AL Nail Technician cheat sheet

Cleaning removes visible debris; disinfection destroys most pathogens on hard, nonporous surfaces; sterilization destroys all microbial life, including spores.

Reusable implements that touch skin or nails are washed, dried, then fully immersed in an EPA-registered hospital-grade disinfectant for the label's stated contact time (quats typically 10 minutes).

Porous items - files, buffers, pumice, wooden sticks, cotton - cannot be disinfected and are single-use; discard them or give them to the client.

Wash hands with soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds before and after every client; hand sanitizer is not a substitute when hands are visibly soiled.

Wear fresh gloves per client and whenever blood or non-intact skin may be contacted; add mask and eye protection when splashing is likely.

Blood or body-fluid exposure: stop, keep gloves on, apply antimicrobial, clean and disinfect every touched surface, double-bag contaminated waste, then wash hands.

Keep a 16-section Safety Data Sheet for every professional product in an accessible binder and label all secondary containers.

Store flammable liquids in a closed metal cabinet away from heat and ignition; keep an ABC extinguisher and a GFCI near water sources.

Refuse service on open lesions, suspected fungus, parasites, or contagious skin disease, and refer the client to a physician.

File the natural nail in one direction from side toward center with 180-grit or finer abrasive; back-and-forth sawing splits the plate layers.

Push back only the eponychium and dead cuticle with a metal pusher or wooden stick; cutting living tissue breaks the seal and can cause paronychia.

Sequence for polish: base coat, two thin color coats, top coat; thick coats trap solvent and cause bubbles and slow drying.

Reduce callus only on dry skin with a foot file; never use a credo blade, razor, or grater on a client.

Soak feet 5-10 minutes in warm water, then drain and disinfect the basin with an EPA-registered product between clients.

Massage order: effleurage, petrissage, tapotement/friction, then effleurage to finish; strokes move distal to proximal.

Pedicure contraindications needing physician clearance: diabetes with circulatory loss, open sores, fungal infection, recent surgery.

Shape options are square, squoval, oval, and pointed; square corners give the greatest strength and oval suits narrow nail beds.

Use acetone-free remover on natural nails; reserve acetone for soak-off removal of enhancements.

Acrylic equals monomer liquid plus polymer powder; a medium-wet bead that stays on the brush gives the strongest, least-bubbled enhancement.

A too-wet bead causes shrinkage, bubbles, and heat; a too-dry bead causes lifting and a brittle, cloudy finish.

Never dip a used brush into the monomer bottle; pour monomer into a dappen dish and discard leftovers.

Use ethyl methacrylate (EMA), not methyl methacrylate (MMA), which is harder, brittle, difficult to remove, and strongly allergenic.

UV/LED gels cure only under a lamp; keep gel off skin and cure each layer for the manufacturer's time to prevent allergic sensitization.

Rebalance (fill) enhancements every 2-3 weeks, before new growth creates a ledge that lifts and traps moisture.

Remove acrylic or soft gel by soaking in acetone; never force or pry an enhancement off the nail plate.

Fabric wraps of silk, linen, or fiberglass are bonded with cyanoacrylate resin to strengthen or repair a split nail.

A tip is blended at the stress area with a fine abrasive, while a form is used to build a free edge from scratch.

Nail unit: nail plate, nail bed, matrix, eponychium (living cuticle), cuticle, hyponychium, lunula, lateral folds, free edge.

The matrix produces the plate; matrix injury permanently alters shape and thickness, and the lunula is the visible portion of the matrix.

Average growth is 3-4 mm per month (about 0.1 mm per day); fingernails outpace toenails, and full replacement takes 4-6 months on fingers versus 9-12 on toes.

The hyponychium seals the free edge; pterygium is overgrown cuticle adhering to the plate and is not the same structure.

Refer rather than treat: onychomycosis, paronychia with pus, onycholysis with discoloration, longitudinal dark streaks (melanonychia), sudden nail loss.

Leukonychia is white spotting from matrix trauma, Beau's lines are transverse depressions after illness, koilonychia is spooning, onychorrhexis is splitting.

Hand skeleton: 8 carpals, 5 metacarpals, 14 phalanges, supplied by the median, ulnar, and radial nerves.

Skin layers are epidermis (avascular), dermis (nerves, vessels, glands), and subcutaneous; the nail plate has no nerve endings, but the bed is sensitive.

pH runs 0-14 with 7 neutral; skin and nail surfaces sit near pH 4.5-5.5, and each whole number is a tenfold change in acidity or alkalinity.

Solvents dissolve other substances: acetone dissolves polish and enhancements, is highly flammable, and defats skin and nails.

Acrylic polymerization is exothermic; a large, wet bead on a big nail can release enough heat to burn the nail bed.

An emulsifier lets oil and water mix; surfactants in cleansers lift oil and debris so water can rinse them away.

Patch test a new product on the client's skin 24-48 hours before full service and record redness, itching, or swelling.

Screen for allergens: methyl methacrylate, formaldehyde-releasing polish preservatives, nickel in implements, and added fragrance.

Consultation covers medical history, medications, allergies, occupation, prior nail services, and desired length, shape, and color.

Hazard Communication: label every container, keep SDS on file, and never transfer product into an unlabeled bottle.

The Alabama Board of Cosmetology and Barbering licenses nail technicians and salons and adopts the sanitation rules enforced at inspection.

A current license must be displayed at the licensee's station; practicing without a license is unlawful and grounds for discipline.

The nail technician license covers manicuring, pedicuring, and nail enhancements; hair or skin services require the matching license.

A salon must hold a current shop license and is subject to inspection during business hours without prior notice.

Applicants must be at least 16, hold a high school diploma or equivalent, and complete the Board-approved nail technology program and examination.

The Board may deny, suspend, revoke, or fine a licensee for unsanitary practice, unlicensed practice, or falsified records.

Required sanitation: disinfect reusable implements, discard single-use items, provide handwashing facilities, and keep SDS accessible.

Renew licenses and shop licenses on the schedule set by the Board and retain continuing education records for review.