Nail Care Services and Techniques
Sequencing the service
Every manicure follows the same skeleton: consult and inspect, wash hands, shape, soak, cuticle care, massage, then polish. Exam questions reward knowing why each step exists - inspection catches contraindications before product touches skin; soaking softens the plate and lowers the risk of splitting during filing; massage strokes follow venous return toward the heart (effleurage, petrissage, friction, tapotement, vibration).
Filing and shaping
Hold the file flat against the free edge and stroke in one direction, corner to center. Back-and-forth sawing creates burrs and splits, especially on thin or peeling nails. Natural nails take a 240-grit or finer file; 100–180 grit is for artificial enhancements or reducing length, not for thinning the natural plate. Shape names: square, squoval, oval, round, almond, coffin, stiletto.
Product work
Polish goes on in thin coats: base, two thin color coats, topcoat, then cap the free edge. For acrylics, mix monomer with polymer to a medium-wet bead that holds shape without dripping; a too-dry bead is brittle, a too-wet bead shrinks and lifts. Build the apex over the stress zone and seal every edge.
Traps
Questions love the difference between the cuticle on the plate and the living eponychium at the base - and they love the phrase 'never cut living tissue.' Also expect double-dipping, MMA monomer prohibition, and working over inflamed or broken skin.
Rule of thumb
One direction, corner to center, fine grit on natural nails.