Nail Care and Manicuring
This domain tests implement care, filing technique, product application, and recognizing when a nail condition belongs to a physician rather than a manicurist.
Implements and disinfection
Metal implements are cleaned of debris, then fully immersed in an EPA-registered hospital-grade disinfectant for the label contact time. Porous items such as files, buffers, wooden pushers and cotton are single-use or discarded per board rule. Never double-dip into product; use a spatula and dispense. Wash hands before and after every client and wear gloves when the skin is broken.
Filing and shaping
Use a 180-grit file on natural nails and stroke corner to center in one direction. Sawing back and forth frays the free edge and causes splitting. Hold the file flat against the sidewall rather than angling it into the nail plate, which thins the plate over time.
Manicure and pedicure
Soak, shape, push back the cuticle with an implement, gently remove non-living tissue, buff lightly, then apply base coat, two thin color coats and top coat. Cut living tissue only where your scope allows; the eponychium is living skin. In pedicure, reduce callus gradually and never cut a diabetic client's skin.
Worked example
A client's natural nail splits repeatedly after each visit. Reasoning: the likely cause is the file, not the polish. Switch from a coarse grit to 180, file in one direction, and stop angling the file under the free edge. Note the change on the record card.
Traps that cost marks
Using MMA-based liquids, over-filing the plate, cutting the eponychium, skipping the disinfectant timer, and treating paronychia or onycholysis instead of referring.