Under the nail!

[Admire72]

Hey,

I had a lady come into the salon the other day and as I was doing her manicure she very rudely said that I wasnt doing it correctly as I hadn't cleaned the dirt out from under her fingernails...
I had never heard this before and have never had it done myself so just wondered if this is part of what people so when performing a manicure?!
She was only having a shellac application, not like a luxury manicure or anything.

 

[lilyloukatiekoo]

Depends how dirty her nails were I guess

But making sure the nail is completely clean is part or prep when applying shellac no?

 

[SiennaKate]

Depends how dirty her nails were I guess

But making sure the nail is completely clean is part or prep when applying shellac no?

Making sure the nail plate is completely clean is part of prep. Cleaning under someone's fingernails is not. It's not my place to clean someone if they have poor hygiene and quite frankly find it rude for a client to come in with dirty nails.

 

[Cindy2021]

I was trained to clean under the nail

 

[SiennaKate]

I would scrubfresh including free edge and under on the basis that the client has clean nails. If the client has filthy nails down to poor hygiene, then no I wouldn't clean - but then I wasn't trained to do so.

 

[sammi010]

I wouldn't apply anything over dirty nails, but then I do expect a certain amount of Client prep. If they have grubby nails I politely point it out and send them with a nail brush to give them a good scrub themselves.

 

[noreenoconnor]

I wouldn't clean under the nail , you can break the seal with an orange wood stick or pusher and leave you client open to an infection on onycholysis.

If they were dirty I would hand them a nail brush and hand soap and get them to wash under their nails themselves

I also think it's quite rude to turn up with filthy nails, you wouldn't turn up to a wax unwashed , well I hope not anyway [emoji85]

 

[blossom]

Nope I don't venture under there. It could be anything!

If they mention it I laugh it off and say oh it's so easy to forget to scrub with a nail brush when you've got colour blah blah blah, did you want to wash here or happy to do it later?

Edit to add: when one lady kept on I gave her an orange stick and left her to it while I filled in her record card lol. Very rude to turn up filthy, even ruder to expect someone else to muck it out!

 

[Emm87]

No I've never cleaned under someone's nails, luckily nobody has ever turned up with filthy nails!

 

[CocoAllure]

My mum does this and it's one of my pet hates
She has cream under her nails too freaks me out!! Sometimes I use an orange stick but that's my mum, i have had some with black or orange bits but I've pretended not to have seen it lol

 

[Anna Ljungberg]

I have a bottle of hand soap and a spare towel in my kit for this kind of client. As I'm mobile I sometimes do treatments during people's lunch breaks or after work so I just make it a habit to politely ask anyone to wash their hands before I do anything.

 

[vickychicky_]

No. I wasn't trained to and all the additional nail courses I have done we've never been told to. It's pretty gross to expect someone to clean under your nails. Who knows what's under there! [emoji15][emoji19] xx

 

[CFBS]

I think it was easier to clean under finger nails when we used to soak with every manicure. Of course with the advent of gels and no soaking nail treatments it's something which has become forgotten about.
Yes the client should arrive with clean nails but there is always the exception . If the client has been wearing a dark polish/gel for a few weeks they just don't notice the build up of grime.
If I have a shellac client with dirty nails then I politely direct them to the sink to give them a scrub with a nail brush. Then I start on the cuticle work & prep. etc

With pedicures when the feet have been soaked, yes I do gently clean under the nails as I feel this is important to prevent further problems - especially for my old ladies who can't see their nails let alone reach them!

 

[coco.]

Glad I came across this

I'm into my fifth week at college studying Level 2 Beauty Therapy and we are currently working on the manicure unit

We haven't been told to clean under the nail but I have been wondering if we should

It feels abit gross to be cleaning their dinner or worse out from under their nails

I'd prefer to ask them to give them a quick scrub with a nail brush at the basin

 

[CFBS]

Yes, I have taught manicure units for level 2 nvq, vrq and btec for the last decade and learners should know how to clean under the nails.
If you can't get the client to a sink then you should clean under the nails after the filing stage. Use a disposable pointy end cotton bud (asda) dipped in something like scrubfresh.

 

[cheekychick]

I was taught not to do it. I can't remember what the actual reason was when I did my course though. But then again it was quite a few years ago now. Maybe things have changed?

 

[CFBS]

I was taught not to do it. I can't remember what the actual reason was when I did my course though. But then again it was quite a few years ago now. Maybe things have changed?

I think it's just one of those things that need to be taught to do with caution. Ultimately it depends on the tutor you had and their thoughts.

 

[SwissSassy]

I do it, no problem. Just get an orangewood stick and a bit of kitchen roll or wipe, and very gently remove. It is not always pleasant but my service would feel incomplete if I left it. If there's something too far down, I explain to client that I wont go foraging around too deep and leave it.
As for someone telling you to do it, that's just rude!

 

[Stook]

I trained with S2 and we were taught the importance of a good hand wash as part of the nail cleansing procedure.

With my clients, I tend to remove their previous colour, then file and shape before using cuticle away as normal. This leaves their nails looking very clean and any debris under the nail plate is very obvious.

I then send them off to the bathroom where there's some handwash and a scrubbing brush. Most people come back with pristine nails at this point and we can continue the service.