Therapist's nails

Okay, so at our college we've been told to have no nail polish on our nails and have them short on the days we are carrying out treatments.

My nails grow quite quickly but I prefer them to be short when im doing treatments anyway but i've seen therapists in salons with long nails.

Is this just a college thing or were the therapist with long, polished nails (sometimes acrylics) being a bit unhygenic?

Well I am a therapist and I have long acrylic nails, they arent unhygenic as I wash them and use cool blue sanitiser regulalrly before every client....


I think colleges set daft rules to be honest, I walked out of a college course after being told I couldnt wear my nose ring, I could wear a stud but not a ring and I had to cover up my wrist tattoo so I didnt offend people!!! (its only a star!!)

Covering up a star tattoo is ridiculous!

Thats what I thought. I can understand maybe for facials because product can become trapped underneath the nails. Apparently its no nail polish because it could chip and fall off onto the clients skin? I wasnt allowed to wear french tips which was a bit silly even though my nails are short?

I dunno!

I personally prefer them short because I cant seem to do much with long nails but just wanted to see what salons/ mobile therapists actually do.

I can see why colleges are picky about varnish as having clear nails enables the client to see the nails are clean, and at the end of the day whilst we might know under our nails are clean, a client doesn't.

On the subject of length, I can't begin to imagine how one could carry out a good deep massage or decent facial with long nails. I would certainly be put off by talons if I was about to have a massage!

Martin Duffy said:

I can see why colleges are picky about varnish as having clear nails enables the client to see the nails are clean, and at the end of the day whilst we might know under our nails are clean, a client doesn't.

On the subject of length, I can't begin to imagine how one could carry out a good deep massage or decent facial with long nails. I would certainly be put off by talons if I was about to have a massage!

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Well I wouldnt go as far as saying I have talons :lol: but my nails are long ish and I offer facials, I actually find its not a problem as when you wear loner nails you become used to using the pads of your fingers as opposed to the tips of your fingers.

tonilee said:

I actually find its not a problem as when you wear loner nails you become used to using the pads of your fingers as opposed to the tips of your fingers.

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I'll take your word for it as I don't think long nails would suit me!

I have to be honest and say I would walk out if I was offered a massage by someone with long nails, although I'm sure many other beauty treatments would be fine.

Do you do massage with a facial?

Martin Duffy said:

I'll take your word for it as I don't think long nails would suit me!

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:lol: LOL ooooh I dont know they might!

College at the end of the day is a school and in these places they like to feel they are in control, hence the rules (some ridiculous)
the therapists in salons with talons are not unhygienic as we tend to wash our hands as much as any nurse if not more and as lee has said we are always using a sanitising gel too,
i wear my nails in a long stiletto style with lots of nail art and they do not stop me from doing any of my treatments hth :hug:

before you ask martin, no i don't do massage :lol:

at college i was taught that it's more to do with alergies (however daft that sounds) and a client may have an allergy to nail polish or acrylics.

What standard does HABIA recomend?

I'm just as puzzled by this, but i wouldn't do facials with my nails long.

Rebecca

Habia recommends 'well trimmed nails' although i cant see anything about nail polish however i was always taught not to wear polish incase of clients being allergic as someone has already mentioned.

I suppose i wouldnt want to run the risk of scratching a client by mistake even during manicures or pedicures let alone facials so i always have to sacrifice having long nails!

hth x

I have been put off having a facial when the therapist had very long nails, even though I know you can use your finger pads I would be worried about being scratched.

I too was told at college keeping nails short and unvarished was so we didnt scratch the client, and also so any varnish didnt chip/fall off on client and in case of allergic reaction. We werent allowed to wear even clear polish and if we did have it on in our assessments, our tutor would fail us.
Personally I think it depends on what treatments/services you carry out, but defnitely for massage and ihm etc I think nails should be short and clean, I think it looks nice and professional.

Well I have fairly long nails, often natural looking occasionally painted a dark colour.....I dont worry about it chipping off on a client during a facial cos I use a quality nail enamel!!:lol: I dont worry about scratching clients simply because I dont scratch them, I have been wearing enhancements since I was 20 ( I am now 31) and not only do I managed to perform facials and all my other services with long ish nails but I also managed to bring 2 babies up without scratching them too!! :green:

I think it depends on whether you really want to get in there.
I dont think you can have long nails as a massage therapist you need to be able to get pressure right up into the tips of your fingers.
Yes you can work flat but its not the same and if i went to a therapist who was going to give me a massage with long false nails i would think it very unprofessional.Short,natural and clean is the ideal.Mine are awful short and picked so i dont practise at all what i preach,but i do a lot of massage so i cant have them long anyway.
People do notice even if they dont say it ,it's not so much that it hurts but because you tend to keep your nails away from them , it doesnt give as good a massage,the pressure is different.

i have being doing courses with a non college educator, they suggest that we dont wear nail varnish as it can chip and pieces of it go into the cream that we are using and contaminate the pot. now, i have absolutely no idea if thats correct or an industry standard as am new to this , and we use spatulas that we bin immediately when getting creams out of the pots but i am now using coloured gels on my nails instead of nail varnishes.

tigi

I have a bit of length to mine and sometimes wear a colour but usually just natural.

I couldn't have my nails long as I know it effects my massage in facials and have had problems before if ive forgotten to file them down ! Also I can't stand getting gunk under the free edge.

Ive had facials before from therapists with long nails and its a wonder ive not gone out covered in scratches !! All I could feel was nails digging into my shoulders & nose, worst of all was when they came to do extraction, it felt like they were actually using their nails

I do understand why colleges have this rule tbh although I agree that some of the rules are riduclous, I remember being failed on an assesment for wearing a black bra under a white uniform !!!

I have long nails and i do massage and facials with them, i have had them on for 4 years and never scratched anyone, i feel my natural nails are sharper than me false ones. Usually my nails have become a talking point with me and the client and they have booked in with me for their nails as they can see what i can do.
The clients know i do beauty and nails so i feel i need to adverise what i can do so they dont mind, no clients have been put off treatments with me as they know they will get a good and through treatment long or short nails.

I've been giving treatments for years, and can honestly say that (As far as I can remember, anyway!), I've never done any treatments on clients with long nails or with nail varnish on. There have been times, such as when i've had 2 weeks holiday etc where I have gone to get nail enhancements done, and though I don't find they get in the way of day to day activities, I simply cannot provide effective treatments!! I've tried to give my partner a massage with nails and it just doesn't work. Reflexology too is absolutaly impossible. I wouldn't dream of having nails on when treating a paying member of the public!

I guess it's what you get used to at the end of the day. I was always told at college that we had to have our nails so short you couldn't see them over the tips of your fingers when you had your palm facing you. We were also not allowed to have any nail varnish on as a colour can cover up dirt under the nails & you cannot keep them hygienically clean. Plus the fact that it might flake off on a client (which I still think is a bit silly, as I also use good professional quality varnishes when I bother to paint my own!). I've got so used to the college rules imposed on me that they're now second nature.

I think college rules give you a good, strict start in your professional life (or, they certainly did for me)...what you decide to do when you're qualified is up to you.

tigi said:

they suggest that we dont wear nail varnish as it can chip and pieces of it go into the cream that we are using and contaminate the pot.

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You shouldn't be dipping your fingers/nails into pots anyways, thats gross.

Having no nails is better, as you can use the tips of your fingers as well as the pads, it's also more hygienic.

Having no nail polish demonstrates to the client that under your nails are clean.

Yes you can say you scrub, use Cool blue, blah blah blah, but the underside of nails harbor germs ......... and it's a fact, not to mention the dead skin cells from the previous client ......YUK.

Sacrifices have to be made .....