All you need to know to get delicious digits

By Helena Costen, MSc, BSc

Description

Many people schedule manicures for big events, such as weddings or vacations, but you don’t need to have a special day planned for a manicure. A basic manicure is when you pick a colour polish.

A french manicure has nothing different to the procedure, it’s how the polish is applied at the end. Usually, a sheer peach or pink colour is put on the entire nail, and then a white tip is painted on after.

Duluxe and luxury manicures can vary greatly with additional treatments added such as paraffin wax, heated mitts, scrubs, hot stone massage, masks, serums, etc.

So what’s a good job?

You can choose to get your manicure at a Salon, nail bar or spa. You’ll usually feel more pampered when you go to a spa that offers a full body menu and top brand products, but you’ll usually pay less when you go to a nail spa.

You’ll start with having any current nail polish removed as well your nails shaped and filed. There are many ways you can have your nails shaped from rounded to square tipped. Trust your nail technician’s advice; some nails will break much easier if they are shaped wrong. Going with the natural shape of your nail will ensure stronger nails. The nail technician will apply a cuticle cream onto your cuticles and then place the hand in to warm water to soak. You will most likely be soaking your hand while the technician is working on your other hand.

Then your hand will be taken out of the water, dried and your cuticles will be pushed back. Healthy cuticles produce healthy nails but the beautician shouldn’t be pushing them back so much that it hurts!

Most manicures will include a very relaxing hand massage with hand cream. This is excellent for improving circulation and ease tense muscles.

It’s very common practice to have your cuticles trimmed. If you’re uncomfortable with this, tell your nail technician.

You’ll have a hard decision when it comes to polish. Be ready to be wowed by the color selection. If you are unsure of color, perhaps a French Manicure is for you. You’ll then have a glossy clear over your nails which will make them look amazing. Your nail technician may even be able to give you a small design on the nail for an extra fee.

Finally, a cuticle oil should be added around the cuticles as a final nourishment.

After the application of polish, you must be very careful with your nails for a few hours after your appointment. Nothing is worse than getting a manicure and chipping the polish two hours later. If that does happen though, call your salon. Many times they’ll have you come back in for a quick fix.

What’s a bad job?

Below is an example of when cuticles have been over-trimmed and they have bled. By breaking the skin, this encourages bacteria to enter which could cause a skin or nail infections.

Sometimes a beautician is not very good when it comes to applying the polish and it is too thick, therefore, it takes longer than normal for the polish to dry. Also, it can look so thick, it looks ugly!

Tips and advice

Protect your hands from the elements – Be it cold weather or hot dish water, protect your hands. The skin on your hands is very thin and not protecting them will cause aging.

Exfoliate your hands – Think about how great your face or body feels after you exfoliate. Exfoliating removes the dead layer of skin leaving only smooth new skin. If you don’t remove that layer of skin, the lotion won’t work though it. Exfoliate your hands once a week, you’ll instantly notice smoother hands.

Moisturise every night – Having hand cream by your bed and applying it before you go to bed mean the cream can be working whilst you sleep as it shouldn’t be washed off or not be absorbed.

Push back your cuticles – When you get out the shower or bath, wrap an end of the towel around a finger and gently push back all your cuticles.

Get the right products for your nails – Each nail is different, so ask your beautician to recommend the right products to make your nails the best.

Doing it yourself?

What you’ll need:

- Non-acetone based polish remover
- Cotton Balls
- Basic manicure tools, such as clippers, a file, and nail scissors
- A light pink, beige, or neutral polish color
- An opaque or soft white polish color
- Manicure adhesive strips or stencil to paint your white tips
- Clear top coat to add protection to your manicure

First, make sure your nails are thoroughly cleansed and free of any previous polish.

Remove any hangnails using nail scissors and follow-up by filing your nails to your desired length and shape.

Apply a thin coat of your base color evenly and allow to dry. Apply a thin line of white to your tips.

Paint a thin coat of clear polish over the entire nail and allow to dry.

Contraindications

Beauticians are responsible for making the client aware of contra-actions before treatment commences i.e. at consultation.

Infectious Diseases:
e.g  impetigo, warts, etc are sometimes viral infections, and can be highly contagious. Warts can grow on any part of the body. Manicure, pedicure and artificial nail treatments should be avoided until the infection has cleared up to avoid cross-infection.

Scabies:
A skin infection caused by tiny mites. Their burrows appear as darkened, wavy lines on the skin. Scabies usually affects hands and feet, wrists and inner arm, but can also affect the entire body. Never treat a client with scabies, it is a highly infectious, parasitic disease.

Cuts/Abrasions:
Cuts and abrasions can be caused by various accidents with knives, sharp edges, falling over,etc. Leaving a wound uncovered aids healing. Care should be taken to avoid knocking cuts. When performing a manicure, pedicure or nail extensions treatment, small cuts can be covered and treatment then carried out at the discretion of the therapist. Large cuts should be allowed to heal before any nail treatment can take place for the comfort of the client, ease of the therapist and to prevent cross-infection.

Swelling
Swelling can be caused by accidents and infections. If the client has an infection, the nail technician can refer the client to their G.P. before nail treatments can take place. If the swelling is caused by an accident, tell the client that the swelling must heal before a nail treatment can take place for their comfort, and peace of mind of the therapist.

Redness
Medically called erythema. Can be caused by heat, cold, infection, and a reaction to chemicals. Allergic reactions and dermatitis can cause erythema. Chilblains can also be a cause. Redness should only prevent or restrict a nail treatment if the client is uncomfortable or if the redness is caused by infection or an allergic reaction to manicure,pedicure or nail extensions.

Discoloured Nails
Usually the result of wearing nail polish without a base coat. Also caused by hair dyes. Smokers can also suffer from discoloured nails. In addition, damage to the nail can cause discolouration.

Thinning of natural nail plate
Due to over buffing by client or technician. The client should be educated on how to buff correctly as part of the aftercare procedure. The technician should use the correct amount of strokes, paying attention to the condition of the nail plate.

Average Costs

Anywhere from £16 – 40, more-so if having a deluxe/luxury manicure.

Summary

A manicure should be a nice treat for any hands and each stage is important to be included.

However, if a salon or shop doesn’t look clean from the outside, then it’s fairly safe to say it doesn’t get any better once you’re behind the scenes.