Manicuring and Pedicuring Services
Nail structure and safe shaping
Know the nail plate, free edge, sidewalls, cuticle, eponychium, hyponychium, and matrix. Shape natural nails with a file in one direction, working from corner toward center, to reduce splitting. Do not over-file the sidewalls or thin the plate. Buff lightly and only on the plate.
Manicure sequence
Consult and wash hands, remove old polish, shape, soak, gently push the cuticle with a rubber-tipped pusher, nip only a hangnail or clearly dead tissue, massage, then polish. Never cut living tissue or force the cuticle back. Nippers are for tiny tags, not for carving out the nail fold.
Pedicure sequence
Soak, clean under the free edge, file straight across with slightly rounded corners, reduce callus with a paddle or rasp, massage, and polish. Do not use a credo blade on living tissue or dig into an ingrown nail. Refer clients with open cuts, bacterial or fungal infection, warts, severe dermatitis, or uncontrolled diabetes rather than attempting treatment.
Traps
Watch for “cut the cuticles,” “file back and forth,” “dig out an ingrown nail,” and “use the same file on several clients.” Another trap is treating a pedicure as a medical procedure - it is a cosmetic service with a referral boundary.
Worked example
A client has a red, swollen toe fold with pus. Do not soak, cut, or apply product. Stop, refer to a physician, and disinfect all equipment that touched the area.