Nail Structure and Terminology

After my last post, my proof reader (AKA my husband John) told me that I needed a reference chart, or a glossary, or something.  You see, I’m kind of a stickler about using correct terminology, because to do anything else just confuses life later on.

So this is just a boring, educational post that you can feel free to skip.  I’m sure I’ll be referring to it later on though, and if I ever use a term you’re unsure of, just come on back here and look it up.

To the left is a diagram I made in nail school to study for a test.  I think it will work well for our purposes today.  You can click on it to bring up a larger version if you’d like (as you can any of the images I post on the blog).  Hopefully, it will help you locate the structures I’m talking about on your own nail.

Free Edge:  This is the part of the nail that extends over the tip of the finger or toe. Or, as in my case, gets chewed up by nail biters.

Nail Plate: This is what most people would call the “nail.”  It’s a plate of hardened keratin that covers the nail bed on the end of your finger.

Cuticle: Is a film of dead tissue that covers the nail plate.  It should not be confused with the living tissue of the eponychium.  Cuticle creates a seal between the nail plate and the surrounding tissue, and prevents foreign materials and microorganisms from entering and causing illness or injury.

Eponychium: Is a ridge of  living skin at the base of the nail plate.  The eponychium should never be cut or trimmed, just gently pushed back. 

Hyponychium: This is the thickened skin between the fingertip and the free edge of the nail.  This ridge of skin creates a protective barrier that prevents foreign materials and pathogens from entering and infecting the nail bed.

Nail Bed: This is the tissue directly under the nail plate.  It has a rich blood supply, which gives it a pinkish color, and is very sensitive due to the large number of nerves attached to it.

Perionychium: Is the skin that touches, overlaps, and surrounds the nail.

Nail Grooves: Are the tracks on either side of the nail, that the nail plate moves on as it grows.

Mantle: Is a pocket at the base of the nail that holds the matrix.

Matrix: is a group of cells that create the nail plate.  You can see a little bit of the matrix under some of your nails.  The half moons that are visible on the thumbs of most people (also called the lunula), are comprised of matrix cells.  An injury to the matrix can affect nail growth in many ways, cause the nail to grow in an abnormal way, or it can slow growth or stop it all together.  The overall health of your nails, begins in the matrix!

So that’s my little lesson today. There won’t be a test, but we may refer back to this information from time to time.

Now you know… 

Hugs,

Nail Prep

Shhh, don’t tell anyone, but I’m going to let you in on a few secrets.  You don’t need me to polish your nails.  Shhh!!!!!!  Keep your voice down or they’ll kick me out of the awesome nail tech club!!!

I think most people already know that they don’t have to pay someone to paint their nails, you can easily do it at home.  Professional paint jobs tend to last a little longer, and look a little neater, but probably not enough to justify the price for most women. 

Now, I’m a realistic professional.  I became interested in nails because of my desire to save some money doing my own.  I don’t really expect you to lavish me with cash for something I wasn’t willing to spend money on not so long ago.  Come to me when you want to be pampered with pretty smelling soaks, scrubs, masques, and massages, then fee free to paint your nails on your own between salon visits.  I promise I won’t cry or yell. 

On and off I’ll be posting some tutorials here to help you spruce up your hands and feet between mani’s and pedi’s, and to help you keep a few dollars in your pocket.  However, the most important part of any thing you do is preparation, and your nails are no exception.  So today we’ll go over the basics of nail prep, which is the foundation of any good nail service.  If you want your polish to last longer than it usually would, nail prep is the key.

The first thing you need to do is gather your supplies.

You will need:

• Nail Polish Remover
• Cuticle Sticks, or a Cuticle Pusher
• Cuticle Nippers
• Nail Wipes or Cosmetic Pads (no cotton balls!)
• Cuticle Remover
• Cuticle Oil
• Alcohol or Nail Dehydrator

Edit: I’ve been informed by my proof reader (AKA my husband John) that I need to define a term I use a lot within this post…  The Nail Plate.  The nail plate is just a technical way of saying fingernail.  The nail plate is the hard material (keratin) that is found on your fingertip (also referred to as the nail bed).

Step One: Remove Old Polish

Use nail polish remover and nail wipes to take off any old polish remaining on your nails.  Do not use cotton balls!  Spend the extra dollar and get something that won’t leave little fibers all over your nails.  No matter how much time you spend picking them off, you won’t get them all, and they will mar your paint job later on.

For polishes that are stubborn, like reds, blacks, and glitters, soak a nail wipe thoroughly, and hold it to your nail for a minute or so before wiping the polish away.  If a little pigment remains, repeat with a clean pad soaked in remover.

You can file your nails now if necessary, but do not buff the nail plate, not even if you have ridges on your nails (instead use a good quality ridge filler like Ridge Out by CND).  Buffing removes layers of your nail, and can thin and damage your nail plate.  Occasionally a very light buffing is necessary, but should be left to a qualified nail technician.  Always use the fine side of an emery board to file your nails, never the coarse side, and file from the outside of the nail towards the center; don’t see-saw back and forth.  This will prevent your nail from flaking and splitting later on.

Step Two: Remove Cuticle

Before we get started on this step, I want to clear something up.  Cuticle is NOT the band of tissue at the base of your nail.  That is called the eponychium, and is living tissue that should be treated with care.  Cuticle is a film of dead tissue that grows out from under the eponychium to cover the nail plate.  Cuticle can become detached from the nail plate, and will cause your polish to lift and peel, so removing it is an important step if you want your polish to last.

You can soak your nails in a bit of warm soapy water to make this step a little easier.  However, don’t soak for more than three minutes please.  If you do, the water will soak into your nails, and cause your nail plate to expand.  When it contracts a few hours after you’ve polished your nails, your pretty polish will begin to chip and crack.  So set a timer if you need to, or keep a close eye on the clock. 

Now, take your cuticle remover and place a dollop at the base of each of your nails.  Then, spread it across your entire nail with your cuticle stick.

Let it sit for as long as the manufacturer recommends, and then begin to scrape the dead tissue off your nail plate with your cuticle stick.

(sorry for the blurry pic, I haven’t figured out my camera’s timer yet)

While you’re scraping off the dead tissue, very gently push the eponychium back if necessary.  My eponychium will grow over my nail if I let it, while my husband’s always stays in a nice little line at the bottom of his nails.  If yours is like his, leave it alone; if it’s like mine, be as gentle as you can to avoid damaging the nail matrix which is located directly underneath that area.

Once you have removed your cuticle, and pushed back your eponychium, wash your hands to remove the cuticle remover.  This is important as many removers have a mild acid in them that will continue to eat at your nail if not washed off.  Dry your hands with a soft towel, and while you’re drying use the towel to gently push against your eponychium to set it into place.

Use the cuticle nippers to nip off any remaining cuticle tissue on your nail plate.  Do not cut your eponychium!  It’s living tissue, and can bleed and become infected, which could damage your nail matrix.  Feel free to skip the nipping if it’s not necessary, or your hands are not steady.

Step Three: Apply Cuticle Oil.

I highly recommend CND’s Solar Oil as a top quality cuticle oil.  This stuff is like liquid gold for your nails and should be applied daily, right over polish or enhancements, to strengthen and condition your nails and surrounding skin.  Daily oil is really the key to beautiful, healthy nails and skin!

If you can’t get your hands on Solar Oil, other oils are available at Sally’s or your local make-up counter, and will work, though not as good.

Apply the oil to the base of your nail, being sure to cover the eponychium.  Massage it into your nails and surrounding skin, and then let it sit for a minute before moving onto the next step.

Step Four: Clean the Nail Plate

The last step is to clean and dehydrate the nail.  I know you just put oil on there, and it seems silly to take it back off, but the oil should have penetrated down into the nail by now, and we’re just taking off the little bit that’s left on top so that the polish has a nice clean surface to stick to.

Take your alcohol, or nail dehydrator if you have it on hand, wet a nail wipe with it, and scrub your nail.  Scrub hard; scrub like you’re trying to remove tar that your husband tracked onto your clean kitchen floor with his nasty work boots. 

You should now have a clean, slightly dull looking, fingernail that’s ready to be polished!

Step Five: Polish

A while back I made a quick video that will give you the basics on how to polish your nails.  Note: In this video I refer to the eponychium as the cuticle.  This is the first and last time you will hear or see me do this on my blog, as I don’t ever want you to confuse the two.  It’s an important distinction, and  you should know the difference.

I still recommend CND’s Sticky basecoat, and my all time favorite top coat is Seche Vite.  I’ve also added Zoya Polishes to my list of favorite colors.  You won’t be disappointed in any of those products!

Now go add some color to the world and pretty up those pinkies!

Hugs,

Non-Standard = Not Safe

Among nail techs they have a lot of names.  McNails is one of the more colorful; Chop Shops is one of the more accurate.  You know the places I’m talking about, they’re in every mall, have prices lower than a fast food restaurant, and air so thick with monomer vapor you get a high, or a headache, as soon as you walk in the door. 

You’ll never hear a good tech call them that though.  Those are the names we use in the break room, or on the industry forums.  For you, our clients, we call them Non-Standard Salons, or NSS, because to do otherwise would be unprofessional, and just not nice.

We hate those places though, and we can tell you’ve been to one as soon as we glimpse your fingers at our tables.  We crusade against them, making sure you understand the damage that has been done to your nail plate, and the potential harm they can cause.  Yet people still go, lured by the low cost of services, and the walk-in convenience.

I think at times when I talk to my clients about non-standard salons, their eyes gloss over, and I can’t help but wonder if the terminology is partly to blame.  What is non-standard, what does it mean? Non-standard prices?  Non-standard employees?  Perhaps all of us nail techs are just upset that they’re stealing our business, and the fuss is just a way to try and get you to pay higher prices for the same product.  What makes non-standard such a bad thing? 

Non-standard, as it applies to nail salons, means that the salon in question does not conform to industry (and sometimes even state) standards for service and sanitation. 

Sanitation is important, it’s what keeps you from getting sick.  How would you feel about a doctor who didn’t wash his hands? Would you return to a doctor who re-used tongue depressors on different patients?  No?  So why go to a nail salon that doesn’t wash and disinfect its tools, or uses the same nail file on ten or more people?

State and industry standards require that all reusable tools get scrubbed with soap and water, and then disinfected in a solution designed to kill any remaining microorganisms before they are used on another person.  Items that can’t be washed and soaked (files, wooden pushers, buffers, etc.) are to be thrown away after a single use.  So here, non-standard means dirty, unwashed, used tools, and microorganisms.  Sounds yummy, doesn’t it?

Now I can hear you saying, “But Anne, it’s just my nails.  How bad can it really be?”  The answer is bad… Really, really BAD.  When I say microorganisms, what I mean is contagious pathogens: bacteria, fungal spores, and viruses, all of which can live, multiply, and be transmitted through your hands and nails.  Does that sound extremely icky yet?  Just in case it doesn’t, let me continue…

The most common of these transmitted microorganisms is what people commonly refer to as a nail fungus or mold, but is actually a bacterial infection.  At the NSS they will tell you that it’s caused by moisture trapped under an enhancement, and they will tell you that they can treat it with an over the counter anti fungal treatment.  In reality, it’s an infection, spread by the use of dirty tools, that can only be properly treated by a doctor.  It might clear up on its own (depending on the strength of your immune system), or it could rage out of control without prescribed antibiotics.  If you develop dark brown, green, or black spots on your nails, please consult your physician.  Only he, or she, can tell you how serious the condition is, and prescribe the proper medications to alleviate it.

These types of nail infections are the most common problem found at an NSS, but not even close to the most dangerous.  As all nail students are currently learning in school:  In 2006 a salon in California transmitted a bacterial skin infection to over 100 clients through the use of contaminated foot spas.  This infection cased permanent scarring on the legs of most of the people infected, and even resulted in a few deaths.

That’s right, deaths…  From a pedicure…  We’re quickly progressing from gross to scary, and I’m not done yet…

I recently had a young friend come to me for enhancements.  While I sculpted some beautiful acrylics for her, she kept marveling over the fact that I wasn’t hurting her, which caused me to ask about her previous experiences with nail services.  She told me about going to the mall to have a manicure, and leaving the salon with her hands bleeding in several spots.  She believed it was normal, and in case you do too, let me clarify that it’s not!  You should never bleed during a nail service, and if a nail tech accidentally draws blood, all services should be stopped, the service area and tools should be cleaned and disinfected, and the cut should be cleaned and covered before the tech decides if he or she can proceed safely.  In this day and age, with blood borne pathogens like HIV and hepatitis C, is it even necessary to explain why?

So Non-Standard Salon is really just another way of saying Not Safe Salon, and now is the point where you have to ask yourself is it really worth it?  The money you save is money spent on disinfectant, and new files in a better salon.  It’s money invested in nail technicians who are certified to use an e-file safely, or forego it and instead use hand files to prevent harming your nail plate.  The time you spend making an appointment, because a better salon doesn’t take walk-ins, is time you can spend reassuring yourself that you made the right choice for your health, and knowing that the salon doesn’t have time for walk-ins because they’re booked solid with repeat customers who are totally satisfied with their healthy (non-bloody) hands, feet, and nails.

Now the next time you sit down at my table, and I see the rings of fire on your nails from where the nail tech at the local Not Safe Salon dug into your nail plate with their file, please understand that the friendly lecture I’m about to give you is not done out of a desire to pad my pockets with your money.  It’s because I care about you.  I care about your beautiful hands, your beautiful family, and your wonderful life.  I don’t want you to be a case file in a nail school text book.  I don’t want to add your story to my next cautionary tale.  You don’t have to come to me, but please, go some place where they’ll give you the care you deserve!

You only get one body, protect it as if your life depended on it!

Hugs,

Welcome

If you don’t already know me, I’m Anne; the most unlikely nail tech in the world.  I only say that because for most of my life, I saw my fingers as a food group.  Yes, I’m a nail biter, and not only do I bite my nails, but all of the surrounding tissue on my fingers.

You’ll notice that statement is in the present tense.  I didn’t used to bite my nails.  I still do, or at least I will if given the opportunity.

About five years or so ago, a friend and I went out for some much needed pampering and decided to get our nails done.  It was kind of a fluke because neither of us cared too much about how our hands looked, but we were splurging on something we wouldn’t normally do.  So I had acrylic enhancements put on, and then a miracle happened…  The enhancement prevented my snapping teeth from tearing into my poor abused fingers.  In two weeks, my fingers were noticeably better, and in a month all of the wounds and damage I had inflicted to the skin around my nails had completely healed.

I was hooked!

I learned pretty quickly though, that if I didn’t have enhancements of some sort on my nails, I would revert back to my biting, tearing ways within a week.  So in order to save some money, I started doing my own nails, and then my daughters nails, and then my friend’s nails…  I eventually decided to go legit, and signed up to take a nail course at a local beauty school.

Anyone who’s known me for any length of time is still surprised that I’m doing nails for a living, but I love it.  It’s creative, fun, and best of all, I can help people like myself who never thought their hands could be pretty, feel better about themselves.  It’s a pretty amazing thing.

So I’m Anne, and I’m a nail tech.  If you decide to follow my blog, I’ll be sharing some of my work, advice on caring for your nails, news and reviews on salons, products, services, and anything else related to the nail industry.  Hopefully, I’ll also entertain you a little bit too.

So welcome to the new nail blog.  I look forward to sharing what I know with you!

Hugs,