GA Nail Technician cheat sheet

Cleaning removes visible debris with soap and water; disinfection destroys most pathogens on hard, nonporous surfaces and implements; sterilization destroys all microorganisms, including spores.

Implements must be washed, rinsed, and completely dried before immersion in an EPA-registered hospital-grade disinfectant; organic debris and residual water dilute and inactivate the solution.

Disinfectant is mixed at the labeled dilution and implements stay submerged for the full labeled contact time (commonly 10 minutes); the solution is replaced per label or when it becomes cloudy or contains debris.

Porous items such as emery boards, buffers, cotton, wooden sticks, and foam toe separators cannot be disinfected and are single-use only.

Hands are washed with soap and warm running water for at least 20 seconds before and after every client; an alcohol sanitizer is not a substitute when hands are visibly soiled.

Universal precautions means every client's blood and body fluids are handled as potentially infectious; gloves are worn whenever exposure is possible.

Blood exposure procedure: stop the service, put on gloves, clean the wound, apply antiseptic and a bandage, discard contaminated porous items in a double bag, disinfect implements and surfaces, and refer the client to a physician when indicated.

OSHA requires the employer to supply personal protective equipment, hazard training, and accessible Safety Data Sheets, and to offer the Hepatitis B vaccination to employees with occupational exposure.

Never double-dip into product, never store clean and dirty implements together, never carry implements in a pocket, and never eat or drink at the work station.

Natural nails are shaped with 240-grit or finer abrasives, holding the file at a shallow angle and stroking from the corner toward the center in one direction to prevent splitting.

Polish application order is base coat, two thin color coats, then top coat; thin coats prevent bubbling and slow drying.

The eponychium is living tissue and is never cut; only the thin nonliving cuticle on the nail plate is gently loosened and removed.

Massage manipulations: effleurage (gliding strokes), petrissage (kneading), friction (circular pressure), and tapotement (percussion); a sequence begins and ends with effleurage.

Pedicure sequence: soak 5-10 minutes in warm water, exfoliate, reduce callus with a file or pumice, shape nails, push cuticles, massage, polish.

Credo (skin) blades are not used to remove callus because they cut living tissue and increase infection risk.

Acetone removes polish and softens acrylic; non-acetone remover is used on wraps and gels because acetone would break down the enhancement.

Massage is omitted over inflamed, swollen, bruised, or broken skin, and over areas with undiagnosed lumps or rashes.

A metal pusher is used at a shallow angle with light pressure; excessive force on the matrix causes ridges and Beau's lines.

A tip is chosen to fit sidewall to sidewall, glued 1-2 mm below the free edge, held 5-10 seconds to set, then the seam is blended flush with the natural nail.

Wraps use silk, linen, or fiberglass saturated with resin or cyanoacrylate; the fabric must be fully wet or the wrap lifts and dries cloudy.

The acrylic system is liquid monomer (ethyl methacrylate) plus powder polymer, mixed at roughly 1.5 parts powder to 1 part liquid; a wetter mix is weaker and a drier mix is brittle.

Acrylic polymerization is exothermic; heat rises with a wetter mix or a larger bead and can burn the nail bed.

Primer improves adhesion to the natural plate; acid-based primers contain methacrylic acid and can irritate skin, while acid-free primers are gentler.

UV and LED gels contain photoinitiators and cure only under a compatible lamp; they do not air-dry.

No enhancement is applied over a nail showing infection, inflammation, or separation; the client is referred instead.

Enhancements are rebalanced every 2-3 weeks, and lifted product is removed rather than filled over.

A dehydrator temporarily removes surface moisture and oil; over-buffing the natural plate thins it and weakens the bond.

Structures of the nail unit: free edge, nail plate, nail bed, matrix, lunula, cuticle, eponychium, hyponychium, sidewalls, nail grooves, and nail folds.

Fingernails grow about 3.5 mm (1/8 inch) per month and are fully replaced in 4-6 months; toenails grow about 1.5 mm per month and take 9-12 months.

The matrix produces the nail plate and determines its shape and thickness; matrix damage causes ridges, thinning, or distorted growth.

Contagious conditions requiring refusal and referral: onychomycosis, tinea pedis, paronychia, warts (verruca), herpes simplex, and impetigo.

Onycholysis is separation of the plate from the bed; onychocryptosis is an ingrown nail; onychogryphosis is a thickened ram's-horn nail; onychorrhexis is splitting and brittleness.

Leukonychia (white spots) usually follows minor matrix trauma rather than calcium deficiency; a dark streak (melanonychia) is referred for possible melanoma.

Beau's lines are horizontal depressions caused by illness or trauma to the matrix and grow out with the plate.

Blue or gray nail beds suggest poor circulation or respiratory problems; yellow-green discoloration suggests bacterial or fungal involvement.

Skin layers from outer to inner are epidermis, dermis, and subcutaneous (hypodermis); the stratum corneum is the outermost epidermal layer of flattened, keratinized cells.

New epidermal cells form in the basal layer and migrate outward; the epidermis contains no blood vessels.

Skin functions: protection, sensation, heat regulation, excretion, secretion, and absorption.

Sudoriferous glands secrete sweat; sebaceous glands secrete sebum and attach to hair follicles; neither type is present on the nail plate.

The nail is an appendage of the skin; the plate is formed by the matrix and consists of keratinized, nonliving cells.

The nail bed supplies the plate with blood and lymph and contains nerves, while the plate itself has no nerve endings, so filing is painless.

Bones of the hand: 8 carpals, 5 metacarpals, and 14 phalanges (3 per finger, 2 in the thumb).

Extensor muscles straighten the fingers and flexor muscles bend them; both attach to phalanges by tendons.

The pH scale runs 0-14 with 7 neutral; skin and nails are mildly acidic near pH 4.5-5.5, and alkaline products swell and soften the nail plate.

Nail polish contains film formers such as nitrocellulose, solvents such as ethyl or butyl acetate, plasticizers, resins, pigments, and suspending agents.

Acetone is a volatile, flammable solvent that dissolves polish and acrylic, defats skin, and must be stored closed and away from heat or flame.

A Safety Data Sheet has 16 standardized sections covering identification, hazards, first aid, handling, storage, and spill response, and must be accessible to employees.

Acrylic monomers are skin sensitizers; repeated contact can cause allergic contact dermatitis, so contact is avoided and containers are kept closed.

The nail plate normally holds about 15-18 percent water; dehydration makes it brittle, while soaking swells the plate and later shrinkage contributes to lifting.

Chemicals are never mixed with one another, and products are never stored in unlabeled containers.

Quaternary ammonium compounds are common salon disinfectants and are inactivated by soap residue and organic debris.

The Georgia Board of Cosmetology and Barbers, within the Professional Licensing Boards Division under the Secretary of State, licenses and disciplines nail technicians and salons.

Georgia requires 525 clock hours of board-approved nail technician training before the licensing examination.

The salon license and each practitioner's individual license must be current and posted in the salon; unlicensed practice is prohibited and subject to penalties.

Scope of practice for a Georgia nail technician covers manicures, pedicures, and nail enhancements; haircutting, chemical hair services, and other skin care fall outside the license.

Practicing on a lapsed or expired license is prohibited; reinstatement requirements apply and are set by the Board.

Salon owners keep client service records and consent documentation, retain Safety Data Sheets, and follow Board sanitation rules for implement disinfection and single-use items.

Georgia sales tax applies to retail product sales, while professional services are treated separately under state tax rules.

Independent contractors set their own schedules and pay their own taxes, whereas employees are directed by the salon, which withholds payroll taxes.