Brittney Jackson

“…I realized after trying to conform, trying to fit in, and going with the crowd, that I have never been comfortable with myself until I found out WHO I was.”—Brittney Jackson

he greatest and most important adventure of our lives is discovering who we really are. So many of us walk around either not really knowing or listening to that little voice that gives us the wrong ideas about ourselves. Therefore, we carry on in our daily lives without truly asking the most important question there is…Who am I really? This is the quest that X’Treme nail diva, Brittney Jackson has been on. After a trip to California, this twenty-six-year-old native of St. Louis, MO, decided to risk it all as she, her new husband and young son relocated to San Diego, CA to follow her dream of becoming that ‘in-demand’ nail tech and truly being herself. There is no doubt that she is well on her way!

Life always has its twists and turns. As a child, we exist with the wide eyes of discovery absorbing everything around us. We are comfortable with life, and we enjoy the joys of being a child. Things begin to change as we enter our teens, we are no longer that cute little child, we are expected to think and act differently, more mature. How do we act more mature when we have no idea as to what mature is? We find ourselves looking to our surroundings, the adults in our lives, and our friends in the attempt of finding ourselves. We try to fit into the who’s, what’s and where’s we think we are supposed to be. Those were the challenges that this long-nailed diva faced as one of our youngest X’Treme Nailz’s up and coming nail techs. “You know, it was a process to become the person that I am. I was that girl who was afraid of what people thought. I was very insecure within myself, and I cared waaaaay too much. I was swayed, you know, following the crowd. Doing what the crowd was doing just to ‘fit in’. I was like that until my junior year of high school, when I met my best friend, and let me tell you, she was a fireball! It was her that broke me out of my ‘shy’ shell. I couldn’t talk, you know, use my voice to speak up for myself and she helped me with that. She showed me how to flirt, talk to boys and of course, just be myself. Then one day while out with my grandmother at Walmart, I saw a woman all tatted up. She had more tattoos on her face that I have on mine! Her face was almost completely covered! I remember looking at her like a stalker or something because of how hard I was staring (laughing). I’ve always thought that beauty had its uniqueness, but to be someone that stands out and knows that she stands out is what’s beautiful to me. To stand out and not look like the rest, whether

it’s with nails, without nails, makeup, no make-up, or whatever it is that sets you apart from everyone else is the most beautiful and liberating thing! That’s when I realized that I would never be comfortable with myself until I found out who I was!”

With her unique look and style, this beauty is following her dream. She recently enrolled in the spa nail program at Bellus Academy where she is studying to be a licensed nail technician and in the future possibly achieve her cosmetology license. But right now, Brittney’s concentration is nails! Tattooed from head to toe and accompanied by almost as many piercings, Brittney knows she has already captured the attention of many. Extremely talented in her own right, she does hair, braids, locs, eyelashes, quick weaves and pretty much anything else under the cosmetology umbrella, so why nails? “I still do hair and makeup and all of that, but it’s just something for me to do when I’m getting cute for the day. I don’t really want to do it as a business, so I’m just going to stick to the nails. Besides, nails are beautiful, and I think they’re really sexy! I love the clicking sounds and doing the hand gestures when your nails are looking flawless. That’s when I love wearing those big old diamond rings. I don’t know, I just love everything about nails! My grandmother, she’s passed away now, had long fingernails and that is how I really got into them. She raised me and my siblings and her nails were naturally long, fiercely strong, thick nails and I used to love painting them when I was younger. So, nails are the life over here! They really are! I’m a girly girl anyway so, anything that helps the look, I’m with it!” As we further talked with Brittney, we discovered that although she had been wearing her nails X’Treme for some time, it would be January of this year that she started doing them herself. After refusing to continue to spend “close to a car payment” each month on her nails just for the length, this newbie decided that she could not only do this, but she could design them as well without the salon prices and wear them at whatever length she desired! And so, it began! “I’d already been wearing long nails, but with the prices I was paying for my length at the salons, I couldn’t afford the designs I wanted. Now, I am doing my own nails which are about three inches with whatever designs I can think to create! If it hadn’t been for the expense, I would have worn them like this a long time ago but, would I be living my dream now? Before I moved to San Diego, I worked as a machine operator working with machinery. I had to wear gloves and my nails would only fit just inside of the gloves, so this length would have never worked. Right now, they are screaming sexy, and I love it!”

Although Brittney is living her dream, picking up everything and moving across the country is not always an easy thing to do. St. Louis was her home. Her immediate family and friends were there, her job was there, everything Brittney had come to be familiar and comfortable with would be left behind. However, after the continuous reminiscing of a weeklong vacation in San Diego, Brittney was not only thinking about moving to California, but she was actually doing it! And her husband? What were his thoughts? “My husband loves my nails and is really proud that I am giving my-

self this chance. Ever since I originally started cosmetology school after high school, I was in a situation where I had to do what I had to do. I kind of put my hopes and dreams on the back burner, you know. I had a child and life was all about him and his needs. However, when COVID happened, I was going to have my nails done one way or another and all the salons had closed! This would be the first time that I had ever had my nails done in someone’s home. Anyway, this lady had a shop set up in her home and did a wonderful job and I was like, I can do this, have a shop in my home and do nails, and my husband was 110% behind me. He told me that if this was really what I wanted to do, he would support me. I wouldn’t have to contribute to the household expenses and could spend my money on nail supplies and equipment. He even agreed and supported me when I said that I wanted to move to San Diego and go back to school to obtain my license. I never would have had the opportunity to do this if it hadn’t been for him. I’ve never had anyone to support me or hold me down financially while I invested in myself or helped support my child! So, my husband loves me. He loves my nails. He loves the length and everything. He really does and always has! (laughing) Now the challenge was getting them to stay on! But, once I got the nails to stick without popping off, (that was a struggle because I was teaching myself) I knew I would be okay. You can only learn so much from YouTube and experience! Then I had some so-called friends that wouldn’t even let me practice on them for free, but I kept believing in myself and practicing and studying some of the other technicians’ techniques and finally, I got it and my husband was there the whole way cheering me on!”

We decided to talk about some of the things that go along with being a long-nailed diva. The cons. We already know that Brittney loves her nails and has nothing but pros regarding wearing them, but what if any, are the cons? “Cons? Of course, there are none wearing them, because no matter what anyone says, I’m not changing. But it’s the negative attention that my nails attract. You know, I hear the little comments when I’m at the store. There are ignorant things that people say, “How do you wipe yourself?” “I bet you don’t do anything with those nails!” People can be ignorant, or they assume that we don’t work or that we are not clean, like there’s dirt or something under your nails. There are people with short or no nails at all that are dirty, and no one comments or asks them questions. You know the maintenance on its own can be expensive, artificial nails or not. We care about how we live, and we are spending all of this extra money and time on these long, beautiful “talons’’ (That’s what someone called them, and I had to ask, ‘What the heck is a talon?’ laughing) just to have them unkempt? So, I don’t see cons, just ignorant people and I set them straight on the comments that they make. I’m used to people’s ignorance. I have tattoos from my head to my toes, so before my nails, it was my tattoos. Then the comments were, “I bet you don’t have a job with all of those tattoos.” “Why would you put tattoos on your face?” Just rude comments, so it didn’t surprise me when the nails were added to the comments!” I humbly agree. Why is it that people are quick to project their disdain on someone else’s happiness or in-

dividuality, and why do long nails attract so many of these negative comments? Unfortunately, these comments are projected on us by other women! Make this make sense! For this young lady, I am admiring her strength and courage to express her individuality. I’m enjoying her vibe and that hint of rebellion against society’s norms. She’s evolved and discovered who she is. She loves her tattoos, her locs, her piercings, her independence, her nails, her truth and she is owning it all while perfecting her craft and I told her so! “Yes, thank you, because you can’t fake it, you know. If you’re living in your truth, it rolls off your tongue, a lie is something that you have to think about. So, if there is even a small piece of a lie, it is going to be hard for a whole person to put it completely together. That’s the uniqueness of it all. The individuality!”

With her individuality, we wondered if there was anyone that she admired in the entertainment or nail industry, and we were pleasantly surprised with her answer. Although she acknowledged, but not admired some entertainers, her admiration went to another X’Treme nail diva. “When I think of who I admire in the nail game, it’s this badass technician in New Jersey, Maria Ortiz! I’d watch her videos on Facebook and then I started looking at her YouTube videos and just felt like, that’s exactly where I should be! I’ve never been around women that love long nails. All I’ve ever heard was that mine were too long and all the other negative comments that come along with them. Now here is a woman whose artsy nails were longer than mine and she was servicing other women whose nails were way longer than hers! I just felt like I wanted to be a part of her circle! She was my inspiration! I was so thrilled that I kept watching her and started wearing my nails longer and longer. I wasn’t doing nails at this point, so I had to keep everything within my budget. But I just loved her and oh my God, her nails were so beautiful, and they had the perfect curve, not twirling or anything, just perfect! I just thought they were gorgeous! She was such an inspiration to me that I knew I wanted to do long nails! I also loved that she has built a sisterhood with other women with long nails, which was something that I never had. I never had the support system in my hometown. I’ve never seen anyone in real life with the X’Treme nails, not even in the salons! I’d love to see other women wearing them and this is what I absolutely loved about her! She is surrounded by them! I just felt like she could be my friend! When she came out to her girls and the love they had for her, honey, I thought that was the best! I mean, I loved it! I sent her a friend request about a year and a half ago and then cancelled it because I didn’t think she wanted to be friends with me. Recently, I decided to resend my

request, and it was accepted! Yes, I really admire her! I admire her courage, her work, her art, and she has been my inspiration to be in this business and to wear and service the X’Treme nails.” NOTE: After this interview, I spoke with Maria and shared Brittney’s admiration for her. Maria was genuinely surprised and humbly honored as she returned the love and wished nothing but success to Brittney.

Like Maria, I also speak into existence Brittney’s success as she works towards accomplishing her goals. This journey has been a huge part of her personal and spiritual growth as she has stepped out on faith, believing in herself and her destiny. I asked what she would say to those who may be thinking of following their dreams, but are afraid and she stated, “I would say, whatever it is, a look, a career path, or whatever life decisions you want to make, give yourself a chance, don’t knock it until you try it. Trust me, I mean I’ve never lived anywhere else but St. Louis. My husband and I came to San Diego for a vacation. People were flocking to me everywhere I went because of my nails and speaking positivity as if I were a star! I never got that at home, so I took that chance to make a move that is going to be the most rewarding and where my individuality would be accepted. You know, like they say, ‘You don’t start until you reach the end of your comfort zone’, and you know what, that’s a true statement!”

That statement is well beyond her years and Brittney has learned to depend upon herself and God. No longer trying to fit in or dwell on the mistakes of her past, she is moving on, writing her next chapter. That is amazing on its own. “I realize who I am, the way that I look, not the appearance thing, but who I am as a person. It’s more diverse in California than probably anywhere else in the country. There are no clicks to follow and when you break it down financially, race, ethnicity or whatever, everyone is different here! So, packing up that 26-foot truck and driving from Missouri to California was really a scary thing because if anything happens to my husband, it’s just me and my son! That’s it! But I prayed about this and asked for guidance and did it! It’s scary, it really is, but you can believe I got a life insurance policy as soon as I got here! I sure did! (laughing) I’m building myself up as well. This isn’t a finished chapter, you know. I get insecure, I second guess myself, I worry if this was the right decision, but hey, I’m a Virgo, so I overthink and analyze everything. There’s no A, B, or C option for me. I must have the whole thing. I’ve always been afraid of making decisions because a lot of the decisions I’ve made in the past have placed me in some of the worst positions. I’m not going to force religion on anyone but having God in your life and in your heart definitely helps!”

How true! Most of us do believe and trust in a power higher than ourselves to guide us through these winding roads of life. The thing about our journey is, it’s our journey. Whichever way, whatever decisions that we make along the way, good or bad, are part of our learning experiences, growth, and our discovery of who we are! We’re not going to make the perfect decision every time, but we must trust the process. Once we do, we then discover our own individuality and our definition of success. “For me, if I made less money doing nails than

I did working in the factory, I’d still choose nails. They give me peace; they allow me to make others as well as myself feel good. They allow me to create and be my authentic self! To do what I love to do and get paid for it, that’s my definition of success!”

We asked if there was anything else she wanted to say to our audience before we closed and she stated, “I’d like to say, what’s stopping you? People will always find a problem no matter what you do, how you do it or whatever it is pertaining to. If you try to be a people pleaser you will never make the right person happy, yourself! I love my nails and when I don’t have them, I feel like a part of me is missing. I can’t go without them! You know that’s like a woman, you know walking around with no eyebrows! We need them! I did that once when my brother accidentally shaved one off. I ended up shaving off the other one, but I learned how to draw quickly and very well! (laughing) You know, it just doesn’t matter who we are, we just need to feel good about ourselves! We need to live in our authentic truth, in our individuality! Well said, young lady and welcome to knowing who you are!

You can find Brittney at:

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