get to know the academy

About Us

Enroll in a class today

Award winning educational excellence.
Boundary-breaking community.
10/10 “no regrets”, hands-on experience.

More than just an academy,
this is the gimmeahand legacy.

100%

Passing Rate

2005

Established in

1st

Nails Only School in Ohio

18 Years

of producing top-tier nail techs

You’re a gem

and there’s nothing we can do about it,
but we can sure do something to turn your love for nails into a license plus a lifetime business.

Built for those who are built different

Ruby, turquoise, diamond. Buckeye Road, Broadway Avenue, Euclid Avenue. Having stood loud and proud in 3 different locations, we’ve grown into an academy that feels more like a home than an academy, an encompassing community that’s so in touch with its local community, and a culture of creating diamonds amid the pressure—including you.

This is what makes us different. This is what makes YOU different.

No two gems alike

Top-tier curriculum that produces unique and sought-after students. Our proven program is passed onto our students (GEMS as we like to call them) through a plethora of course options. They walk in overwhelmed, but leave the academy determined—ready to be an incomparable nail tech and put up their own nail salon the GEM way.

Shaped, polished, and glittered to perfection

From instructors with industry and life experience, premium products, kit checks, nailpreneurs who raise their nails and clap for you, down to business showers post-graduation, we always strive to give you an A+ experience curated to perfection.

A trip down the memory lane

  • 2005

    GimmeAHand Academy made its shining, shimmering debut

    and was groundbreakingly hailed as the first nails-only beauty school in the entire state by the Ohio State of Cosmetology.

  • 2015

    We rolled out the red carpet for our first-ever nailcare product.

    Now GAH is home to brag-worthy nail products used inside and outside the classroom.

  • 2018

    The academy returned from its quick hiatus

    with a stronger educational system
    and superior product line. #comebackisreal

  • 2021

    10/10? More like 100/10.

    We’ve achieved a historical 100% pass rate
    …and that’s on periodt.

Almost two long decades after its inception,

GIMMEAHAND Academy

continues to help alphas transform into GEMs they deserve to be.

Enroll in a class today

What our gems have to say

“It is not just a school here. Being part of GAH you are a part of something bigger than nails. This was the absolutely best experience. Ms Lachelle is very knowledgeable and cares about all of her students.

Once a GEM always a GEM! 💎”

– Ursula Mazette

“GimmeAHand is the best option for aspiring nail techs.

The instructors are not only knowledgeable but they also really care about the success of the students even after graduation. They go beyond inviting guest speakers when possible and my class even had a former student come back to do a demo for us.

GAH is not just a school. It is a community and a network. 

I highly recommend GAH. I love being a GEM!”

– Chanel Belle

“There are literally no words that could adequately describe my experience here. What I have learned is nothing compared to how much I have grown as a black woman. 

To be around women who uplift, encourage, and teach from a place of realness and love. 

I have always said you have to love what you do to teach, to deal with so many personalities. Ms. Lachelle thank you so much for keeping me from quitting.”

– Kimiesha Porter

“Wonderful place. I call it Nail Heaven 😍

I took the state board prep class July 21, 2021 and passed the state board July 23, 2021. 

I wish I went to this school 6 years ago. The whole GAH experience was just AMAZING!”

– Lindsey Starks

“GimmeAHand Academy is a five-star nail school with a top-tier education and hands-on training.

I definitely enjoyed attending this school. I received one on one attention with feedback and was given the necessary tools, both physical and mental, to be able to go to state boards with the confidence to pass! 

Ms. Bender is an exceptional, professional instructor who genuinely cares about her students and has a true passion for nails. Not to mention, she is the first successful nails only nail school in the state of Ohio AND it is a black-owned business! I love that she is willing to go above and beyond even AFTER completing her course, to help ensure that you pass state boards. IT DOESN’T GET ANY BETTER THAN THAT!!!!”

– Zoe Hinson

Virtuous Woman in Business Awardee

Black Enterprise Entrepreneur Series Finalist

MBE/WBE/EDGE Certified

Manufacture Leadership Graduate

Ms. lachelle bender

Run by women of color. Nail knowledge galore. All hail our instructors.

The woman who started it all. She dropped everything (her nail polish excluded) to experience the glitters, the colors, and the glamorous world of nail salon for nearly 10 years then built GimmeAHand Academy.

And she’s just getting started.

Experience the GEM way of nailing your business.

Guidance that hugs, helps, and hits different

Glittered with expertise and integrity, we’ve teamed up with qualified instructors and developed five-star products to support you, whatever skin color you have, whichever gender you identify with, and wherever you are in your nailpreneur journey.

Encouragement that’s backed by experience

Our proven track record has raised the bar and has become THE blueprint in the nail care industry. Flash classes. Unrivaled courses. Best-kept secrets. We understood the assignment.

Motivation that turns first-time takers into one-and-done passers

License at first sight. THAT is our goal for our GEMs. Our time-tested, crisp, and polished curriculum makes getting the L easy.

Now the only question is, are you ready?

MEET OUR CLASSES