9 Modules. A Complete System. No More Guessing.
A structured online training for working nail techs who want to understand the why behind their work from nail assessment and prep to cuticle work, structure, retention, and troubleshooting.
90-day access • Demonstrations + professional reference guides • Practical assessments
You have been doing nails for a while. You know the basic steps. You watch tutorials, try different products, and practice but your results still aren't as consistent as you want them to be.
When lifting happens, you're not always sure what to investigate first.
Was it prep? Application? Structure? The product system? Curing? Client wear?
So you change products, change techniques, watch another video and keep guessing.
Maybe your cuticle work looks different from client to client. Maybe your structure isn't consistent. Maybe you know how to perform the steps, but you don't fully understand why you're doing them or what to change when something goes wrong.
That's the gap this training is designed to address.
You don't need another collection of random techniques.
You need a foundation that helps you assess, execute, troubleshoot, and make better technical decisions on your own.
By the end of Russian Manicure Foundations, you will have a structured framework for your work instead of relying on memorized steps alone.
You will learn to:
Assess the natural nail and surrounding tissue before choosing your approach
Prepare the nail plate with greater control and intention
Perform Russian Manicure cuticle work with a stronger understanding of tool angle, pressure, movement, and safety
File for more consistent shape, symmetry, and balance
Build structure according to the nail, length, shape, and product system in front of you
Understand retention as a system, not a single prep step or product
Read wear patterns as clues and investigate retention problems systematically
Separate possible technique, product-system, and client/wear factors without automatically blaming yourself or the client
Communicate professionally when a client reports lifting or breakage
Evaluate your own work and identify what needs refinement
The goal isn't to make you dependent on my corrections forever.
The goal is to teach you how to see your own work more clearly and make better decisions without guessing.
From Practicing the Steps to Understanding the Work
One of my students had already been practicing Russian Manicure for about a year before joining this training.
She wasn't starting from zero. But when something didn't look right or a problem came up, she wasn't always sure why it happened or what she needed to change.
That's exactly what this training is designed to help with.
“I did 3 today. I am so happy. Thank you so much.”
— Russian Manicure Foundations student
“I like it a lot. You probably know that I have been doing Russian manicure for about a year. But I still feel like I am not good enough plus when I run into problems I have no one to ask questions, so I get frustrated. And all the social media tricks and tips just overwhelming me. Plus I don't really know if it's true or not.”
This training is designed for working nail techs who already have basic nail-service experience and want to strengthen their technical foundation.
This is for you if:
You can perform nail services, but your results still feel inconsistent
You experience lifting or breakage and aren't always sure what contributed to it
You want to learn Russian Manicure as a complete system not just copy an e-file sequence
You want to understand prep, cuticle work, filing, structure, retention, and troubleshooting at a deeper level
You want to become better at assessing your own work instead of constantly searching for another product or tutorial
You are willing to slow down, practice deliberately, and examine your technique
Complete beginners who have never performed a nail service or used basic nail tools
Nail techs looking for a quick hack or one “perfect” product to solve every retention problem
Anyone unwilling to practice, assess their own work, and make corrections
Anyone looking only for trendy Russian Manicure results without learning the safety and technical foundations behind the service
This is foundation training for working nail techs not an introduction to becoming a nail technician.
This module is your starting point. Before you touch a tool, a client, or a nail, you need to understand what this course is built on, the standards you will be working to, and what you need to have in place before Module 1 begins.
This is not filler content. The way you start determines the way you work. Take your time here.
Safe Russian Manicure starts with knowing exactly what you are working on. In this module, you’ll learn the anatomy of the natural nail and surrounding tissue, including the structures you need to recognize before working with an e-file or scissors. You’ll also learn the critical difference between cuticle and pterygium — what can be safely removed, what must be protected, and how confusing the two can lead to unnecessary damage.
The goal is not memorization. It is learning to recognize what you see on a real client before you touch it.
Before technique comes control of your environment.
This module establishes the sanitation and client-preparation standards used throughout the course. You will learn how tools move through the cleaning, disinfection and sterilization process, how to prepare for each client, and how the first step of the service becomes your first opportunity to assess the nails before removal begins.
These steps may happen before the e-file is turned on, but they are part of the technique. A professional result starts with a professional setup.
Removal is not the beginning of a new set. It is the end of the previous one.
How you remove existing product affects the condition of the natural nail you have to work with next. In this module, you’ll learn how to remove product with control, how to read the nail as the product becomes thinner, when to stop, and how to leave the nail ready for the next stage of prep.
The goal is not simply to remove product quickly. It is to remove intentionally while protecting the natural nail underneath.
Good prep is not about doing more to the natural nail. It is about doing the right things, in the right order, with control.
In this module, you’ll learn the foundations of nail plate preparation — beginning with how you hold and stabilize your tools, how you control angle and pressure, and how you assess the nail and surrounding tissue before you begin.
Then you’ll put those skills together in the complete nail plate prep sequence and learn how to check your work before moving forward.
The goal is a clean, controlled and repeatable prep — without unnecessary filing of the natural nail.
This is the module that defines Russian Manicure. The cuticle work sequence: wood stick, flame bit, scissors, and diamond ball is what creates the clean, precise finish this technique is known for.
This is also the most technical work in the course, so we go slowly and we go in order. You will learn how to assess the cuticle zone before you begin, create separation, control your flame bit, recognize when to stop, remove cuticle safely, and finish the surrounding skin.
By the end of this module, you should understand not only what to do, but why you are doing it and how to adjust your technique based on what you see in front of you.
The cuticle work is complete. Now we refine the shape and prepare the nail for product application. These final prep steps are easy to rush, but they have a major impact on the finished result.
In this module, you’ll learn a consistent filing system for creating balanced shape, symmetry, and clean side profiles, followed by the final cleaning and preparation of the nail plate before product application.
The goal is simple: shape with intention, prepare thoroughly, and never rush the steps that create the foundation for the finished set.
Product application is where everything you built in the previous six modules comes together. But this module is not simply about making the nail look beautiful, it is about building structure that performs.
A beautiful nail that lifts, cracks, or breaks was not built correctly. In this module, you will learn how to build for the natural nail in front of you, the client’s lifestyle, and the way that nail needs to function.
We will move through base application, builder gel and apex placement, colour and top coat, and the final refinement process so every layer has a purpose and every finished nail is built with intention.
Structure first. Aesthetics second.
Retention is not one step. It is a system and when something in that system fails, the result gives you clues about what to investigate.
In this final module, you will learn how to read wear and lifting patterns, troubleshoot problems systematically, separate possible technique issues from client and lifestyle factors, and respond professionally when a client reports a problem.
You will also learn how aftercare and client communication fit into retention, and how repeated technical problems can affect the profitability of your services.
Finally, you will bring everything together through your Money Leak Calculator and final course assessment.
The goal is not to promise perfect retention. It is to know how to assess, investigate, communicate, and make better decisions when something goes wrong.
This isn't a collection of disconnected tutorials.
Each module builds on the one before it so you understand the complete service from what you see before you begin to how you investigate the result weeks later.
Watching a demonstration can show you what I do.
Learning happens when you apply the principles to your own work, assess the result, and understand what needs refinement.
Throughout the training, you will use practical assessments and guided self-diagnosis to examine your technique.
Where personal feedback is included, corrections focus on the work itself what I observe, what deserves attention, and what I would have you investigate or adjust next.
The purpose of feedback is not to make you dependent on an educator. It is to help you develop the judgment to evaluate your own work.
I'm Maya — nail artist, educator, and founder of Cahya Nails in London, Ontario.
I wasn't naturally fast or confident when I started. For a long time, I questioned whether I was good enough to make it as a nail tech.
What changed my work wasn't finding one perfect product or one secret technique.
It was learning to understand why I was doing each step.
Once I stopped simply repeating techniques and started understanding the nail, structure, preparation, product application, and retention as connected systems, my work changed.
Eventually, I realized that many working nail techs were stuck where I had been: practicing constantly, watching tutorials, buying products but still missing pieces of the foundation.
Russian Manicure Foundations is the training I wish I had when I was trying to put those pieces together.
$1,129 CAD
or 2 payments of $599 CAD
This isn't an investment in one nail set or one technique.
It is training designed to strengthen the technical foundation you use across your services how you assess, prepare, perform cuticle work, build structure, troubleshoot retention, and evaluate your own results.
The value isn't a promised dollar amount or a guaranteed price increase.
It is developing professional judgment you can continue using long after your 90-day course access ends.
Enroll and receive immediate access
Work through Modules 0–8 in order
Learn through demonstrations, professional reference guides, worksheets, and assessments
Practice the techniques on your own clients/models
Use the diagnostic frameworks to assess your results instead of guessing
Complete your final set and professional self-assessment
90-day access from enrollment
You already know how to do nails.
Now it's time to understand your work at a deeper level so when something goes wrong, your first response isn't another product, another tutorial, or another guess.
Build the foundation. Understand your decisions. Become better at diagnosing your own work.
Russian Manicure Foundations isn't about copying my work or creating one specific nail style.
Students learn the technical foundation so they can apply it to different clients, different nails, and their own style.
Real work from Russian Manicure Foundations students. Different clients. Different styles. One stronger technical foundation.
Stop collecting random tips and start building a system you can understand, apply, and troubleshoot.
This training is designed for working nail techs who already have basic nail-service experience. You do not need to be advanced in Russian Manicure, but you should already understand basic nail services and be comfortable working with professional nail tools.
It is not designed as a first-ever nail course for someone who has never performed a nail service.
You receive 90 days of access from your enrollment date.
This gives you time to work through the modules, practice the techniques, revisit demonstrations and reference guides, and complete the final assessment.
A professional setup and tool-selection guide is included at the beginning of the course.
You do not need to use every product or brand I use. Where product-system requirements matter particularly curing and compatibility, you should follow the instructions provided by the manufacturer of the system you're using.
This answer depends on what feedback model we choose. Don't publish a new answer yet until we lock that down.
Yes. You can enroll for $999 CAD or choose 2 payments of $549 CAD.
Again, this depends on exactly what level of direct access/support you're selling. We should not promise unlimited access to you unless that's intentional.
Russian Manicure Foundations is an online program designed for working nail techs who want to strengthen their technical understanding and work through the system over time.
In-person training provides a different learning environment with live, hands-on instruction and direct observation during the training itself.