I’m Sofia — and I’ve been doing nails since before I had a license

Licensed nail technician, Miami local, and the person writing every word on TheNailDrop.

Where this actually started

Growing up in Miami at 16, I constantly had my mom’s friends asking me to do their nails. A professional license was out of the question, and a proper curing lamp was barely in the picture. All it really took to get started was a $12 gel kit from Amazon, a YouTube playlist, and enough nerve to charge $10 a set.

By 17, I had a waiting list of neighborhood women who trusted my hands more than the salon down the street. That was the moment I realized this wasn’t just a hobby. This was the thing.

At 20, I got serious. I enrolled in nail tech school, got my Florida state license, and started working in real salons. The license didn’t teach me as much as those first four years of trial and error already had — but it gave me the vocabulary, the sanitation knowledge, and the professional credibility to back up what I already knew how to do.

Why I left the salon — and why that matters for you

I worked in two salons over three years. Both were good environments. But salon work has a clock on it — you have a client every 45 minutes, tips depend on volume, and there’s no space to sit with someone’s nails and actually do what they need instead of what the schedule allows.

I went independent. I converted a room in my Coral Gables home into a proper studio — full ventilation, a real nail desk, a UV lamp I actually trust, the products I’ve tested over years. Word spread. I’ve had a waitlist ever since.

Why does this matter for you? Because everything I write comes from someone who spends her days looking at nails up close, solving real problems, and watching what actually works versus what sounds good in a blog post.

Why TheNailDrop exists

In 2024, a client asked me to recommend a nail blog she could actually learn from. I spent twenty minutes trying to find one. Most of what I found was either recycled Pinterest captions dressed up as articles, or content clearly written by someone who’d never done a full set in their life.

The nail content online has a real problem: it looks good and says nothing. Beautiful photography, zero substance. Guides about “gel nails” that don’t explain the difference between BIAB, hard gel, and soft gel. Aftercare advice that would make a trained tech wince.

I built TheNailDrop to be the resource I couldn’t find — for women who want to understand their nails, not just look at pretty ones.

What I cover — and how I think about it

Gel, extensions, and products — explained honestly — I break down what each product category actually is, what the differences mean for your nails, and when each makes sense. No brand partnerships shaping my opinions. No vague “consult a nail tech” copouts.

Nail health before aesthetics — I see what years of bad product choices, rough removal, and skipped cuticle care do to nails. A huge part of what I write is about building nails back up — and keeping them healthy enough that they can actually hold a beautiful set.

Nail art that’s honest about skill level — I’ll always tell you if a technique is genuinely beginner-friendly or if it’s being marketed as simple when it’s actually not. I’d rather you succeed with something achievable than feel like a failure chasing a look that took a professional ten years to develop.

Press-ons, taken seriously — Press-on nails have completely changed. The quality, the customization options, the longevity — they deserve real coverage, not dismissal. I write about them the same way I write about anything else: with actual testing and zero condescension.

On representation — from someone who needed it

Growing up Cuban-American in Miami, I had olive skin that photographed differently from most of the nail content I was trying to learn from. Colors looked different on my hands. Some shades I loved in photos did nothing for my skin tone. And nobody was talking about that.

TheNailDrop covers nail color on a range of skin tones — not because it’s a brand talking point, but because I’ve lived the frustration of generic advice that assumes one hand fits all. I write about what works on olive skin, warm brown skin, deep skin, and everything in between. If you’ve ever looked at a “trending shade” guide and thought “that’s not going to translate on me” — you’re who I’m writing for.

Come find me

Questions, topic requests, or just want to say hi — you’ll find me on Pinterest or through the contact page.

Business and collaboration inquiries go to [email protected] — I read every one personally.

Good nails start with good information. — Sofia