In Nairobi, business is picking up fast as salons seek to woo more nail art customers.
The nail printer costs Sh85,000.
Once you buy the nail printer machine, you download an app.
Fuyuka Matsuzaki, a Japanese, came to Kenya a year ago to change the traditional nail art designs by infusing technology.
“I visited several salons in Kenya and saw that many women took good care of their nails but unfortunately most manicurists are just able to do simple patterns. I thought I can bring a new technology to help change the beauty industry,” she says.
She added pictures in the nail art market, where a photo of your husband or daughter is imprinted on your nail. This technology is the first of its kind in Africa with the nail-printing machines only available in China, Japan, USA and Europe.
In Nairobi, business is picking up fast as salons seek to woo more nail art customers.
“Already, we have sold more than 50 machines in Nairobi and we are thinking of launching in other parts of the country,” Ms Matsuzaki says.
The nail printer costs Sh85,000. Once you buy the nail printer machine, you download an app.
“The machine has its own inbuilt Wi-Fi which makes it easier for the beautician not to relay on external sources of Internet,” she says.
The machine then automatically connects to the app which has more than 800 different designs.
“Inside the machine, there is a camera, when a person places a finger they are able to see their nail and this allows for the manicurist to then be able to size the desired picture according to the nail surface by using the app on the mobile phone,” she adds. Nail art is a big business globally and the frenzy is spreading to Kenya. On elaborate eight-inch-long nails, technicians, as they are known, can use from crystals or paint the weirdest decoration.
Most women might be familiar with nail wraps that also come in different designs that have been used in salons in place of traditional polish.
But Ms Matsuzaki says the designs on nail wraps are limited. With the digital nail printer, one can design their own patterns. The Japanese is the latest investor in Kenya’s nail market that generates good revenue for the economy.
Despite the tough economic times, the beauty industry—hair, oils, eyelashes, eyebrows and nail— continues to draw new customers as women try out edgy and bold looks. Jayne Okoth, a celebrity stylist who owns Rapunzel Hair Affair salon in Nairobi’s Westlands, says that most women nowadays come in for full-look makeovers.
‘’A woman can spend Sh50,000 on hair and nails a month. Times have changed. Women who come to the salon do not only ask to make their hair. They will also want their makeup done, manicure, pedicure or unnecessary hair removal,” she says.
According to Ms Okoth, one of the things that has grown is the nail business. Women now have more designs and choices.
“Very few people these days will ask for the normal nail polish, they ask for creativity, they want 3D designs, holographs that are currently trending and baby boomers,” she says.
Nail art prices keep rising as new trends come in. Years ago, Sh600 could give you decent-looking nail decorations, but now Ms Okoth says her customers pay from Sh2,500 to Sh6,500.
Ms Matsuzaki says beauty is a way of self-actualisation.
“In Japan, we say beauty comes from the hands, and this is because we do a lot of things using our hands, you great people and immediately someone is drawn to your hands, so why not make them look good. It is also a way of starting a conversation,” she says.
