Nail Care and Services
Nail Care and Services on the New Hampshire nail technician exam tests your ability to deliver manicures, pedicures, and nail enhancements without damaging the natural nail or creating a health hazard. Questions often describe a client scenario and ask for the safest next step.
Consultation and service order
Begin with a health history and visual inspection. Note diabetes, circulatory problems, skin infections, and allergies; these change your service plan. Record products used and any reaction. Sanitize your hands, set up fresh linens, and keep soiled and clean implements separate. Never begin an enhancement over inflamed or broken skin.
Manicure and pedicure rules
File the natural nail with a fine-grit file, about 180 to 240, in one direction to reduce splitting, and do not file deep into the sidewalls. Push back the eponychium gently; nippers are for a loose hangnail or thin dead tissue, not for cutting live cuticle. In a pedicure, do not use a credo blade or sharp tool to shave calluses. Reduce calluses with a foot file or pumice after soaking.
Enhancement essentials
For acrylic, the monomer and polymer ratio should look like a wet snowball, not runny and not dry. Too wet causes shrinkage and lifting; too dry causes brittleness. Prep by dehydrating and removing surface shine without thinning the plate. Never use methyl methacrylate, or MMA; EMA is the standard. Cure gel products with a lamp matched to the product, and remove enhancements by soaking, not prying.
Worked example
A client returns with lifting on two acrylic nails. Reasoning: lifting usually comes from moisture, incomplete prep, or a wet mix. Do not simply fill over it. File the lifted product away, check for green discoloration, clean and dehydrate the plate, then reapply with a correct ratio. If the nail bed is damaged or discolored, stop and refer.
Traps
Overfiling the natural nail, skipping prep, using MMA, cutting live tissue, and judging cure by time rather than by the product instructions all cost marks.