Chapter 11
Unit N2 Provide manicure services
Objectives
At the end of this chapter you will be able to:
• maintain safe and effective methods of working
when providing manicure services
• consult, plan and prepare for the manicure service,
demonstrating effective techniques
• carry out manicure services, including paraffin wax,
hand masks, thermal mitts, exfoliation and warm oil,
and dark, French and buffed finishes
• provide aftercare advice, including suitable tools,
products, avoiding activities that may shorten
lifespan of treatment, recommended homecare
routines and time intervals between nail services.
Key words 1
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Acetone
Agnail
Arthritis
Blue nails
Bruised nail
Buffing
Callous
Contra-actions
Contraindications
Corrugations
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
COSHH
Dermatitis
Disinfection
Eczema
Effleurage
Eponychium
Fragilitas
unguium
• French
manicure
Beauty Therapy Level 2
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Hang nails
Hot oil
Hyperhydrosis
Hyponychium
Inspection
Leuconychia
Lunula
Mantle
Matrix
MSDS
Key words 2
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Nail bed
Nail shapes
Nail wall
Onycholysis
Onychophagy
Onychorrhexis
Palpate
Paraffin wax
Petrissage
Posture
•
•
•
•
•
•
Psoriasis
Pterygium
Ringworm
Sanitisation
Scabies
Specialised
masks
• Sterilisation
• Warts
• Whitlow
Beauty Therapy Level 2
Introduction
• Manicure is a popular service in beauty, hair and
nail salons. Offered as part of other services.
• The word ‘manicure’ is from the Latin manus
(hand) and curo (care).
• Purpose of manicure is to recognise common
nail disorders and diseases, provide a range of
treatments to improve the condition of nails and
hands and offer the client advice on nail care.
• Manicure includes filing and shaping nails,
cuticle treatment, hand massage, nail polish
application or buffing, conditioning treatment.
• Ideal treatment to refer client to other services
and products.
Beauty Therapy Level 2
Safe working practices
• Ensure that the salon environment and work
area is clean and free from hazards.
• There should be good lighting and ventilation.
• Use appropriate seating.
• Check all the equipment is clean and sterilised.
• Check all the products are ready for the
manicure.
• Ensure that both yourself and the client are
positioned comfortably.
• Legal requirement for parent/guardian to be
present if the client is under 16.
Beauty Therapy Level 2
Treatment times
Manicure with polish
(including French)
40 minutes
Manicure without
polish (buffed)
File and paint
30 minutes
Specialist hand and
nail treatment
60 minutes
35 minutes
Beauty Therapy Level 2
Products
• All products should be in closed containers and
sealed appropriately.
• Products include:
- nail polish remover, cuticle massage cream,
cuticle remover
- buffing paste, hand cream, nail strengtheners,
white pencil
- nail polishes, base and top coat, ridge filler,
polish thinner, quick-dry spray
- exfoliants, masks
- nail glue, nail bleach.
Beauty Therapy Level 2
Equipment
• All equipment should be clean.
• Where appropriate, all tools should be sterilised
or disposable:
- nail scissors, cuticle knife, cuticle nippers, buffer,
hoof stick, nail brush, orange stick, spatula,
emery board
- surgical spirit, jar of sanitising fluid, finger bowl,
small receptacle, waste bin, thermal mitts, towels.
Beauty Therapy Level 2
Consultation
• Consult client to evaluate lifestyle, health, diet
and objectives for treatment.
• Visual and manual assessment to include palms
and backs of both hands, cuticles and nails (their
shape, colour and strength).
• Healthy nails are firm, flexible, smooth and
slightly pink.
• Surrounding cuticle should be unbroken and
flexible and not sticking to the nail plate.
• Check each time – nail and skin condition can
change between treatments.
Beauty Therapy Level 2
Nail health
• Nail care such as buffing and massage will
increase blood supply to the nail bed.
• Cells divide more quickly, so the nails grow more
quickly and increase in strength.
• Cells divide at matrix and harden, moving
forward along grooves to form the nail.
• Illness can influence nail growth.
• Poor health or diet can cause nails to become
dry, brittle, soft, flexible, pale, discoloured or
blue in colour.
• Cuticles may be dry, split and hard.
Beauty Therapy Level 2
Damage to nails
• Physical damage:
– A knock or blow to the nail bed can cause
bruising. This can grow out to the free edge.
– Damage to the matrix may be temporary or
permanent. Severe damage may result in loss
of nail completely or a permanent ridge/split.
• Chemical damage:
– Strong detergents, including excessive use of
nail polish remover, can cause drying of nail
and cuticle.
Beauty Therapy Level 2
Anatomy and physiology 1
• Nail structure includes – nail bed, nail wall,
cuticle, nail fold, matrix, free edge, hyponychium,
eponychium, lunula.
• Bones of the shoulder girdle – clavicle, scapula,
humerus and sternum.
• Bones of the arm and hand – humerus, radius,
ulna, carpals (triquetum, trapezium, trapezius,
scaphoid, pisiform, hamate, lunate, capitate),
metacarpals, phalanges.
• Muscles of the arm and hand – biceps, triceps,
brachia radialis, flexors, extensors, supinator,
thenar eminence, hypothenar eminence, mid
palm group.
Beauty Therapy Level 2
Anatomy and physiology 2
• Arterial blood vessels of the arm and hand –
aorta, subclavian artery, axillary artery, brachial
arter, radial artery, ulnar artery, deep and
superficial palmar arches.
• Venous blood vessels of the arm and hand –
palmar arch and plexus, radial vein, ulnar vein,
median vein, brachial vein, basilic vein, cephalic
vein, axillary vein, subclavian vein
• Lymphatic vessels of the arm and hand – follows
venous blood circulation with nodes on inside of
elbow and at arm pit which are axillary. Right
arm collects by right lymphatic duct, left arm
collects thoracic duct.
Beauty Therapy Level 2
Anatomy and physiology 3
• Types of joints – fixed (immovable, fibrous),
slightly moveable (cartilaginous joints) and freely
moveable (synovial joints).
• Functions of bone – shape and support,
protection, production of blood cells, calcium
and mineral storage, muscle and tendon
attachment, movement and locomotion.
Beauty Therapy Level 2
Anatomy and physiology 4
• Types of muscles – voluntary (striped or
striated), involuntary (smooth), cardiac muscle
(heart tissue).
• Ligaments and tendons – tendons are the
connective tissue ends of muscles, ligaments
usually stabilise joints.
• Skin functions – sensation, vitamin D production,
secretion, excretion, heat regulation, absorption,
melanin production.
Beauty Therapy Level 2
Contraindications
• Contraindications restricting treatment: bruised
nails, bitten nails, arthritis, open cuts and
wounds.
• Contraindications preventing treatment: swelling,
pus or pain, ringworm (tinea), whitlow
(paronychia/onychia), warts and verrucae,
scabies (itch mite), severe eczema, severe
psoriasis, severe dermatitis, onycholysis (nail
separation).
Beauty Therapy Level 2
Nail disorders
•
•
•
-
These conditions are treatable.
You need to know how to recognise them.
They include:
corrugations, split nails, brittle nails, flaky nails
'blue’ nails, white spots
hard skin
hyperidrosis
hangnails
pterygium.
Beauty Therapy Level 2
Hand and cuticle treatment
• Shaping nails – oval, square and pointed.
• Shortening nails – filing effectively and ensuring
bevelling at free edge.
• Loosening adhesions on nail plate.
• Removing ragged cuticles.
• Conditioning nail and skin with paraffin and
warm oil treatments.
• Removing dead skin cells with exfoliants and
masks.
Beauty Therapy Level 2
Massage
• Best part of the treatment.
• Massage movements include:
– effleurage (deep and superficial stroking)
– petrissage (kneading in circular movement)
– tapotement – light tapping to stimulate
circulation.
• Massage routine should flow easily from one
movement to the other with linking movements.
• Use a massage ‘medium’, such as oil, cream,
lotion or talc, depending on outcome desired.
Beauty Therapy Level 2
Polish 1
• Buffing smoothes the nail cells on nail plate and
‘lightly’ abrades them to create a natural shine.
• If using a nail treatment or strengthener, avoid
buffing as it prevents penetration of product.
• Choose nail polish according to skin tone, event,
age, preference, lifestyle.
• Prepare with base coat or ridge filler.
• Protect with after-polish sealer or top coat.
Beauty Therapy Level 2
Polish 2
• Excess polish can be removed with tipped and
dipped orange sticks.
• Repair smudges using careful pressure with a
dipped finger in nail polish remover.
• French manicure – use white pencil under free
edge, or paint free edge white to follow curve of
natural free edge.
• Male clients usually prefer shorter, square or
gently rounded nails; unperfumed hand cream,
deeper massage; buffed nails, or polishes that
give matt finish.
Beauty Therapy Level 2
Special treatments
•
•
•
•
•
•
Stimulate blood flow.
Remove dry dead skin cells.
Moisturise and soften skin.
Cleanse and lighten nails.
Relax client.
Treatments include paraffin wax, hand masks,
exfoliators, warm oil.
• Heat can be applied through warm towels,
electrical equipment such as infra-red lamps,
electric mitts, and warm oil or wax.
Beauty Therapy Level 2
Contra-actions
• Allergic reactions can be caused by perfumes,
lanolins, formaldehyde resin, pigments, solvents
used in nail polishes.
• May occur around the nail itself or where the
fingers touch the eyes or the skin around the
face.
• Serious allergy can present as redness, irritation
or swelling.
• Skin may become dry and scaly, blistered or
infected with weeping sores.
Beauty Therapy Level 2
Aftercare 1
• Always check back to record card and ensure
client satisfaction during treatment.
• Advise on appropriate products and tools to
enhance the treatment.
• Regular rebooking of client will ensure best
outcome.
• Maintaining good general health will enhance
quality of nails.
Beauty Therapy Level 2
Aftercare 2
•
-
Advise client to:
dry hands thoroughly
protect hands by wearing washing-up gloves
refrain from using nails as tools
buff nails
massage in creams to promote circulation
use nail strengthener.
Beauty Therapy Level 2