By Jason Fishman, Dec. 17, 2025
The professional career of Kazakhstani Inkar Birzhan did not begin with lofty ambitions and plans to scale up her business. It began with a sincere love of manicures. And her innate sense of style, acquired knowledge, and years of practice helped her hobby grow into an outstanding talent.
Today, Birzhan is a member of the prestigious Eurasian Beauty Guild, an international mentor, a renowned expert, and the founder and director of her own beauty studio in Almaty. Her work is distinguished by its artistic vision and detailed precision, and her proven technique has earned her first place in international beauty competitions.
This year, the talented expert was invited to be a judge at the prestigious All-Russian Crystal Lotus beauty and health industry awards. During the competition, she shared details of her professional life with us and told us about her upcoming projects.
The nail service industry, which Inkar entered almost ten years ago, has changed dramatically. Manicures have become widely popular today and are an important part of personal image and grooming culture. Birzhan’s clients are not only businesswomen, but increasingly schoolgirls, elderly ladies, and men.
“Men’s manicures have become an element of appearance, like a neat hairstyle or clean shoes. In big cities, almost one in five men complete their look with a manicure. We are talking about neat manicures without polish, says Inkar. Everyday looks require perfect, well-groomed hands with no cuticles and minimal nail length.”
Such work, incidentally, is a hallmark of this extraordinary expert: it is as delicate, precise, and professional as possible. At the end of November, her quest to create the perfect nail shape and length was recognized in a prestigious competition held by Prime One magazine. Birzhan was awarded in the “Professional of the Year in Nail Modeling” category.
“An award is always nice,” smiles Inkar. “It is the result of continuous professional development, practice, a creative approach, and hard work. It is proof that your efforts and achievements have been noticed and that you are on the right track.”
This is far from the only competition in which the international master has been recognized as the best by the professional community and cemented her position as an industry trendsetter. In 2024, the expert council of the international Fashion & Beauty Awards honored Birzhan in the category “Expert in Innovative Manicure Techniques and Trends-2024” for her unique artistic vision. And in 2023, for her invaluable contribution to the development of society and the industry, she won another international award and a People Awards International statuette as “Top-Nail Master of International Level.”
When asked about the importance of participating in competitive events, she replies: “I am driven by the desire to keep up with all the trends. And in my opinion, the most suitable place for this is competitions and championships. There you can meet masters from different countries, see what techniques they use, learn something, adapt something, or, conversely, teach and guide something. Competitions inspire you with new ideas and creativity, and give you an understanding of where you are professionally.”
Inkar makes no secret of the fact that she loves to learn. Despite her many years of experience and status as one of the industry leaders, she always finds time to improve her skills and learn new techniques at master classes. She also enjoys teaching. As a certified international coach and mentor, she has developed three original courses aimed at improving innovative nail modeling techniques without filing, working with the popular NELAK DIP system, as well as a section on podiatry for the professional treatment of nail problems associated with partial or complete separation of the nail plate from the nail bed. A total of 98 nail technicians enrolled in and completed two rounds of Birzhan’s courses.
Birzhan is not resting on her laurels. To develop the nail industry and share innovative techniques and experience, she is building new horizons with a focus on training centers and beauty studio branches abroad. In this way, Inkar continues to set standards of professionalism and aesthetics in the nail industry, inspiring a new generation of nail technicians around the world.