Waterless Manicures

The very first thing a nail tech learns in school is a basic manicure.  Its pretty easy - shape the nails, soak the nails in warm soapy water, push back cuticles, apply lotion and polish.  This type of manicure has been going on forever! Well, what if I told you that this procedure is the basis for a number of problems that manicurists experience all of the time (from peeling nails to chipped polish and more)?

 

 

Now we all know the basics of nail structure. But how many of us realize that the nail plate isn't a solid structure?  It is made up of a lot of cells that were produced in the matrix and then flattened out into sheets as they grow to form the nail plate. If you were to look closely at the plate (with a microscope) you would see it isn't a solid structure, rather it is full of nooks and crannies - kind of like a sponge.

What happens to a sponge when you immerse it in water?  It fills its nooks and crannies with water and expands.  Depending on the original shape of the sponge, it can even change shape after soaking in water.

 

Now, if you were to coat said sponge in, say, nail polish, while it is still damp, what might happen when the sponge eventually dries out once again (which takes some time)?  At that point the polish is dry and the sponge has shrunk away from the dried coating, causing it to chip.  And the thinner the sponge, the more distorted the difference between wet and dry.

 

Lets look at another analogy. Wood is similar in structure to a nail plate as well, in the fact that it is made up of layers.  What happens to wood when you leave it out in the rain contently?   The repeated wet-expand-dry-shrink cycle causes the wood to split and splinter.

 

 

Do you see where I am going with this???  Repeated expansion and contraction of the nail plate when repeatedly exposed to water causes stress on the plate and eventual weakness, splitting, peeling and chipping polish.   The thinner a clients nails the more the nail will expand and contract causing even more damage (which is also why some people with really hard nails never seem to have problems no matter what they put their hands into!)  Water is classified as a solvent for a reason -  repeated exposure dissolves things (Grand Canyon anyone?).

 

Back in the day when people first started offering manicures as a service, there was not a nail industry.  They did not have a million cuticle removers an lotions and oils available to them so warm soapy water was used to soften the cuticle.  Water is damaging to the natural nail and there is no reason to soak the fingers in water any more. Nowadays we have many preparations that work better than soapy water to soften cuticle and do not swell up and damage the nail plate.  Water based manicures are obsolete technology.

 

Basic Waterless Manicure Procedure

1. Shape Nails
2. Apply cuticle remover and push back/detail cuticles
3. Remove cuticle remover per manufacturers instructions (this may entail having a spray bottle of water at your table but spraying and wiping is vastly different than soaking nails in water).
4. Apply lotion
5. Cleanse nails and polish

 

As for clients, they need to do their part at home. 

• Use gloves when washing dishes or other cleaning chores. 
• Use a good cuticle oil on the nail plate to help keep it supple (think of cuticle oil as a car wax - it helps keep the elements from soaking into the car/nail). Make sure it is a good natural oil and not mineral oil - mineral oil has too big of a molecule to penetrate the nail plate.
• After showering or bathing, they need to be gentle with their hands to avoid breaking or chipping a nail that is full of water and weak.

 

 

 

 

For more information:

http://www.nailsmag.com/article/91265/no-need-for-water-the-pros-and-cons-of-dry-manicures