8.2 The Basic Manicure: Abrasives, Nippers, Clippers & Polish Application

Quick Answer: A Kansas basic manicure follows this order. (1) Clean your hands and prepare a cleaned, disinfected table with a fresh towel or paper. (2) Have the client's hands cleaned and inspect them for conditions you may not serve. (3) Remove polish. (4) Shape from corner to center with a medium-to-fine abrasive. (5) Soak briefly. (6) Apply cuticle remover and loosen dead cuticle with a pusher. (7) Nip only dead, detached tags. (8) Clean under the free edge and brush. (9) Massage, if offered (section 8.3). (10) Dehydrate. (11) Apply base coat, two thin color coats and top coat, capping the free edge. (12) Put implements in the used container and throw away single-use items in a covered receptacle.

Setting Up the Manicure Table

• Your hands: clean them, or use alcohol-based sanitizer, before touching clean implements or the client (K.A.R. 28-24-2).
• Table: cleaned and disinfected, then covered with a clean towel or paper for each client (K.A.R. 28-24-5). NTN's sample answer cleans work surfaces before every service.
• Implements: metal pusher, nippers, clippers and nail brush come out of the labeled clean container (K.A.R. 28-24-10(e)). A labeled, covered container for used implements sits within reach.
• Single-use items: new files, buffer and orangewood sticks come from their clean, labeled, covered storage or original packaging (K.A.R. 28-24-8).
• Products: remover, cuticle remover, lotion, base coat, polish and top coat stay in labeled, closed containers. Lotion or cream is dispensed without contaminating the stock (K.A.R. 28-24-6).
• Finger bowl: cleaned and disinfected, and filled with fresh warm water and a mild soap.
• Waste: a lined, covered receptacle (K.A.R. 28-24-14(a)(6)).

Safe Handling of Manicure Implements

Abrasives (files and buffers)

• Grit is the number of abrasive particles per square inch. A lower number is coarser.
  • Coarse (under 180): heavy reduction of acrylic or hard gel only. Never use on the natural nail.
  • Medium (about 180–240): shaping and shortening natural nails, and smoothing enhancements.
  • Fine (240 and higher): smoothing natural nail edges, removing shine and buffing.
• Porous files and buffers are single-use in Kansas. Metal or glass files are disinfected after each client.
• File from the corner toward the center in smooth strokes, working slightly under the free edge. Never saw back and forth. Sawing creates heat and splits and peels the free edge.
• Don't file into the corners of the sidewalls, which weakens the nail and invites ingrown edges.

Nail clippers

• Use clippers to shorten long nails before filing. They save time and reduce filing.
• Clip straight across. Don't squeeze very thick or brittle nails, which can crack. Shorten gradually instead.
• Clippers are multi-use. Clean and disinfect them after each client.

Nail nippers

• Nippers trim only dead, detached tissue, such as the loose part of a hangnail or a dead cuticle tag, cutting it flush without pulling.
• Never cut living skin, such as the eponychium or the sidewalls. Kansas services must not alter, cut or damage living cells (K.A.R. 28-24-1(l)).
• Hold the nippers with control and a stable hand position, with the client's finger supported.
• If you cause bleeding, follow the blood exposure procedure (section 5.1).

The Basic Manicure Step by Step

1. Greet and consult. Review the intake and inspect the client's hands. Don't start if you see open sores, inflamed tissue suggesting a communicable condition, or fungus (K.A.R. 28-24-3; section 8.1).
2. Client's hands: have the client wash, or apply an antiseptic hand cleanser.
3. Remove polish. Hold a remover-saturated pad on the nail for a few seconds, then wipe from the cuticle toward the free edge. Use non-acetone remover on tips, wraps and other enhancements, because acetone softens them.
4. Shape. Confirm the shape and length (section 8.1). Shorten with clippers if needed, then file corner to center with a medium grit and smooth with a fine grit.
5. Soak briefly. A few minutes in the finger bowl (3–5 minutes is typical) softens the cuticle. A nail plate that absorbs too much water swells, then shrinks as it dries, which can loosen polish.
6. Cuticle remover. Dry one hand and apply cuticle remover to the nail plate at the base. It is alkaline (about 2–5% sodium or potassium hydroxide), so keep it off the skin and don't leave it on longer than the label says.
7. Loosen dead cuticle. Using the spoon end of a metal pusher, held low and nearly flat against the nail plate with light pressure, or a cotton-tipped orangewood stick, gently lift dead cuticle off the plate. Push the eponychium back gently. Never scrape hard or dig toward the matrix.
8. Nip dead tags only (see above).
9. Clean under the free edge with a cotton-tipped orangewood stick, gently, to protect the hyponychium.
10. Brush the nails with a clean nail brush over the finger bowl to remove debris and cuticle remover, then dry. Repeat steps 5–10 on the other hand.
11. Hand and arm massage with lotion, if part of the service (section 8.3).
12. Dehydrate the nail plates with alcohol or dehydrator to remove lotion and oil. Polish won't stick over oil.
13. Polish (below).
14. After the service: put metal implements in the used container for cleaning and disinfection. Discard files, buffer, orangewood sticks and cotton in the covered receptacle. Bag used towels in a closed, labeled container. Clean and disinfect the table, and clean your hands.

Basic Polish Application

1. Base coat: one thin coat. It helps polish adhere and prevents the pigment from staining the nail.
2. First color coat: use the three-stroke method. Place the brush just short of the cuticle (about 1/16 inch), stroke down the center to the free edge, then down one side, then down the other side. Stay off the skin.
3. Second color coat: thin, same method, for full, even color.
4. Top coat: seals and protects the color and adds shine.
5. Cap the free edge with each coat by lightly sweeping the brush across the tip to reduce chipping.
6. Clean up stray polish around the nail with a cotton-tipped orangewood stick dipped in remover.
7. Optional quick-dry drops or spray speed drying. Don't blow on the client's nails.

Why polish chips early: oily or wet nail plates (from skipping dehydration or soaking too long), skipping base coat, thick coats that trap solvent, and not capping the free edge.