Keeping your hands healthy and beautiful

    One subject that I have not yet covered but may be quite timely to discuss, is how we may consistently wear artificial nails or strengthening shields (on natural nails) but keep such problems as mildew and fungus- which may occur at any time- cured or under control. In cases of more than 5 outbreaks, on separate nails, in the same occurrence I usually urge the client to have all artificial products removed and go through a series of nail treatments to cure the outbreaks and also to probe for any provoking activity which may have caused the outbreaks. Excessive lifting of artificial product combined with a lot of hands-in-water usage exacerbates the outbreaks of mildew specifically and that is why removal of all artificial products is crucial to quick recovery in extreme cases.

     First, it is necessary for you and your technician to recognize the difference between mildew breakouts and nail fungus. Mildew breakouts are easily treatable whereas fungus is much more difficult to get under control. (You should also know that fungus is discovered in the nail bed and under the nail and is not caused by wearing artificial nail products.)

    Wearing artificial nail products in continuance with either occurrence will make it more difficult if not impossible to treat with any success. Fungus does not just show up in one nail but may infect every single fingernail because the cause is underlying, in underlying tissue (nail bed), and not the nail itself. Mildew, conversely, starts and spreads on top of the nail and can be treated with professionally formulated products, or thymol and/or white iodine quite effectively and easily. It may infect one nail only, several or all the nails. An old cure method of mildew made use of chlorine to treat mildew but has long been abandoned for use because it is too extreme and can permanently disfigure nails. The practice of using chlorine which has a distinctive and strong odor has also been banned for such use as it was never intended to be used on or near human tissue of any kind.

     (Caution note: Primer does not kill or treat fungus. Its unusually strong odor doesn’t create any such effect on the nail. The sole purpose of primer is to soften nail tissue to make acrylic bond tighter to the nail. If your nail tech thinks primer has any such antiseptic properties, find yourself a licensed nail tech who knows how to treat the problem!)

     Mildew infections are a distinctive green color. Treatments will not remove the color stain at all- only the infection. The nail infected with mildew must be left to open air after one treatment and will fade as long as the nails are kept clean and dry. No band aids, tape or any covering that can trap moisture should be on the nails for at least 72 hours after treatment. After that, artificial nails may be applied over the affected area as long as both client and tech are assured that the artificial product will not lift after application. This is because trapped water between overlay and fingernail may start the infection process all over again.

    

healthy set

A fungus infected nail, however, will have a distinctive and bright yellow look to it. It cannot be filed off or treated topically but should be treated as a highly contagious problem very much like athlete’s foot. Nail technicians should know to refer you to a doctor- although treatments by regular doctors are very controversial and may cause worse problems to the client than the limited effects of nail fungus. Sometimes fungus is transferred from toe nails to fingernails. In any case hands would have to be exposed, in some way, with fungus in order to start a fungal infection. If it goes untreated it will not go away with air exposure because it is trapped between the nail plate and the nail bed. You may have more success in ridding yourself of it if you contact a podiatrist because they deal with this type of fungus much more often and most likely, with more success. For obvious reasons, you should not wear artificial nails at this time and certainly not until the condition has been cured. A podiatrist will insist on removal of artificial product in order to treat a patient. It is for this reason that I only recommend visiting a podiatrist rather than a regular MD.

     I have personally taken some statistics down based on my own experience with all my clients over a forty-two year period and have discovered that I have only had to treat 2% of my clients with mildew breakouts. Most of them were limited- one outbreak or a few and never all ten nails. I have seen fungus under the toenails of quite a few people who were not clients. However, I have not yet encountered anyone with fungus under toenails or fingernails as a client. It is very unlikely, according to my decades of experience, that you will ever contract such a fungus. As I said before, artificial nail products are irrelevant and immaterial to fungal infections. However, I cannot stress enough to you that if you are one of the few people who are prone to nail fungal infections, I would advise you to not wear any types of artificial nails because wearing them would only complicate a cure and perhaps exacerbate the condition and prevent a cure, ultimately.

    Mildew is much more common. You should check your nails- with each lifted nail enhancement- to find out if mildew accompanied the problem. It should be treated by your tech as soon as possible and if this is not possible then you should keep white iodine on hand to treat it yourself until you can get to your tech. If other clients of your tech experience a lot of mildew problems your tech may be spreading the condition because she’s not practicing good sanitation habits. It pays to converse with fellow clients! It is possible that metal bit drills, if not routinely sanitized, can spread mildew like wildfire. You can also just develop it on your own with no fault from the tech but when you are being treated check to make sure that the bit used on you is sanitized before and after your service, regardless. The most important part of professional manicure sanitation is prevention measures. I prefer to use disposable, coarse file wraps on bits, which can be used once and thrown away.

Getting Technical

about your fingernails...

    I’m not in the habit of revealing information about my work by disclosing my trade secrets or information I feel should be reserved for the student of nail technology. Each technician- whether professionally licensed or not- would rather keep their technique and what sets them apart from other techs under wraps. We do this because amateurs or DIYers may not be as conscientious about how they work and they don’t really know how to apply such information or techniques in a way that would do it justice. So as a rule, I keep those things under wraps. If you want to test me then you’ll have to make an appointment for yourself to find out. The proof’s in the pudding!

     However, misinformation online and in consumer-oriented magazines can be so bad I simply must set the record straight for everybody. Being educated in an industry which you patronize is your best line of defense against fraud and malpractice. I find myself quite privileged to know as much as I do about the industry and often feel the need to pass the right information along any time I can see that wrong information or practices could do serious harm to an uninformed consumer.

     The diagram underneath came straight off the internet with an eye to give inside information to consumers. It is so erroneous that I am going to point out every single error in hopes that it will clear up confusion for patrons and may also inform new techs who are still in the process of learning- even with a license and diploma in hand. Those techs should not feel they are being shamed. As with any profession, learning is an ongoing process which never ends, fueled by experience and sometimes by trial-and-error.

Four of the nine tags on this diagram detail of the tip of the finger are wrong. First, a quick rundown on the errors:

     The label for hangnails located on the left of the photo in white letters should be labeled skin tags. This is simply torn skin above the nail cuticle line and usually occurs from handling paper. Paper sometimes makes very small cuts into dry skin which may eventually start to tear further back. Using cuticle oil liberally and often may stop further tearing, depending on how much you have to deal with paper. Wearing rubber fingers on your nail tips may prevent tags if you must work with paper. These can be cut expertly by well-experienced manicurists.

     The Sidewall Hangnail is just simply an actual hangnail also technically referred to as an agnail. Hangnails are serious tear-aways of tissue which cushions the nail groove along either side of the nail. Sometimes you may experience bleeding along with them. If you pull at them they definitely will bleed because it causes this important fold of skin to pull out live tissue from underneath the nail plate creating a split in the nail and usually resulting in an infection. Bleeding hangnails require first-aid before any work can be done on them and should not be manicured until the area is scabbed and free of infection.

     The hangnail depicted is not infected and can be cut and smoothed without invading the epithelial tissue underneath by a licensed manicurist. If bleeding should occur after the incision, it must be treated with antiseptic, stanched and covered with a small cotton pledget and then bandaged.

     The Lunula is simply a white, moon shaped appearance at the base of the nail where it grows out. It appears on fast-growing nails and is usually most often seen on children and young people’s hands. This is an area where the nail is still in the process of hardening as it grows out and appears white due to the reflection of light where the matrix and the connective tissue of the nail-bed join. It is not on top of the nail but is a part of it. Manicurists should not put excessive pressure on the nail at that area as it is too soft for such pressure and will damage it. For this very reason I am extremely careful about what I do on young fingernails!

     The dry and cracked-looking area tagged Proximal Nail Fold of the Eponychium is, in fact, the actual cuticle line and the entire area that surrounds the nail border is technically referred to as Perionychium. The spot depicted as Cuticle is a condition called pterygium and the photo above is actually showing the effects of a botched manicure on the problem, hence the dry and cracked area which has actually been mutilated. The excessive forward growth shown is typical of the condition and fiercely adheres to the nail plate. Pterygium may either break away from the nail fold or it may stay attached in rare and tough cases. In the past, cuticle nippers were used to cut away the growth from the cuticle line. Because this is rarely successful and may be hazardous, a better solution is to always do hot oil manicures on people with this condition and use pushers with no abrasiveness or hardness. Rubber tipped pushers for pterygium are ideal. People with pterygium should use cuticle oil as often as they brush their teeth and make a conscientious effort to gently push back their cuticles with a towel after hand-washing or bathing. In any case, keeping that cuticle as soft and pliable as possible is the goal. Pterygium is a rare condition.

     Lastly, the two labels Distal Edge of Nail Plate and Free Edge are exactly the same thing and are obvious.

     I hope this information was helpful to you. If you have any comments or questions on the material covered on this entry please leave it in the comments. Your information will be kept confidential.