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Learning Outcomes

By the end of this module, you will be able to:

• State the function of each tool required for a complete pedicure treatment
• Recall the industry standards and requirements for hygiene and health safety   
• Enumerate the steps to carry out a full pedicure treatment
• Differentiate between traditional nail polish and a gel nail polish
• Describe the process for applying traditional nail polish
• Discuss how to apply the gel nail polish
• Explain the process of safely removing permanent nail polish

Course Introduction

Important Definitions in the Beauty Industry

• Disinfection: the destruction of most or all of the microorganisms (except their spores) by using physical or chemical means.
• Sterilization: the destruction of microorganisms and their spores by physical or chemical means.

• Gravity steam sterilisation machine: a machine that uses a gravitational air extraction method to remove air and other inert gases, thereby sterilizing any tools inside it.
• Beauty service: hair, face, and body care, nail care, tattoo, permanent makeup, piercing services, etc.
• Tool cleaning: primary wiping of contaminants, soaking and washing of instruments, and rinsing with water.
• Hot air sterilization machine: an appliance in which tools inside are sterilized when the air temperature reaches 160 – 180 C.
• Cosmetic product: a substance or material destined for the exterior body parts (epidermis, hair, nails, lips, external genital parts) or teeth and mouth mucosa to clean, perfume, change appearance, and/or correct smell, to protect and/or maintain their good state.
• Nail care service: manicure, pedicure, artificial nail extension, and other services connected to nail care.
• Sanitization machine: an appliance in which cleaned tools are being disinfected by the means of ultraviolet rays.
• Sterile tool: a tool without live microorganisms or their spores. 
• Vacuum steam sterilization machine: a steam sterilization appliance that allows air and other inert gases to be disposed of through the vacuum method. 
• Infection: a condition caused by a germ or a pathogen.

Hygiene and Health Safety

• It is advised to wear protective disposable gloves for the beautician.
• Disinfect or sterilize the tools appropriately before each client; throw out the disposable ones after each client.
• Disinfect your client’s feet before the treatment. 
• Make sure that the water temperature is appropriate and not too hot before the client puts her feet into the footbath.
• To avoid product contamination, prepare the needed quantity of a product and put it in a separate little glass bowl to avoid touching the rest of the product.
• Take care of your cuticle nippers; give them to a professional to sharpen occasionally and grease the turning.

Cosmetic Products Usability Duration for Pedicure
This is the time during which the used cosmetic product is not harmful to the user. Each country has its own regulations, which are normally similar to the European Union or other health organizations’ suggestions, but they are not necessarily the same in every country. The product manufacturer or distributor is responsible for the expiry date regulation – they have to make sure there is one marked on the package and is correct.  Product usability duration – shelf life, must be marked on the package and must not easily rub off.

Some Important Industry Regulations

• Beauticians must provide only safe treatments and should have all proper licenses in order to practice the profession.
• Cosmetic products used during the treatments must comply with cosmetic product laws and regulations. They must be used according to the expiry dates and usage instructions.
• A client must be informed about the risks and complications of the provided treatment and advised with aftercare instructions.

• It is important to have a first aid kit at your workplace.
• Waste should be disposed of after each working day. Single-use and multiple-use sterilized tools should be opened in front of a client before usage. It is forbidden to utilize single-use tools more than once or more than for one client.
• Surfaces, which must be disinfected after each client and at the end of a workday, must be resistant to the disinfectants.
• The furniture needed for the pedicure treatment: chair for the specialist, cosmetic bed/chair for the client, a lamp with sufficient lighting power, a cabinet or a shelf for the tools and cosmetics.
• The specialist should have separate work clothes and shoes. Disposable gloves should be worn and changed after each client. If the tools are not suitable for disinfection in chemical liquids or are not heat resistant, they should be properly cleaned and then disinfected in the sanitization appliance with UV rays.

Tools of the Trade

Foot Bath

Removing Old Nail Polish

https://player.vimeo.com/video/651273227?quality=720p&audiotrack=main&texttrack=en

Nail Trimming

Dirt Removal

Toe Cuticles

Nail Edge Shaping

Callus Removal

Feet Scrub

Feet Massage

Cuticle Oil Application

Buffering the Nails

Traditional Nail Polish Base Coat Application

Traditional Nail Polish Color Application

Traditional Nail Polish Top Coat Application

Gel (Permanent) Polish Nail Preparation

Gel Polish Application – 1st Foot

Gel Polish Application – 2nd Foot

Gel Polish Removal I

Gel Polish Removal II

Lesson Summary

Pedicure treatment is designed to take care of your client’s feet and toenails by removing hardened skin and nail cuticles, trimming and giving form to the nails, hydrating the skin, leaving your client relaxed and feeling special.

When providing personal care to clients, hygiene and health safety cannot be emphasized enough. It is advised that the beautician should wear protective disposable gloves while working on a client.

Disinfect or sterilize the tools appropriately before working on each client; throw out the disposable ones after each client. Also, disinfect your client’s feet before the treatment. Washing hands is important and should be done after eating, using the restroom, and before and after working with each client.

The Pedicure Treatment

• Disinfect the client’s feet with skin disinfectant and soak them for about 10-15min is in liquid soap or bath salt.
• Remove nail polish leftovers and trim nails. Remove any dirt leftovers under nail edges and sides of the nails and then apply the cuticle softener.
• Push the cuticles and trim them with a cuticle nipper. Using a nail file, shape nails as the client has requested.

• Remove callus (hardened skin) from the soles of the feet and perform a feet scrub. Massage the feet with foot cream and apply cuticle oil to toes and massage it in.
• Finally, use the smooth nail file to give some shine to the nails.

Traditional Nail Polish

• This requires three types of nail polish and applied in this sequence: the base coat, the main polish colour (to be applied twice), and the finishing coat. Before applying the base coat, nails have to be degreased with a special degreasing or disinfecting solution.
• It is always a good idea to have a large variety of colours to suit your clients.

The Gel Polish (permanent nail polish), is different from the traditional nail polish as it stays on the nails without cracking until it is time to remove it. It is a good choice for natural nails which tend to break easily. This type of nail polish looks natural, doesn’t create thick fake nail effects, and is uncomplicated to use.

General Anatomy

Anatomy of Nail (Contd)

Equipment for the Technician

Basics of Chemistry and Chemicals

Nail Product Chemistry

Lesson Summary

The key concepts that were covered in this module are:

• The incorporation of new ergonomic designs and crafts is improving manicure instruments substantially. 
• Areas of the body are not isolated; the human body functions because numerous systems within it collaborate.
• The leg and foot muscles are analogous to the arm and hand muscles.
• Blood supplies nutrients (molecules from food, such as proteins, carbohydrates, and fats) and oxygen to the skin.
• The skin has three layers–epidermis, dermis, and subcutaneous layer. Nail technicians are more concerned with the structure of the epidermis.
• The natural nail is divided into several major parts–nail plate, nail bed, matrix, cuticle, nail folds, eponychium, hyponychium, and specialised ligaments. A nail plate is the nail unit’s most apparent and functional element.
• A healthy nail should be whitish and translucent in appearance.
• Good lighting is essential for performing any nail therapy.
• A disinfectant container must store enough liquid disinfectant solution to submerge numerous service sets of instruments.

Learning Outcomes

Having completed this module you will be able to:

• Explain the techniques in manicures and pedicures along with nail art.
• Analyse which concerns to address for the care of natural and artificial nails.
• Evaluate the symptoms of nail disorders, diseases, and allergies.
• Distinguish between treatable and untreatable nail conditions.
• Select a suitable career as a nail technician.
• Indicate and comprehend the safe practices and regulatory aspects in salon management

Manicure

Manicure (Contd)

Pedicure

Pedicure (Contd)

Nail Diseases and Skin Problems

Nail Diseases and Skin Problems (Contd)

Artificial Nails

Nail Art Techniques

Nail Art Techniques (Contd)

Safety Practices

Career Prospect and Business Preparations

UK Legislations and Pandemic Implications

Lesson Summary

The key concepts that were covered in this module are:

• A manicure is a cosmetic treatment of the nails involving cutting, shaping, and often painting the nails, removing cuticles, and softening the skin.
• Painting the nails after a paraffin wax treatment is not recommended because the nail will have absorbed oils, and the paint will likely come off rapidly.
• A man’s manicure follows the same steps as a woman’s, with the exception of omitting the coloured lacquer and/or buffing the nails with a high-shine buffer. 
• Hard, brittle, and dry nails, as well as dry cuticles, benefit from oil therapy on the feet, just as they do on the hands. When you buff your toenails, the varnish lasts considerably longer. Excessive ridges on the big toe can be decreased with a 240-grit file.
• Any nail condition that shows signs of infection or inflammation should not be diagnosed or treated in a salon. Untreatable conditions are infections, onychocryptosis, onycholysis, onychomadesis, onychomycosis, and fungal infections.
• Artificial nails are extensions that are placed over fingernails as fashion accessories. The upkeep of artificial nails is more frequent than that of conventional manicures.
• The ideal shape and strength will be easier to attain if the three zones of a nail are always kept in mind when applying an overlay.