Chapter 2 of 525% of exam

Manicure, Pedicure & Nail Enhancement Services

About a quarter of the exam asks how you actually perform the service: the order of the steps, the shapes, the products, and where the legal line sits between grooming and cutting. This chapter walks through manicure and pedicure procedure, cuticle work, polish and gel, acrylic and tips, safe removal, and massage contraindications.

Manicure and Pedicure Step Order

Exam questions often give you five steps out of order and ask which comes first or last. Every service starts with sanitizing hands and inspecting the nails, and ends with the finishing product. Polish always goes on after all filing, soaking, and oil work is finished, because oil and lotion ruin adhesion.

Consultation and inspection come first
Wash and sanitize your hands and the client's hands or feet, then inspect the nails and skin for infection, breaks, or anything outside your scope before you touch a tool.
16 CCR §979
Basic manicure order
Remove old polish, shape and file the free edge, soften the eponychium in warm soapy water, gently push back non-living cuticle tissue, clean under the free edge, buff if desired, apply cuticle oil and massage lotion, then remove all oil from the plate before polishing.
Cosmetology nail fundamentals
Basic pedicure order
Sanitize the feet, remove polish, soak, trim toenails straight across, file, smooth callused areas with a file or foot paddle, gently push back cuticle, exfoliate, massage the foot and lower leg, remove oil, then polish with toe separators in place.
Cosmetology nail fundamentals
Toenails are cut straight across
Cutting toenails straight across with only light rounding at the corners reduces the chance of an ingrown nail. Never dig down the side wall of a toenail.
Cosmetology nail fundamentals
Dehydrate before polish or product
Whatever is applied last must go on a clean, oil-free plate. Wipe the nail with a nail cleanser or dehydrator after all oil and lotion steps, or the polish will chip and enhancements will lift.
Manufacturer instructions

Nail Shapes and Filing Technique

The five classic shapes are square, squoval (square with rounded corners), round, oval, and pointed or almond. The shape you recommend depends on the client's hand, nail bed length, and lifestyle, and on how much stress the free edge will take. Filing technique matters as much as shape because sawing back and forth on a natural nail splits the layers.

Match shape to the client
Square and squoval are the most durable and are standard for enhancements. Round is best for very short nails and for hands that work with tools. Pointed shapes are the weakest and break most easily.
Cosmetology nail fundamentals
File in one direction on natural nails
File from the outside corner toward the center in single strokes. Back and forth sawing frays and peels the layers of the natural plate.
Cosmetology nail fundamentals
Grit numbers: lower is coarser
A low grit number such as 100 removes material fast and belongs on enhancements. Higher grits such as 240 and above are for natural nails and finish work. Never use a coarse enhancement file on a natural plate.
Industry standard
Buff lightly and rarely
Buffing thins the nail plate. A light shine buff is fine, but repeated aggressive buffing weakens and hollows the natural nail.
Cosmetology nail fundamentals
Handle the e-file with care
Use the electric file with light pressure, keep the bit moving, and stay off the natural plate near the cuticle. Heavy pressure or a stalled bit creates heat and can burn the nail bed and cause rings of fire.
Industry standard

Cuticle Care and the Living Tissue Rule

The word cuticle is used loosely in salons but the exam is precise. The eponychium is the living fold of skin at the base of the nail; the cuticle proper is the thin dead tissue that sheds off the plate as the nail grows. A licensee may gently push back and remove that dead tissue, but may never cut into living skin.

Never cut living tissue
Cutting, tearing, or nipping the eponychium, hyponychium, or any living skin is outside a manicurist's scope of practice and can cause infection and permanent damage.
BPC §7316
Soften first, push gently
Soften with warm water or cuticle remover, then push back with a rubber-tipped pusher, a metal pusher held nearly flat, or a wooden stick with cotton. Never gouge or pry at a steep angle.
Cosmetology nail fundamentals
Trim only loose dead tags
Nippers are limited to loose, clearly dead tissue or a hangnail that has already separated. If it bleeds, it was living tissue and you went too far.
BPC §7316
The eponychium is the seal
That fold of living skin seals the matrix against bacteria and fungus. Damaging it opens a direct route to infection and can produce ridges or deformity in the growing plate.
Cosmetology nail fundamentals
No cutting calluses
The same rule applies on feet. Calluses are reduced with a file or foot paddle after soaking, never with a blade, credo, or razor-type shaver.
BPC §7316

Polish, Gel, and Light-Cured Systems

Traditional lacquer dries by evaporation of solvent, while gel polish cures by a photoinitiator reacting to UV or LED light. Understanding the difference explains why one wipes off with polish remover and the other has to be broken down or filed off. Application order and thin coats are the recurring exam themes.

Base coat, color, top coat
Base coat improves adhesion and prevents staining, two thin color coats give the shade, and top coat seals and adds shine. Cap the free edge on each coat to slow chipping.
Cosmetology nail fundamentals
Thin coats, cured fully
Gel must be applied in thin layers and cured for the full time the manufacturer specifies in a lamp matched to that gel. Thick layers cure only on the surface and stay soft or cause heat spikes.
Manufacturer instructions
Keep product off the skin
Leave a small margin of natural nail at the eponychium and sidewalls. Gel or polish touching living skin causes lifting and is a leading cause of allergic sensitization.
Manufacturer instructions
Lacquer dries, gel cures
Lacquer hardens as solvent evaporates and remains soluble in acetone. Cured gel is a cross-linked polymer that will not simply wipe off, which is why soak-off gel must first be filed through and then dissolved.
Cosmetic chemistry
Colored powder and dip systems
With dip or acrylic powder systems, never dip a client's finger into the communal jar. Pour what you need into a separate container and discard the leftover so the jar is not contaminated.
16 CCR §979

Enhancements, Removal, Massage, and Contraindications

Acrylic is created by mixing a liquid monomer with a powder polymer that hardens as it polymerizes. Tips, forms, and wraps are three ways to add length. Removal is where most nail damage happens, so the exam emphasizes soaking and patience over prying. Massage feels routine but has real medical contraindications.

Liquid and powder acrylic
The brush picks up liquid monomer and powder polymer in a bead. Too wet a bead runs into the cuticle area and lifts; too dry a bead is crumbly and weak. Build the apex over the stress area for strength.
Cosmetic chemistry
Tips, forms, and wraps
A plastic tip is glued to the free edge and blended, covering no more than about a third to a half of the natural plate. A form is a disposable template used to sculpt product with no plastic tip. A wrap is fabric such as silk or fiberglass bonded with resin to reinforce or repair.
Cosmetology nail fundamentals
Never pry or force product off
Soak acrylic and soak-off gel in acetone with foil wraps until the product turns soft and gummy, then push it away gently. Popping, clipping, or peeling enhancements takes layers of natural nail with them.
Cosmetology nail fundamentals
File down before soaking
Reduce the bulk and break the seal of the top coat first so the solvent can penetrate. File to the natural plate only, never through it.
Industry standard
Massage movements and direction
Effleurage is light gliding, petrissage is kneading, friction is deep circular movement, and tapotement is tapping. On the arm and lower leg, work generally toward the heart to support circulation.
Cosmetology anatomy fundamentals
When not to massage
Skip or modify massage and refer to a physician when the client has a blood clot history, phlebitis, uncontrolled high blood pressure, recent surgery or injury, severe varicose veins, diabetic neuropathy with reduced sensation, or any open sore, rash, or swelling.
Cosmetology contraindication standard
Test your knowledge
Practice questions on Manicure, Pedicure & Nail Enhancement Services
Practice now →
← Previous
Disinfection, Sanitation & Salon Safety
Next →
Nail Anatomy, Disorders & Diseases

Last updated: July 2026

Report