Nail Care and Nail Services
Anatomy you must name
The nail plate is the visible nail. Beneath it sits the nail bed. The matrix creates new cells and its visible portion is the lunula. The eponychium, often called the cuticle, is living tissue at the base of the plate; the hyponychium is the seal under the free edge; the sidewalls are the folds along each side. Fingernails grow roughly 1/8 inch per month, faster in summer and faster than toenails.
Disorders versus diseases
Recognize the vocabulary: onychocryptosis (ingrown nail), onycholysis (lifting of the plate), onychorrhexis (splitting), leukonychia (white spots), melanonychia (dark band), paronychia (infection of the nail fold), and onychomycosis (fungal infection). A technician may not diagnose or treat disease or work on inflamed, infected, or broken skin; refer the client to a physician.
Services and product chemistry
Manicures, pedicures, tips, wraps, acrylics, and gels form the core service list. Acrylics combine a liquid monomer with a polymer powder; gels cure under UV or LED light. Methyl methacrylate (MMA) is prohibited in most jurisdictions, including Georgia, and ethyl methacrylate (EMA) is the accepted monomer.
Sanitation drives many questions. Metal implements such as nippers and cuticle pushers are cleaned, then immersed in an EPA-registered hospital disinfectant. Porous items, including files, buffers, wooden sticks, and orange sticks, are single-use and either discarded or given to the client. Pedicure basins are cleaned and disinfected between clients, ideally with a liner in place.
Traps and a rule of thumb
Watch for cuticle versus eponychium, and for questions that describe cutting living tissue, which is outside a nail technician's scope in Georgia. Rule of thumb: porous equals disposable - if the tool cannot be disinfected, it does not get reused.