, filling it just as beautifully will not work!

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2. Nail printer - cool stuff! But you have to get used to it. It helps especially if you don't have stickers or you don't know how to draw. With it, you can print a photo of your husband, child or favorite anime character in good quality on your nails.

@boroda_nailsAaaaaaaaaaaaa 😦😦😦😦😦!!! More in inct: boroda_nails🤫♬ original sound — Ivan Dobrov

3. Stylus for manicure - also in a sense a novelty. I can’t say that it is gaining momentum, but it certainly wasn’t like that before. With it, you can make a manicure without the use of cutting tools and apparatus.

This is, roughly speaking, an orange stick, but made of metal: medical steel or titanium. Abrasives stick to it. With this stylus alone, you can completely do a manicure by hand. But I think it comes and goes. Because there are other technologies that have been used for years.

It seems to me that in our field it is generally difficult to come up with something new. It’s even harder to have everyone say, “Wow! Why wasn't this invented before?"

About stereotypes

- How often do you come across the stereotype that manicure is not a man's business? And from whom do you hear it most often?

- To be honest, for all 3 years that I have been sawing my nails, I have never been told anything live. But in “these Internets of yours” this happens every day. And I noticed that most often the negative comes from women aged 35-40, whose husbands are the same "real men”, hard workers who go hunting, work with their hands, eat borscht.

They write something along the lines of: “Poor men! Soon everyone will sleep****, and only the women will remain. And who will defend the Motherland? There are so many negatives.

Even when I worked in a beauty salon, there were stray clients who could get any master. And then one day a girl came in and said: "I'm going to a manicure." The administrator writes it down for me. I, all so handsome, go out and say: "Good afternoon, I'm master Ivan."

She gives me a contemptuous look from the heels to the hair of the head. He doesn’t answer anything and again turns to the administrator: “Can I have a girl, please?” They explain to her that there are no girls today, and she simply refuses and goes into the sunset.

I remember a similar incident during training. Models were invited to our school. My model was late. I'm sitting, waiting for her. When she finally arrived, she said in surprise: “What do you mean? Are you going to give me a pedicure?” As a result, the instructors had to persuade her to stay.

How do you deal with the flow of hate?

- Very simple. I am grateful to the haters for raising my asset. I understand that people waste their precious time writing a comment. So I always try communicate kindly.

Or I thank people. Or use self-irony. For example, they write to me: "Fu, f **** r." I answer: “Well, yes. Etc. And what?" And they have nothing more to say. Perhaps they are waiting for me to get offended and get into a fight, but there it was!

In life, I do not project it on myself. I understand that I am not the person they call me. And I do good deeds: I don’t kill anyone, I don’t rape, I make people more beautiful, there is a demand for my services. I don't know what to say to make me hide in a corner and start sobbing.

- When you decided to change your profession so abruptly, was there a misunderstanding from relatives and friends? How did your friends and parents react to this?

My parents and close friends supported me. They said: “Wan, well, if you like it, then why not?” Friends divided into two fronts. Some reacted with respect, while others were skeptical. But some kind of negativity a la “fu, this is not manly!” did not have. Although their face and intonation betrayed that they did not like it.

But I never convince anyone and I myself try not to succumb to provocations. Even if my mother, wife or daughter say: “I’m ashamed that you are doing a manicure,” I’m unlikely to run away to change my profession. Maybe it sounds selfishly, but, first of all, a person has the right to choose a business on his own and live for himself, even if someone does not like it.

- And how does your daughter feel about your profession?

- In her young head, there are still no such concepts as male and female. She is interested in my work, and she often asks to "do her nails."

But I don't know what will happen next. So far, she is 7 years old, recently went to school. She never said she was embarrassed by me. But there may be such a situation that someone will say "My dad is a policeman", someone - "I have a miner." And she: “And my dad saws his nails.” I don't know if she will be embarrassed at this moment. But I think that this is a completely different generation, in which there are no such stereotypes.

- How do you feel about children's, teenage manicure?

I don't usually ask how old my clients are. But if I see on Instagram that a very young lady or a young gentleman is signing up for me, then I ask you to confirm that they are over 16. If less, please come with your parents. Because some moms and dads may perceive a manicure as tattoo. I don't want to take on that kind of responsibility. Then their mother or father will burst into my office and yell: “What the hell did you do to my child?”

— Has it ever been that wives brought their husbands to you? And how did the men react to it?

- Often! Some pull their husbands almost by the hand, put them on a chair like children. And here they are sitting like that, with the eyes of a loop-loop: “What the hell? What will I do now? What if they paint my nails and change my orientation?!” Many are afraid. Although their fears are not always based only on the fact that it is, roughly speaking, "f***ing".

As far as I was able to understand from my own experience, we men are sometimes cowardly in moments that concern, for example, dentists. And a manicure for us is a similar procedure.

We are afraid that we will be hurt, that it will be uncomfortable. In such cases, I try to tell about the manicure in more detail to reassure them.

And sometimes, on the contrary, men bring their wives, but with a different motivation. It usually happens like this: a woman signs up for me, but she doesn't come alone. And then, as it turns out, she jealous a husband who does not take well that she goes to do nails to a man. Plus, for some reason, many people think that I take it at home.

But it's not. Their husbands usually come, inspect the premises, study me, seem to understand that everything is serious and I'm not some kind of maniac, calm down and say: “That's it, I'll come for you in a couple of hours.”

Are more men doing manicures? What do you associate it with?

- Naturally! Some men come to me after watching my videos. In them, I often say that this is a normal practice. Roughly speaking: “Guys, come in for a manicure, try it. There's nothing wrong with that." People are becoming more courageous and are starting to understand: “Why the hell am I going to do what society wants?”

In addition, media personalities contribute to this - Morgenstern, Yegor Creed, Danya Milokhin: they also paint their nails and broadcast it on their social networks. Perhaps people want to be like them or just want to stand out. Be that as it may, over the past year there have been a lot of men who go for manicures. And it's great!