Manicure question.

[Chic*digits]

Recently I went to a salon to do a manicure so the owner could evaluate my work to see if they would want me to work there. Well after clipping the cuticles I picked up a fine buffer to start buffing his nails. He told me he thought it was really weird that I was going to do that. The thing is that I had learned in school that it was a main step in a manicure to buff the nail (not with a shiner, but a gritted buffer). Now trust me I was taking everthing this guy said with a grain of salt seeing as how his salon was digustingly dirty and he was also expecting me to pretty much chop up his finger tips with my cuticle clipper (after soaking his hands it was obvious that the people who manicured his nails before had cut into his live skin, it seriously looked like a rot wieler had been knawing on his finger tips). Well anyways, I kind of wondered the same thing when I was in school. Some nails really do need a good buffing to get rid of ridges and bumps, but it seems weird to buff shiny smooth nails. So is that a usual step?

I had one other question also, I have been talking to a lady about possibly renting a table in her salon. She had mentioned that she was planning on charging $125.00 per week. To me that sounded ok, but I'm not totally sure. I don't have any regular clients, so for averagely priced services, does that sound about right? I plan on working full time. Though I would be paying for my own products, tools etc.

 

[gemini]

Hey there
I was always taught to buff the nails however shiny and smooth they were. It is an integral part of a manicure. The only difference I do to you is I was taught to buff the nails with a buffer and buffing paste after I have filed them and before I apply my cuticle massage cream and soak them. I also always finish off on male clients with buffing unless they want a polish but the majority don't. xxx

 

[Chic*digits]

Oh cool! well it's good to know that I was doing it correctly. thank you for commenting I'm going to look into that buffing paste, it sounds interesting.

 

[Enhanced-Barbie]

I thought buffing the nails would be one of the last steps... well thats how Ive always done it.
As for clipping his cuticles...? I'm not sure what other techs do but I've always been taught that you remove the dead skin with a cuticle knive, and never clip. Am I correct in believing this or have I been mislead?

 

[yeahyeah]

I was always taught to NEVER cut the cuticles, just to remove dead tissue on the acutal nail plate, so that might be something to look into becuase cutting them could lead to problems. as for buffing, thats pretty standard; unless they have some kind of condition or damaged nails where buffing could cause more damage, its ok to lightly buff the natural nail... but yeah im with the others in thinking buffing is done towards the end of the manicure (prior to polish) hth!

 

[roseblanc]

I was taught the same things in school... never cut the cuticle, just the dead skin on the plate and buff at the end of service before polish.

As for the table renting - I'm not sure. I work from home. But $125 per week sounds like a little much to me. That's $500 a month... if you don't have regular clients how are you supposed to pay that? I've never inquired about booth renting, so maybe I'm way off base. Hopefully someone else can chip in with better experience on this.

 

[Chic*digits]

Well I went to school in Florida, where it is legal and actually taught to cut cuticles. But they really wanted to make sure to us that we only cut the dead skin on the nail that is lifted after applying the cuticle remover gel and pushed back. My instructor did mention that alot of states no longer allow actually cutting it off. I would assume because it's easy to go too far and cut into the living skin, which is really dangerous. Here in Florida it's really common to find manicurists who will cut a lot of the skin all the way around the fingers, especially the harder skin by the nail edge. Doing this usually leaves fingers red and tender. It's so silly to do it though because it's just going to grow back thicker and thicker, plus I don't think it makes your fingers and nails look nice anyways. I'm stuck in a difficult situation because a lot of people actually ask for that to be done, and I really don't feel comfortable doing it. I see it as when people walk away from my chair after I give them a service, they're going out into public where people will most likely ask where they had their nails done. So if I give them something thats done incorrectly (even if they requested it) it reflects on me and my business. It's tough, but you know I think losing a few clients in the beginning will pay off in the end because I will be making a name for myself as being safe, clean and doing things the right way. If I was paying big bucks to get my nails done, I would want to be confident in knowing that my nail girl really knew what she was doing and not willing to put me in harms way to make a few extra bucks.

 

[gemini]

Hey there
Just been reading my old college bible ' The Foundations, Beauty Therapy' by Lorraine Nordmann and in there it states that buffing is carried out after filing to stimulate healthy nail growth and before the nails are soaked in the finger bowl. It could also be used instead of polish at the end of the manicure, or as a nail finish. Buffing is used for three reasons these are to give the nail plate a sheen, to stimulate the blood supply in the nail bed, increasing nourishment and encouraging healthy nail growth and to smooth any surface irregularities. So think the main reason I was taught to buff prior to cuticle work is to stimulate the blood supply and to smooth out any ridges! xxx

 

[geeg]

I was always taught to NEVER cut the cuticles, just to remove dead tissue on the acutal nail plate, so that might be something to look into becuase cutting them could lead to problems. as for buffing, thats pretty standard; unless they have some kind of condition or damaged nails where buffing could cause more damage, its ok to lightly buff the natural nail... but yeah im with the others in thinking buffing is done towards the end of the manicure (prior to polish) hth!

The dead tissue on the plate IS the cuticle.

What you should never cut is the eponychium which is the living tissue at the matrix end of the nail plate. Eponychium is not cuticle and is often incorrectly referred to as cuticle.

Terminology again girls ... we're professionals let's get it right. Here is an excerpt from my book.

From the book 'nailclass' by Gigi Rouse

Preparation is all about removing cuticle from the nail plate.

There is much confusion as to just what cuticle is. It is referred to as: True cuticle, non-living tissue, Pterygium, and probably many more things, all misleading and all incorrect. Some think the eponychium is the cuticle. Let’s define.

Cuticle is made up of ex foliated skin cells from the folds of skin surrounding the nail unit. Cuticle is non-living. Cuticle is NOT Pterygium (which is an over growth of skin cells). Cuticle is not the eponychium (which is living skin surrounding the base of the nail unit). Cuticle is not ‘true cuticle’ as opposed to false cuticle, it IS cuticle.

If the cuticle is not regularly removed or rubbed off in some way, then it will build up and stick together until it almost looks like a membrane which is growing from under the eponychium … but it is not growing and it is not living, it is just building up until such time as it is removed.

 

[deanosnana]

I thought buffing the nails would be one of the last steps... well thats how Ive always done it.
As for clipping his cuticles...? I'm not sure what other techs do but I've always been taught that you remove the dead skin with a cuticle knive, and never clip. Am I correct in believing this or have I been mislead?

I buff as one of my last steps, too. After buffing, I use my scrubfresh then do the polish thing.

I never clip the eponychium (sp?), I just remove the cuticle that grows onto the nail bed... HTH!

 

[yeahyeah]

The dead tissue on the plate IS the cuticle.

then why do we still say "cuticle oil"?...viva la revolution anybody? lol
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[roseblanc]

then why do we still say "cuticle oil"?...viva la revolution anybody? lol
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Because if we all said "Eponychium Oil" - no one would ever know what the hell we were talking about... lmao!! (Just kidding!)

 

[geeg]

Because if we all said "Eponychium Oil" - no one would ever know what the hell we were talking about... lmao!! (Just kidding!)

Well you are right, and that is why these myths persist and persist generation after generation.

However, cuticle oil does help the cuticle to soften and debond/slough off the nail plate more easily so maybe it isn't incorrectly named after all.

 

[sian1979]

i would just like to know what do you suggest to client when the eponychium is quite overgrown. I have a friend who i regularly do manicures on and she cuts hers all the time herself (she did beauty in college so is also qualified)as i keep telling her i will not... just as was told it shouldnt be done from my training....i tell her to apply cuticle oil regularly and it will dry up and shrink back. I can see why she does it though as as soon as it is lifted from the nail plate its not very attractive to have these flaps of skin flapping about.... i just wondered what you would do?
Thank you......i dont mean to hijack the thread but thought it was a sensible question whislt on the subject

 

[geeg]

i would just like to know what do you suggest to client when the eponychium is quite overgrown. I have a friend who i regularly do manicures on and she cuts hers all the time herself (she did beauty in college so is also qualified)as i keep telling her i will not... just as was told it shouldnt be done from my training....i tell her to apply cuticle oil regularly and it will dry up and shrink back. I can see why she does it though as as soon as it is lifted from the nail plate its not very attractive to have these flaps of skin flapping about.... i just wondered what you would do?
Thank you......i dont mean to hijack the thread but thought it was a sensible question whislt on the subject

The more she trims this living skin, the thicker it will grow.

I don't know about any old cuticle oil, but I do know that Solar Oil does help this skin to both shrink and tighten with regular use. It will happen over about 3 weeks not overnight. If she would only persevere over 3 Weeks morning and night with Solar Oil she would see a remarkable difference.

My eponychium used to be like your client's. Not anymore. I used Solar Oil regularly and during that period I trimmed any 'bits' of ragged skin flush to the healthy skin so that I wouldn't pick. In three weeks I had healthy smooth skin and they have never grown thick since.

 

[sian1979]

The more she trims this living skin, the thicker it will grow.

I don't know about any old cuticle oil, but I do know that Solar Oil does help this skin to both shrink and tighten with regular use. It will happen over about 3 weeks not overnight. If she would only persevere over 3 Weeks morning and night with Solar Oil she would see a remarkable difference.

My eponychium used to be like your client's. Not anymore. I used Solar Oil regularly and during that period I trimmed any 'bits' of ragged skin flush to the healthy skin so that I wouldn't pick. In three weeks I had healthy smooth skin and they have never grown thick since.

Thank you
xx

 

[PinkTurtle]

The dead tissue on the plate IS the cuticle.

What you should never cut is the eponychium which is the living tissue at the matrix end of the nail plate. Eponychium is not cuticle and is often incorrectly referred to as cuticle.

Terminology again girls ... we're professionals let's get it right. Here is an excerpt from my book.

I'm currently doing my Cert II in Nail Technology through a beauty college... Wow has my teacher got it wrong! She specifically told us that the eponychium was the fold of skin attached to the nail plate UNDER the cuticle. I'm not going to correct her - I don't want to be the 'know it all' and I doubt she will believe me... but I'm glad I know the correct term now. Thanks!

 

[geeg]

I'm currently doing my Cert II in Nail Technology through a beauty college... Wow has my teacher got it wrong! She specifically told us that the eponychium was the fold of skin attached to the nail plate UNDER the cuticle. I'm not going to correct her - I don't want to be the 'know it all' and I doubt she will believe me... but I'm glad I know the correct term now. Thanks!

Perhaps she needs to get a copy of 'nailcalss'!! lol

She has got it absolutely incorrect! so do allot of people but we as professionals shouldn't!! :hug:

 

[PinkTurtle]

Perhaps she needs to get a copy of 'nailcalss'!! lol

She has got it absolutely incorrect! so do allot of people but we as professionals shouldn't!! :hug:

Actually I ordered a copy of Nailclass last night after seeing so many glowing reviews on here about it! Once it arrives, i'm going to take it in and being very tactful and subtle ask why the definitions are different. It's only right we should know the right way after all. But I had a look through all the leaflets and extracts we have been given at school and am quite disturbed to see they all define cuticle and eponichium each different to the other!

Meh, atleast it is clarified for me now. So if it comes up as a question in another exam, should I answer it the way she has taught us to get a pass or shall I answer it with the correct way and risk being marked incorrect? LOL.