Manicuring and Pedicuring Services
Service sequence
A professional manicure or pedicure begins with consultation: check skin and nails, ask about allergies, medications, diabetes, circulatory problems, and recent infections. Then sanitize your hands and the client's, set up a clean station, and shape the nail. Common shapes include square, squoval, oval, almond, and coffin. File gently and avoid over-filing the sidewalls; excessive thinning weakens the plate. Push back cuticle with a soft pusher, but do not cut living tissue. Nippers are for a loose hangnail or clearly dead tissue only.
Pedicure adds soaking, exfoliation, callus care, massage, and polish. Keep water temperature comfortable, do not soak excessively, and follow board rules on callus blades and rasps. Massage uses effleurage, petrissage, friction, tapotement, and vibration; avoid massage over red, swollen, or painful areas. Paraffin and hot-oil treatments require temperature checks.
Traps
Questions test whether you would treat a client with signs of infection-you should not. Cutting the cuticle, aggressive cuticle work, and using dirty implements are red flags. Do not promise that a service cures a nail or skin condition. Know the difference between a base coat, color coat, and top coat, and why each is used.
Rule of thumb: if the skin is broken, inflamed, or painful, stop and refer.
Worked example: a client has a red, swollen, tender toe. Do not soak, massage, or polish it; refer to a physician.