Today we’d like to introduce you to Shai Wathan
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
To whomever is concerned,
My name is Shai Wathan, the founder and owner of Shai Wathan Spa.
I was born in Singapore and throughout my life I have moved/lived in different countries and states, about 8 years ago i decided to move to the city of houston.
My sister Trisha Wathan who is now a student at the Baylor College of Medicine moved to houston before I did and the reason for my move was because I was missing her.
The reason for me coming to America is because I wanted to also pursue my studies as an Operating Theatre Nurse and after which further my studies to be a gynecologist. However, I was distracted doing the nails of my classmates as a hobby for fun. My distraction grew and then I found that doing nails gave me comfort and seeing people happy also gave me a nice feeling. Making people feel beautiful was what I always loved as a kid. I would do my grandma’s nails and toes and my mums , then my aunts and the entire family it was a stress reliever for me.
I am now 24 years old and I’ve 8 years of experience doing nails/toes and in between those years I found myself doing eyelashes as well as waxing to add to my list of skills. Because I was so distracted I started failing in school and my dad who still lives overseas called and said you have 1 more chance in doing what you want to do and making sure you ace in your studies to graduate and get your associates of science.
I decided to change my career to cosmetologist operator and focus on my studies in being a cosmetologist. I graduated with an associates of science degree and then proceeded to finish my cosmetology exam in which I passed. After I became a licensed cosmetologist , I met my husband who is in the marines (military) I fell in love with him and moved to New York. Everything was perfect but I started to miss houston, my sister, my cousins, my life with all my clients/friends. So I decided to move back to houston in 2022, I opened up a salon on i45 close to downtown in the middle of houston in hopes to reach clients all around houston. My motive of opening a salon was to offer reasonably priced nails in the economy after covid hit everything skyrocketed and became extremely expensive. So for a while I did $50 one color up to long with free shape and then I did 1 year of $50 one color up to long with free shape and with french or ombre. We also offer $35 regular pedicures with shellac.
This was me giving back to my clients.
I wouldn’t have done this without the support of my family and my clients. Everything I do has always been to make them proud. I have always said “quality over quantity” good work shows and word of mouth travels fast. Having a salon is like having a second home. I wouldn’t trade what I do for anything else.
I am also a celebrity nail tech and I work with a lot of celebrities both male and female and it has been extremely life changing to meet people with greater ambition
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
My struggles were which I’m sure any cosmetologist goes through is when you first start a skill you are not always perfect which means you lose more clients than you gain but when you learn to perfect your craft those clients come back and when they do it pushes you to be better everyday. It took me 2 years to perfect my craft and throughout this journey I’ve realized people move to different states and it’s very common here so you meet a lot of different people and you also meet the clients that stick with you forever and you love all of them.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
I am a salon/ spa owner,
We offer a list of different services
Nail Sets
Pedicures
Lashes
Manicures
Wax
What sets me apart from the rest is how reasonably priced we are. We are the cheapest nail salon with the best quality you can ever get. We care for your needs and we will achieve what you ask of us. We offer any design you can ask for. I am most proud of how far I have come from suites to now my own salon it was hard but it was a lot of time and hard work and dedication towards my goals. What makes us the best is that we offer free gel/shellac
with your pedicures because it just makes more sense
I wouldn’t pay for something if it costs a lot so I’m here to charge my clients what I would pay for my own services
If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
Being driven and just pushing yourself, I’m a Leo so we are goal driven and we want everything to be successful in our lives. We cannot accept failure
Pricing:
- $50 one color acrylic up to long with free shape
- $35 regular pedicure with shellac/gel included
- $60-$100 eyelash extensions
- $40 Brazilians
- $5 brow wax
Contact Info:
- Website: Shai Wathan Spa
- Instagram: Nailsbyshaiwathann
- Other: Tiktok: shaiwathanspa
Image Credits
Shai Wathan
