Manicuring and Pedicuring Procedures
Procedure items test sequence and the limits of your touch: what order steps belong in, what grit is appropriate, and which client you must decline. An answer that skips consultation or sanitation is wrong even when the cosmetic step is correct.
Standard manicure sequence
Consult and wash hands; sanitize your hands and station; remove old polish; shape with the correct file; soak or apply cuticle softener; gently push back cuticle with a rubber-tipped pusher or wooden stick; trim only a hangnail above the skin line; buff lightly if requested; massage hand and forearm; cleanse the plate; base coat, two thin color coats, top coat; dry and give aftercare.
Filing and cuticle rules
Use a 240-grit or finer file on natural nails, hold it at a slight angle, and file each side toward the center in one direction to limit splitting; never saw back and forth across the plate, and never file into the nail groove corners. Nippers are for a hangnail above living tissue, never for cutting cuticle or lateral folds.
Pedicure specifics
Soak 5 to 10 minutes in warm water with mild soap; disinfect the basin between clients per the label and use a fresh liner where required; work on one foot while the other soaks. Reduce callus with a file or rasp, not a credo blade or callus shaver, which cuts living tissue, is restricted or prohibited in many jurisdictions and is a leading cause of infection. Never cut corns. Ask about diabetes, poor circulation, neuropathy and blood thinners, and for those clients use cooler water, avoid abrasive reduction and refer.
Worked example
A client with diabetes asks you to shave a thick callus. Reasoning: reduced sensation and slow healing make any cut dangerous, and the shaver is out of scope regardless. Offer a short soak, light moisturizing appropriate to the condition, and a podiatry referral, and document the refusal and the reason.
Traps
Reversing massage and polish; using a coarse grit on natural nails; cutting cuticle; forgetting to disinfect the foot basin; and treating a diabetic foot as a routine pedicure.