What is Cuticle?

[Mrs.Clooney]

Found this little video and thought aaaargh :grr: ! I'm certainly not going to lose sleep over it or let it ruin my day, but wondered how many geeks highlight to their nail clients, what cuticle actually is?

When I have a new client, be it for manicure, pedicure or gels, I always explain the cuticle to them whilst prepping and removing it. I don't think I have had one client who actually new exactly what it is. I certainly didn't before I became a nail therapist.

As a result of what I have learned here on Salon Geek, I have also now got myself into the habit of referring to 'cuticle oil' as 'treatment oil for the nails'.

How many of you teach your clients whilst giving a nail service? I don't mean hounding them with 'this is your lesson today in nail care', but a more subtle and gentle approach? Do you think it is necessary, or do you chat away and get the job done?
Understanding Your Nails : What is the 'cuticle'? - video Yell.com

 

[user 35377]

I always take the opportunity while I am working to lightly "educate" my clients. Not only does it keep the usual gossip down, but hopefully they learn something that they will keep with them and it will keep them out of the chop shops.

 

[eden_beauty]

Obviously though as she showed in that video we use the orange stick to get the cuticle off the nail plate if it's stuck but i was taught in college to remove the excess cuticle with knippers but now it seems the industry is saying we should not be removing it?? Thyey say that alot of therapists are removing living cuticle instead of dead.....this makes me worry! to remove or not to remove??? What do you think?.....sometimes i doubt myself about what to remove.....have tutorials changed now? Are they teaching things differently i am wondering?

 

[gillian w]

When i saw this heading on the boards i thought you were asking us to do your homework

 

[geeg]

Obviously though as she showed in that video we use the orange stick to get the cuticle off the nail plate if it's stuck but i was taught in college to remove the excess cuticle with knippers but now it seems the industry is saying we should not be removing it?? Thyey say that alot of therapists are removing living cuticle instead of dead.....this makes me worry! to remove or not to remove??? What do you think?.....sometimes i doubt myself about what to remove.....have tutorials changed now? Are they teaching things differently i am wondering?

You know what .. I totally knew this would happen ...

We don't nip the Eponychium (the living skin surrounding the nail plate) we only nip if we need to the cuticle (the nonliving skin that attaches to the nail plate from under the eponychium).

It is confusing because even in the video she's got it wrong!! I think that was Mrs Clooney's point--- that EVEN the so called professionals do not know the difference between the cuticle and the eponychium. They have been incorrectly referring to the eponychium as the cuticle for so many years, that they can't get their head around the fact that they are 2 completely different things.

Cuticle is non living exfoliated skin cells that become trapped under the nail fold at the base of the nail (the eponychium) and the folds at the sides of the nail (the perionychium or side walls or lateral walls [see what I mean about all these different names that confuse people??] ). Cuticle gets trapped and compressed and attached to the nail plate and can appear to look like a 'gasket' that is growing .. but NO .. it is just those dead skin cells all stuck together and is non living, so if you get a large piece that is stuck you can nip it gently away.

Not so with the eponychium which is living tissue and will often bleed if cut or nipped and will only grow thicker if you do so regularly in an aggressive manner.

We push back the eponychium to reveal the cuticle underneath to remove that.

 

[gillian w]

This is another nss trait.I had a lady who had regularly had everything cut off her toenails.I dont do this so now its growing back really thick i know shes tempted to cut it herself and wont have the patience to get it back to normal with an exfoliating cuticle cream and oil.

 

[eden_beauty]

Thanks for that.....like you said it can be confusing but it's annoying that they are teaching the wrong thing! lots and lots of therapists don't know what they are supposed to be doing because of that!

Thanks for help.lisa

 

[Mrs.Clooney]

Perhaps my initial post was not worded very well, however, I was trying to make 2 points here. I came across this video quite by chance and when I saw the title I thought, 'Ooh somebody sharing their knowledge about cuticle'... so I clicked on it and thought, 'Oh dear'.

So my first point is that a 'celebrity manicurist' is giving incorrect information, no doubt because that is the way she was taught. But how many people see that little video thinking it is great advice. This manicurist obviously does not know the difference between cuticle (dead tissue) and eponychium/ protective skin fold (live and sensitive tissue).

My second point is that I make it my duty to inform each and every new nail client who comes through my door, exactly what cuticle is as opposed to the skin fold which they all believe is the cuticle. I bring this up in conversation during the prep and I always find that they are genuinely interested and say, 'Oh, I didn't realize that'. Then I retail some 'Treatment Oil'.... not 'cuticle oil'.

Sorry for any confusion.