Cuticles

[Daisymac]

Hi everyone help 25yrs of doing nails and I feel my cuticle work isn't how clients want it to be. They tell me in the nail bars the dead dry hang nail and cuticle gets removed. But the cuticles, that was always a big nono, wasn't it !?
I'm telling them it will encourage fraying skin and infection. And that it time with regular pushing back they will look better. But they go away dissatisfied. Are any of you in the same boat ?x

 

[BobSweden]

What the public call cuticles, is the Keratinized Proximal Nail Fold. If this can be removed safely is subject to sometimes heated debate....)). One argument is that removing this causes it to grow back thicker and that it is living skin. However, the phrase "Keratinized" suggests this is not the case - no more than hair or callus are living skin.

However, removing this without damaging the Proximal Nail Fold is very important. Not only the risk of cutting the skin and potential infections, but also through aggressive pushing or e-file use (so called Russian manicure), breaking the seal between the PNF and nail plate which can cause infections, or even damaging the matrix.

Good cuticle work is often too underestimated IMHO. More Nail Techs need to be properly trained on this and good nail prep.

Image courtesy of Doug School )).

 

[moonails]

Alot of images on IG these days have literally zero cuticle so I think that's how clients expect it to be in the real world.

 

[Cerise R]

However, removing this without damaging the Proximal Nail Fold is very important. Not only the risk of cutting the skin and potential infections, but also through aggressive pushing or e-file use (so called Russian manicure), breaking the seal between the PNF and nail plate which can cause infections, or even damaging the matrix.

I did my first half of working years in medical back office
infections in fingers were common

I won't cut healthy "cuticle" will trim rough or torn cuticle to reduce the risk of it tearing further
besides, most often cutting that skin leads the they edges drying and becoming more rough

in Calif, only Russian clients and the occasional Asian client want cuticle removed
we went through a short time of people wanting healthy tissue cut years ago, I would tell them, "this is like weather stripping, it is there to protect and seal the more delicate part of the nail structure... an infection under the edge of the nail can be very painful and might permanently distort the shape of your nail.... "

only a couple women never came back
I know of more manicurists who had serious problems doing something they knew might be a problem to please a client than those who did what they knew was the right thing and lost someone who had no common sense as a client