One year ago, Jayden “JP” Pean watched a male nail tech work on a gel set for his then-girlfriend’s nails and collect $80. It seemed easy enough.

 “I was like, ‘I can do this,’ and her biggest mistake was saying, ‘You won’t,’” Pean says. “So, I spent the whole summer learning how to do nails.” He says he spent hours on end practicing on his cousin, perfecting his craft.

These days, he’s one of the only student nail technicians in Evanston and, to his knowledge, the only male. He recently hard-launched The Nail Engineer LLC, a rebrand of a service he ran for friends and family last year. The new full-scale business venture is complete with a dedicated Instagram presence and a professional booking site on GlossGenius.

As a McCormick third-year studying industrial engineering and computer science, Pean knew his choice was unconventional. He didn’t spend this past summer interning at a big tech firm or coding a new website like his peers. After praying on it, he called his mentor and let him know he was dropping his real-estate internship.

Instead, he attended cosmetology school in North Carolina, where his mom recently moved, and earned his nail technician certificate.

“A lot of times I fell into the trap of only focusing on internships and not anything else,” Pean says. “But we have to enjoy the journey, and the only way to do that is to pursue other interests.”

In cosmetology school, Pean stood out as one of the few male students — and the only Black man. But his classmates were very supportive, he says. 

“They really pushed me to get my shaping down, to get my art down,” Pean says. “I’d always have music playing. It was just a lot of fun. It was everything I wanted it to be.” 

Pean’s instructors knew he didn’t want manicured nails on his own hands. Still, they’d call him up for classroom demos, just to get a quick laugh.

That same energy followed him to his home nail studio. His cousin was the first to volunteer as a “test dummy.” She sat through sessions which often stretched six, sometimes seven hours as he struggled to perfect his base. The bead, created by mixing acrylic powder with liquid, needs to be firm enough to hold its shape and form a smooth, balanced foundation.

For Pean, mastering this step, along with the shaping that followed proved difficult. But his cousin remained patient and encouraging, even managing his Instagram and brainstorming marketing ideas. 

This quarter, Pean opened for business as an officially certified nail technician. Attendees of the For Members Only (FMO) Black2School BBQ in the Black House on Sept. 14 might have seen Pean walking around with a bold QR code printed on the back of his shirt. For those curious enough to pull out their phones to scan, it led them to (surprise!) a link to the booking page for The Nail Engineer.   

He promotes some of his work on his Instagram page, @notyouraveragejp. Pean’s nails range from a classic French tip to sets with sparkly bow charms, 3D nail art or intricate gold detailing.

Balancing a Northwestern course load with a growing nail business takes lots of planning. He books two to three clients a week, adjusting based on his availability and academic demands.

He offers short, medium or long full acrylic sets, gel manicures and freestyle sets. Pean specializes in acrylic and Gel-X services, with prices ranging from $40 to $120 depending on the complexity of the design. Intricate designs — like ombré fades, chrome finishes, logos or airbrushed details — fall on the higher end, with each type entailing an extra $2 to $6 charge per nail. Pean sketches the designs freehand, adding to the difficulty and time required for each set. 

“I chose to do nails because I saw there was a demand on campus, and as an entrepreneur, I like to fulfill that demand,” Pean says.

But for Medill and SESP third-year Kaprice Daniels, one of his longtime clients and friends, the nail business is a creative outlet. “It’s unique that a boy is doing nails, but he is very passionate about it,” Daniels says. “And he takes pride in doing nails [and] it’s also therapeutic for him.” Pean spends around two hours on each nail design, chatting away with each of his clients throughout the process.

Pean did a “whole 360” after going to cosmetology school, Daniels says, moving his salon from his Schapiro Hall dorm room to a more formal space. Pean says he has streamlined his process, reducing sessions from six or seven hours to two.

Pean’s current spot, housed in the lower area of his apartment, feels both curated and personal. A lush faux grass wall, textured and vibrant and adorned with vinyl photos of different cartoon-style characters and soft lights, anchors the place. A light-up sign behind his desk reads, “The world is yours.” Nearby, a mini fridge is stocked with fizzy drinks and snacks. Music plays constantly, and Ziggy, Pean’s Amazon Echo, is always cued to play his client’s favorite songs or Pean’s choice, the soulful chords of J. Cole’s R&B tracks.

Weinberg third-year Amie Masih says the studio setup was a journey. He designed the space with his mostly female clientele in mind, aiming to create an environment that feels warm, comfortable and welcoming. Masih, who helped with the decoration, says Pean was very intentional and asked her to help choose decorations that his clients may gravitate toward.  

Pean is a very social person who makes his customers feel comfortable, Masih says. When she requested a complex gold Gel-X design to reflect her Pakistani heritage, she says he made sure she was content with every nail, showing her each individual design. Since Pean’s nail sets last around three weeks, he takes extra care with each step, working patiently to ensure each detail is what his client envisioned. 

Masih booked with Pean on a whim. The set was unusually complex for her. “I didn’t ever plan to go to JP,” Masih says. “It just happened, but I’m really glad I did… A lot of people would have turned me down for this set.”

With a growing client base and steady word-of-mouth recommendations, Pean’s visibility on campus continues to rise. Every time he mentions his nail business, people ask questions — often about his sexuality, he says. An Alpha Phi Alpha brother being a straight male nail technician challenges assumptions about who belongs in beauty spaces.

“At first when I tell my fraternity brothers that I do nails, they’re shocked,” he says. “But I show them my work, and they’re actually really supportive. The best part is seeing their reactions.” Pean says his brothers are proud of the work he is doing.

Black straight men on campus tell him that they are inspired by how he is unapologetically pursuing nails, which pushes him to continue what he’s doing, he says. 

“I like to be multi-dimensional,” he says. “I like to play basketball, I like to play volleyball, I like to work out, I like to dance and I like to do nails.”

While you may not find Pean promoting an extra pedicure business anytime soon, he continues nailing down the final details on his business — perfecting his shaping, refining his designs and creating a positive experience for every client who sits in his chair.

Pean launched a reel series on Instagram to promote Movember Manicures, pledging half of his November proceeds to men’s health initiatives, including suicide prevention and prostate and testicular cancer awareness. His Reels feature him doing a manicure on a male client while opening up conversations on questions like “What does it mean to be a man?” and “Can anger exist in relationships?” 

He is not only raising awareness on men’s mental health, but also donating to the Movember Foundation, American Cancer Society and St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital. In Evanston, Pean is showing that a nail chair can be a seat for community and change.