13.4 Enhancement Tools, Equipment, and Products

Choosing a form or a tip, handling monomer, and grading abrasives are standard nail-technology instruction. Pennsylvania does not require a form instead of a tip, and it does not set a file grit. This section is instruction. It does not cite a Code section.

The Form and the Tip

A nail form supports a sculptured extension beyond the free edge. Acrylic or gel is built on the form, and the form comes off after the product can hold its shape. A nail tip is a pre-formed plastic extension glued to the plate and then overlaid. Use a form when you sculpt the length from product. Use a tip when the length is plastic.

The form sits snug under the free edge. There is no gap that lets product run underneath. A gap lets beads and gel cure against the hyponychium, and taking that ridge out tears the seal. If the form sits low, reset it before the first bead or the first gel. Do not build over product that has already run underneath.

The Dappen Dish, the Brush, and the Files

A dappen dish holds a small amount of monomer. Pour only what this service needs. A full dish is a wide pool of vapor, so cover it between pickups. The acrylic brush is wiped and shaped. It is not stored standing in monomer, which ruins the bristles and leaves a pool of chemical. Soaked hairs splay and dump extra liquid into the next bead. Dispose of leftover monomer as the product requires. Do not pour it back into the stock bottle.

Files used to shape an enhancement are coarser than files used on the natural plate. A common teaching pair is 100 grit for product and 180 grit nearer the natural nail. Call those common grits, not a Pennsylvania requirement. Chapter 7 does not set a grit number. Use the coarser file on product, and move to the finer grit as you near the natural plate. That coarser grit on the bare plate thins keratin too fast. A buffer finishes the scratch marks. It does not remove a thick overlay.

Abrasive files and buffers that cannot be disinfected are single-use. Grit traps dust and product. A rinse does not make that abrasive safe for the next client.

Dehydrator, Primer, and the Rest of the Table

Dehydrator removes moisture and oil. Primer is a separate step that prepares the plate for adhesion. Do not substitute one for the other. Skipping dehydrator on an oily plate is a common reason an overlay lifts. Apply dehydrator, let it dry, then apply primer if that system uses primer.

The lamp cures gel and must match that gel. A gel brush places gel. The acrylic brush picks up monomer and powder. Keep each brush with its own product.

A nipper in this service is for product only. It trims a plastic tip or clips product. It does not cut living skin, and a blade that has cut product is not then used on a cuticle.

A dust brush sweeps filing dust off the plate. A dust brush that touches the skin is not then used to sweep product dust onto the next client's plate. Use a clean brush for the next client.

Product stays in labeled containers. The manufacturer's label stays on the original bottle. A secondary bottle of monomer needs a workplace label so the chemical is identified.

Scenario: A Low Form and a Brush Left in the Dish

A client wants a sculptured acrylic extension, so the length will be product on a form, not a plastic tip. The form sits low, and a gap shows under the free edge. Reset it until it is snug, before any bead goes on. The acrylic brush has been standing in a full dappen dish since the last client. Take the brush out of the monomer. Empty the dish down to a small working amount, and wipe and shape the brush instead of parking it in the liquid. Shape product with a coarse file, commonly 100 grit, and refine nearer the natural nail with a finer file, commonly 180 grit. Those grits are common teaching sizes, not a requirement in the Code. The buffer finishes. Dehydrator goes on the plate, then primer, because one does not stand in for the other. The dust brush grazed the client's skin, so it is not used to sweep dust onto the next client. Monomer poured into a secondary bottle carries a workplace label.