NC Nail Technician study plan

Classify 25 common salon items as single-use, multi-use porous, or multi-use nonporous, and assign each to cleaning, disinfection, or sterilization.

Interpret an EPA-registered hospital-grade disinfectant label to identify active ingredient, contact time, and dilution, then state why contact time must be met.

Differentiate bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites, and match at least four nail-service-relevant pathogens to the condition each causes.

Sequence standard precautions for a nail service, including handwashing, glove changes, and the blood-exposure spill procedure.

Order the steps of a basic manicure and a basic pedicure, naming the safety checkpoint embedded in each step.

Select file grit and demonstrate correct directional filing and nipper/pusher technique without damaging the sidewalls or cuticle.

Screen for pedicure contraindications, including diabetes, circulatory disorders, and suspected fungal infection, and state the correct response for each.

Describe effleurage, petrissage, and tapotement and identify the intended effect of each on the hand, arm, foot, and lower leg.

Compare liquid-and-powder acrylic, UV/LED gel, and wrap systems on chemistry, cure mechanism, durability, and removal method.

Explain proper nail prep, apex placement, and sidewall shaping for a sculpted enhancement, and state why each step affects adhesion.

Diagnose five common service failures, naming the likely cause and the prevention step for each.

Justify safe removal procedures and identify products and shortcuts that must never be used in a salon setting.

Label a blank nail diagram with matrix, lunula, eponychium, cuticle, hyponychium, nail bed, free edge, and mantle.

Distinguish at least eight nail disorders and identify which require referral rather than service.

Identify skin conditions of the hands and feet and state the scope-of-practice limit for each.

Decide, for ten client scenarios, whether to proceed with service, modify the service, or refer out, and justify each decision.

Explain the pH scale and describe how product pH affects adhesion, cure, and skin safety.

Describe polymerization and the exothermic reaction, and list three ways to prevent client overheating or burning.

Locate and interpret the required sections of a Safety Data Sheet for two salon products.

Explain why incorrect monomer-to-polymer ratio causes service failure and describe correct mixing consistency.

Summarize the structure and authority of the NC Board of Cosmetic Art Examiners, including licensing and license display requirements.

State the scope of practice for a nail technician and list acts prohibited under NC rules.

Recite the sanitation, recordkeeping, and salon-license rules that inspectors check.

Build a consultation sequence covering intake, contraindication screening, informed consent, expectation setting, and aftercare instructions.

Solve pricing, retail markup, commission versus booth rent, and simple bookkeeping problems.

Apply ethical standards to confidentiality, scope of practice, and refusing or discontinuing service.

Re-drill your lowest-scoring domain from the Week 4 milestone and convert every missed concept into a flashcard.

Complete two timed 100-question mixed practice exams under exam conditions.

Review every missed item and restate the correct concept in your own words.

Rehearse the full sanitation sequence aloud as you would perform it for a practical evaluation.

Condense your hardest facts into a single review sheet you can read in 20 minutes.