By the industry, for the industry.
The Nail Business Association is a not-for-profit trade body for everyone who makes a living in UK nails. It was started by people who run salons, because nobody was doing this for us.
Why we exist
Around 22,000 nail salons in Great Britain, tens of thousands of professionals, and a supply chain behind them. Almost all independent. Almost all small. And until now, no organisation whose only job is to look after them.
Rules arrive without warning. Product bans, licence changes, employment law, business rates. The information exists somewhere, in legal language, spread across councils and regulators and trade press that repeats itself. Nobody was reading it, checking it and telling the industry what to actually do.
That is the job.
What we do
- We listen. Ask TNBA takes any question about running a nail business and gets a verified answer. Answers are published, anonymised, in English and Vietnamese, so the knowledge builds.
- We check. Every legal or regulatory claim we publish links to the law or the official guidance it comes from. Where something is genuinely unsettled, we say so, and we write to the regulator for the answer.
- We represent. TNBA speaks for the nail industry to government, councils and regulators, and publishes every submission so members can see what was said in their name. See the work.
- We equip. Templates, guides, checklists and data that a salon or a professional can use the same day.
Who runs it
TNBA was founded in 2026 by Pawel Urbanski and Lam Ho, who own and run nail salons in London. Both have spent years inside the industry: hiring, training, dealing with councils, suppliers and product changes, and watching rules arrive that nobody explained.
TNBA Limited is a company limited by guarantee, registered in England and Wales, number 17120618. That is the standard structure for a not-for-profit trade body. It has no shareholders and pays no dividends.
An independent Chair will be appointed as membership grows.
Where the money goes
Membership fees and Patron contributions are TNBA’s only income.
- Directors are unpaid.
- Money goes on research, free guides, expert answers, translation, and the cost of representing the industry.
- Any surplus stays in TNBA to fund the next year’s work.
- Accounts are filed at Companies House and published on this site.
Independence
Not owned by anyone
TNBA is not owned by, funded by or answerable to any supplier, brand or political party. It takes no position on party politics and works with whoever can help the industry.
Recognition, not influence
Brands, suppliers, educators and event organisers can support TNBA as Supporters and Patrons. They are thanked publicly. They do not vote, do not sit on the board, and do not set TNBA’s positions. That is written into the Membership Terms.
Interests declared
The founders own nail salons and are connected to businesses in the industry. Those interests are declared. TNBA does not recommend or sell their products, and its guidance is written to be true for every salon, not for theirs.
The Expert Panel
Answers on TNBA are given by people who do the work for a living. To be on the panel a person must:
- hold a recognised professional qualification or registration in their field (law, accountancy, licensing, cosmetic safety, health and safety, education), or have at least ten years’ verified practice in the nail industry;
- hold current professional indemnity or public liability insurance where their field requires it;
- declare every commercial interest in the nail industry, which is published alongside their name;
- agree not to sell to members through TNBA, and not to be paid by TNBA for answers.
The founding panel is being assembled now. If you meet the standard and want to help this industry, we want to hear from you.
A place of truth for the nail industry.
Other industries have somewhere they can go for the facts. Nails never has. TNBA’s aim is to be the source the industry, the press and government check first, because what is written here has been read, checked and sourced by people who understand the work. We are new. We will get things wrong sometimes. When we do, we will say so and fix it in the open.