Manicuring, Pedicuring, and Nail Enhancement Services
Basic manicure sequence
Sanitize your hands and the client's, remove old polish, shape the free edge, soak, push back the cuticle, nip only a hangnail or clearly dead tissue, massage, then base coat, two color coats, and top coat. Shape natural nails with a fine-grit file using one-direction strokes from corner to center; sawing back and forth with a coarse file creates splits and peeling. Never file deeply into the sidewalls or thin the plate.
Pedicure essentials
Sanitize the basin between clients, use a disposable liner where available, and keep callus reduction gentle. Do not use credo blades or aggressive rasps on clients with diabetes, circulatory problems, or thin skin. Work from the little toe to the great toe. Sanitation of the foot bath is part of the service, not an afterthought.
Enhancement chemistry
- Acrylic: liquid monomer plus polymer powder forms a bead that hardens by evaporation and polymerization.
- Gel: a photoinitiator cured by UV or LED light; it does not harden in air.
- Wraps and tips/forms: fabric and resin, or plastic tips and sculpting forms, build length.
A bead that is too wet shrinks and traps bubbles; too dry and it becomes brittle and lifts. Product on the skin or cuticle guarantees lifting - keep the margin clean and cure fully. Never use methyl methacrylate (MMA) monomer or pry off product; soak off gel and file acrylic down safely, never drill through to the natural plate.
Traps
“Cut the cuticle every time” (no - cuticle is live seal tissue at the base), “drill off the enhancement” (no), and “skip the soak to save time” (no).
Rule of thumb
Product touches skin, the service fails.