It is every woman to strut in great manicures and pedicures. The industry has been diversifying and many people just enjoy having their nails done. Keorapetse Masipa runs such a business and recently debuted a nail polish line, which is a rare as most nail polishes are imported.
The Selibe-Phikwe native has been an art and a drawing fanatic from a young age. She recalls that the back pages of her school notebooks always had doodles, sketches and drawings of some kind. She spoke with Executive Life this week. “My nail technician journey was pretty much accidental,” Masipa said. ‘Kay Nails It’ started out as a nail blog. I was just trying different nail products and nail art designs on myself and sharing it with the world.
“Somehow people always got confused and thought it was a nail spa. So after graduating from Limkokwing University, I decided to give people what they had always wanted. I am complete when I do nail art. That’s what I’m known for. No one really comes to Kay for plain nails. My style is a mixture of crazy designs and very girly designs, florals being my favourite.”
But the real truth for starting her pedicure business was because she had a friend who always had her pedicure game together. “I knew I couldn’t afford to get them done at a salon like her, so I just had to learn,” she explained. “I probably watched millions of YouTube tutorials and here we are now!”
We fast-forward to starting her nail bar whence she decided to put together a nail polish. It was always such a struggle for her to find gel colours that she really liked locally. “Sometimes I would even have to go to South Africa for my gels,” said Masipa. “Eventually I figured it was high time I started my own line and catered for those who had a similar problem too. The product is not yet in stores so I’m currently selling the product myself. People can reach me on my social media platforms for orders. I hope to get it into stores soon.”
Nail polishes have different branding. Masipa has brought UV/LED gels to the market. The nail polishes have highly pigmented colours. They have a very glossy top coat on a long lasting base. The large quantity bottles are perfect for nail technicians like her or for home DIY nail enthusiasts because they are easy to work with. “Next box to tick will be the Kay Nails It range along with a few more that I’m still keeping under wraps,” she said. “That is my dream.”
Feedback has been amazing since she started. “It’s honestly more than I can ever wish for,” said this contented young woman who always ensures that her mani-pedis leave people feeling great. “The way pedicures and makeup does,” she noted, “You feel confident when your nails are done. My clients say they feel so ‘together’ when their nails are freshly done.”
Pedicures are also used to give the toes a fresh look and feel, hence easy to flaunt, especially in sandals. “Well groomed feet just complete one’s look,” Masipa said. “I personally love a good pink on the toes.”
