Nail Care and Manicure/Pedicure
Domain 7 - Nail Care and Manicure/Pedicure
The exam checks standard steps, tools and their hygiene, nail shapes, and - most often - which clients you must not treat as usual.
Manicure sequence
Sanitise hands, remove old polish, file in one direction with a 180–240 grit file, buff lightly, soak 3–5 minutes, soften and gently push back the cuticle with a wooden or silicone pusher, nip only a hangnail or dead tissue, massage with lotion, then base coat, two thin colour coats and top coat. Pedicure adds a foot soak, exfoliation and pumice work on the heels, with gentler pressure on callused or sensitive feet.
Shapes and tools
Square, squoval, oval, almond, coffin and stiletto, chosen to suit the hand and lifestyle. Keep nippers sharp, use a separate or disposable file per client, and disinfect reusable metal tools; a file used on two clients carries skin and fungal debris.
When to stop or refer
Fungal infection (thick, yellow, crumbly nail), paronychia (red, swollen, painful nail fold), onycholysis (plate lifting from the bed), psoriasis pitting, koilonychia (spoon nails) and a new dark streak (melanonychia). For diabetic clients: no cuticle cutting, no callus shaving, no metal implements probing the skin; file gently and refer.
Worked example
A client with type 2 diabetes books a deluxe pedicure with cuticle nipping and heel shaving. Reasoning: reduced sensation and slow healing make any cut a risk of ulcer and infection. Offer a modified pedicure - brief lukewarm soak, gentle filing, no nipping or shaving, careful drying between the toes, moisturiser, and advice to see a podiatrist - and note the modification on the card.
Traps
- Sawing back and forth with the file, which frays the free edge.
- Cutting live cuticle instead of pushing it back.
- Reusing a file or buffer between clients.
- Treating a suspected fungal nail just to “cover it up”.