According to The Luminous Nail Bar, the average cost of getting your nails done professionally can be anywhere between $35-$120. However, sophomore Elena Vergara can create cute and complicated designs for just $25. 

“Most high schoolers just can’t pay $70 plus regularly to have their nails done,” Vergara said. “Personally, I love having my nails done so I wanted to make sure it was affordable for everyone.” 

Inspired by her older sister and Sion alumna class of 2022 Juliana Vergara, Vergara began to do her own nails at the young age of 12. What simply began as a way for the two sisters to avoid the steep prices of regular nail salons eventually snowballed into a successful side hustle for the young nail techs. 

“Juliana started out after our mom took us to get manicures and saw that it was just too expensive and really impractical to get them done all the time,” Vergara said. “But after she ran out of time to start doing my nails too, I just thought, ‘You know what? I’ll do it myself.”   

Vergara admits she doesn’t remember exactly when she began doing nails for other people. However, after about a year’s worth of practice, when girls in her eighth-grade class started to approach her asking if she could do their nails too, she had the confidence in her own skills to say yes.

“It started with only one, maybe two girls, asking me,” Vergara said. “After I said yes I guess word just spread around.” Doing nails, especially for other people, is not an easy task. It takes precise fine motor skills and a very steady hand. A self-proclaimed perfectionist, Vergara always makes sure that her customers never leave unhappy.              

“Even though the prep and application is super difficult, and actually doing the design can be very tedious, I love seeing the end results,” Vergara said. “It makes me happy to see others happy with their new nails.”