Types of Manicures and Pedicures
Once upon a time, nail salons only offered a handful of manicure services; today there’s much more variety.
No matter the occasion – from choosing polish colors to upgrading services like paraffin wax treatments – there is an infinite array of choices when it comes to beauty services and upgrades. Considerations should be given to how your weekly activities may influence this selection process.
Nail Polish
Nail polish is a mixture of solvents, plasticizers and pigments designed to be applied directly onto nails for aesthetic or protective reasons. You can easily find and purchase this product both at nail salons as well as drugstores.
Regular manicures and pedicures help ensure that nails remain clean, trimmed, and filed to avoid cuticle damage and promote new growth by clearing away dead skin cells.
Hot oil manicures use mineral, olive, or some type of commercial preparation in an electric heater to soften nails before cutting and polishing them, helping reduce dryness and flaking around nails while increasing blood flow and oxygenation to hands and feet.
Paraffin Wax
Paraffin wax manicures involve submerging your hands in hot, liquid paraffin to moisturize the skin and soften cuticles while improving circulation and providing pain relief.
Basic manicure services usually include nail trimming and shaping, cuticle treatment, hand massage, nail polish application (if desired), buffing technique to remove any overly rough patches on nails or fingers and any additional benefits such as buffing.
Pedicures are beauty treatments for feet that involve nail trim and shaping, cuticle maintenance, foot massage, and the application of nail polish (if desired). Regular manicures and pedicures are important as they maintain healthy nails by decreasing risk for fungal infection as well as dryness; improving their appearance as well as making them appear healthier and more appealing.
Gel Polish
Gel polish, which is applied similar to regular nail polish but dries under an LED or UV light instead, lasts much longer and does not chip like traditional polish; however, you must remember that over time your nails may wear down and need touch ups.
Gel nail polish requires special monomers and photoinitiators in order to work. The latter soaks up UV light before breaking down into radicals to start polymerization of monomers in gel nail polish.
As monomers harden, they form a protective coating on natural nails. A nail technician typically caps off the free edge of each nail in order to keep gel from lifting off of them during manicure sessions and make their manicure last as long as possible. Furthermore, clear top coat is often added.
French Pedicure
French pedicures consist of painting pink or nude-colored bases on your nails with thin white stripes along each tip, for an elegant yet classic look that suits any special event.
Other nail technicians might switch up their French manicure style with different-colored tips instead of sticking with the classic white, for a more exciting and eye-catching effect. This can make the French manicure more desirable and desirable during a summer pedicure session.
If you prefer an antiseptic experience or prefer waterless pedicures over foot soaks, waterless treatments may be right for you. With this form of pedicure, a technician will mist your feet with special spray before wrapping them in towels and plastic wrap for treatment.
Athletic Pedicure
Pedicures can help keep your feet healthy by eliminating foot odor and decreasing the risk of fungal nail infections by eliminating dead skin that causes them.
Howard Osterman, podiatrist for the Washington Wizards basketball team, recommends regular pedicures as beneficial treatments for athletes as they promote better blood flow to feet, helping reduce irritation and foot pain while helping prevent ingrown toenails and other issues by eliminating areas of hardened skin and relieving pressure points.
Standard pedicures typically include a warm foot soak, scrub, nail clipping, cuticle care and short massage of feet and legs before applying polish. They may also feature treatments using rose petals which have anti-ageing and relaxing benefits or milk and honey which provide hydrating benefits.