Manicuring and Pedicuring Procedures
Procedure questions test sequence, tool choice, and the judgment calls that separate a clean service from an injury: how you file, how much plate you remove, when a pedicure must be modified or refused.
Manicure sequence
- Consult, wash hands, sanitize the station, and lay out disinfected implements on a clean towel.
- Shape the dry nail with a fine-grit file, moving from sidewall toward the tip in one direction rather than sawing back and forth, which splits natural plate layers. Check that the shape is balanced across all ten nails.
- Soak briefly (2–3 minutes), apply cuticle softener, and push the proximal fold with a rubber-tipped pusher held at a shallow angle. Nip only dead tags; never cut the living fold.
- Buff lightly, remove dust, dehydrate, then base coat, two thin color coats, cap the free edge, and top coat.
- Shapes: square, squoval, round, oval, almond, stiletto. Match the shape to nail strength and the client's daily demands.
Pedicure sequence
- Basin: clean and disinfect before and after, use a fresh liner, keep water comfortably warm (about 37°C/98°F), and limit soaking to 5–10 minutes because over-soaking softens and distorts the plate.
- Reduce callus with a rasp or file, not a blade. Credo blades and callus shaving with a scalpel are outside a nail technician's scope.
- Contraindications: diabetes, peripheral vascular disease, neuropathy, and anticoagulant therapy. No sharp tools, no cutting cuticles, and obtain physician clearance before aggressive work.
- Disinfect the jet screen after every client and never service a basin used by a client with an open wound without full decontamination.
Worked example
A client with thin, splitting nails who types all day asks for long stiletto tips. Reasoning: a narrow, tapered shape concentrates stress at the free edge and the thin plate cannot support it. Offer a short squoval with rounded corners, a strengthener, and a shorter service interval - the shape reduces corner snagging and breakage while the plate recovers.
Traps that cost marks
Sawing back and forth on natural nails; over-thinning with an e-file; nipping live cuticle; long soaks; using a rasp on a diabetic foot without clearance; and reusing a foot file.