Sức khỏe và An toàn

I still see lots of people still using the wrong terminology for parts of the nail unit. Also, many others are a bit confused why the ‘cuticle’ is no longer the ‘cuticle’!

Has the nail unit changed?

Of course not. It has always been what it is now!

Why do we now have that big term: proximal nail fold when everyone called it the cuticle?

Why is water soak not generally advised now?

Why is nipping/cutting the PNF not good now?

So many more.

Manicures have been around for decades (actually a century or more in its relatively ‘modern’ form). Originally, it was purely a cosmetic service and the understanding of the area was largely guesswork. Beauty Therapy hadn’t even been ‘invented’ then! Just a bit of facial massage with basic creams like Ponds and maybe a little steaming.

(Did you know that the term ‘Beauty Therapy’ was coined by Wallace Sharps, Founder of the Society of Health and Beauty Therapists in the ’60s, later the FHT and Founder and Director of VTCT much later)

In the ’60’s and ’70’s even into the ’80’s the manicure teaching was started by Revlon. Almost every working manicurist was Revlon trained. Some, who have not updated their education are still stuck in that vibe! Using a ‘buffing paste’ and a chamois buffer!

As time went on, more understanding of, what is now called, ‘the nail unit’ was gained and a much bigger array of nail services were introduced (like ‘artificial nails’ using MMA and all called ‘acrylics’)

When ideas of what was good for the nail unit and anatomical terms were changed I, personally, thought it was because more research was being carried out due to the growth of the pro-industry. This was not correct!

What was happening (as explained to me by Doug Schoon) was that the sector needs to come into line with the true medical A&P and correct terminology used instead of the long-held, guesswork of decades ago.

What many of us have always believed to be the cuticle is now the living proximal nail fold. The cuticle is a thin layer created by stem cells in the eponychium that sheds the dead skin cells of the PNF which stick very strongly to the nail plate to form part of a strong seal against the invasion of pathogens into the matrix.

The eponychium is not the seal at the base of the nail! It is, in fact, on the ventral (underside) of the PNF, cannot be seen but can be damaged.

Pterygium was thought to be the actual cuticle when actually it is an abnormal growth of the PNF.

So many are stuck in the past with all of this understanding and terminology. “I trained 30 years ago so have lots of experience” doesn’t cut it! Times have changed. We need to be more ‘medically’ minded without being medically trained. Tricky!

When working as a nail professional make sure your education is up to date and you are not stuck in the 60’s! Use the correct and accurate terminology from a true A&P point of view.

Elevate this professional career and bring it up to the 21st century. Be ahead of your game! YOU are the pro and your clients need to be convinced of this!

If you want to learn more about the cuticle, including why it is no longer referred to as the cuticle, check out this informative article.

Định nghĩa về mỹ phẩm (Luật EU):  A “cosmetic product” shall mean any substance or mixture intended to be placed in contact with the various external parts of the human body (epidermis, hair system, nails, lips and external genital organs) or with the teeth and the mucous membranes of the oral cavity with a view exclusively or mainly to cleaning them, perfuming them, changing their appearance and/or correcting body odours and/or protecting them or keeping them in good condition.

I just want to quote this to demonstrate that ALL nail products are a cosmetic and therefore fall under ‘cosmetic’ legislation all over the world.

Chúng tôi làm việc trong một ngành công nghiệp tuyệt vời với rất nhiều điều hấp dẫn!! Nhưng cũng có khá nhiều vấn đề cần được quan tâm để chúng không còn tác động tiêu cực mạnh mẽ đến ngành công nghiệp của chúng tôi nữa!

Clearly, education is probably top of the list as there is no common ground in any country as to the minimum requirements! There is not even any common ground on terminology and facts!! This is not a new topic and there doesn’t appear to be a clear path to improving the situation that has been going on all during my career of 30+ years!

However, there is one issue that has always been around but has changed its character and escalated in recent years! That is the ‘marketing spin’!

Now, I’m not going to target any brand nor am I going to ‘name and shame’. What I am going to do is to encourage nail professionals to increase their education, knowledge and skills and be a true pro! Neither am I going to recommend not using brands that make the most of ‘spinning’ as many love them! BUT, what you do need to do is manage expectations and educate your clients with the true facts!

So, what are the ‘spins’ and the ‘myths’? Basically, they are brands that don’t actually have much new to offer as there are so many nail brands out there! There is very little new in the world of nails (although there are one or two new ideas that are hitting the professional market so we’ll see how they do). It’s essential for  nail brand to make its mark and have a USP (unique selling point/proposition). Otherwise why would you buy it, especially if it is more expensive than many others?

There are 100’s of gel polishes and 1000’s of nail polishes on the market. The brands need you to want theirs above all others! The vast majority are very similar (and many come from the same factory with little, if any, formulation differences) So this is where marketing needs to spring into action! Buy me, buy me!!

If you, as nail professionals, truly understand your science you will be able to differentiate the real facts from the spin! Don’t get taken in by the ‘stories’! Just reading Facebook threads leave me dismayed by how many are brain washed by sheer rubbish!! It sounds fantastic so it must be true!! NOOOOO!

There are many specifics that I could address. I recently wrote about ‘breathable nails’.  With this article I’d like to focus on the generalities.

Lets talk ‘general’: the 5 free, 7 free, 10 free, 20 free, chemical free, non toxic, vegan, islam, muslim and any other label you’d like to add, is, basically a spin!!!

There is NO ingredient in nail products in any level that comes close to ‘toxic’!  I don’t really need to add to that but few will believe me!

All this ‘x free’ malarkey applies to every nail polish. There are a few ingredients that have been targeted by fear based activists so have been removed. They were not dangerous in the first place but have gone anyway.

There is NO ‘chemical free’ anything!! We are chemicals, water is a chemical! Air is a chemical!! Energy is the only ‘chemical free’ thing!

As an addition: nothing added to the nail plate can change the way in which it grows. That is a pre destined genetic situation that can be modified by the systems of the body over a persons lifetime and by illness and extended drug use. A topical application will not change this. Many products can protect and support the nail plate condition and growth. This is where the big difference in cosmetics and drugs occur. A lot of products claim an effect that should be in the ‘drug’ category but they are clearly in the ‘cosmetic’ category and should NOT be making these claims!

Đối với những người làm móng chuyên nghiệp thực sự muốn có thông tin chính xác và thực tế, tôi không thể giới thiệu Doug Schoon đủ! Những thông tin khoa học và được hỗ trợ của ông có sẵn trên trang web của ông:

http://www.schoonscientific.com/resource_type/technical-articles/ cộng với anh ấy http://facetofacewithdougschoon.com and his new book ‘Face To Face with Doug Schoon. He is independent of any brand and every single piece of info can be supported by research and fact.

Nếu bạn yêu thích một thương hiệu nhưng không chắc chắn về tuyên bố của họ, hãy tiếp tục hỏi tại sao, như thế nào hoặc chứng minh điều đó! Tại sao bạn phải để sự chuyên nghiệp của mình bị phá hoại bởi chiêu trò tiếp thị?

Your nail plates are dead!!! They cannot breathe! (If you’re familiar with the Monty Python sketch) The nail cells have ‘ceased to be’!!!

Let your nails breathe!!! Yes??? NO!!!!

Do they need a ‘breather’ from overlays? Maybe! But that is the decision of an educated client (that may have financial constraints and uses this as a reason) or a skilled and informed nail professional who may suggest a period of time away from a gel polish or enhancements to enable a treatment product to help improve nail condition. This would be when the nail plate is getting brittle and maybe could benefit from an intensive conditioning treatment (just like hair when it needs a conditioning mask to bring back suppleness)

So what is all this ‘breathing nails’ all about?

Lets look at the 2 possibilities that this marketing ‘spin’ can refer to:

1. Cellular respiration. All living cells respire. This isn’t the same as ‘breathing’ as this requires lungs. The process is all about the exchange of ‘gasses’. In the lungs, there is an exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide. In living cells, it is the exchange of many different molecules that allow the cell to function.

The nail plate is not made up of living cells so does not respire.

2. Permeability. Now, this is different! This is the ability of molecules of chemicals (remember everything is chemical except an energy e.g. heat, light and electricity) to cross over a coating/membrane etc.

ALL nail coatings are permeable to a certain extent. Some more than others . On the whole, only small molecules can permeate a nail coating of any kind. This will be oxygen, water, some oils and acetone. The channels they can permeate through are very tiny so not many substances can do this.

If you need a ‘bench mark’ acetone is a (relatively) small molecule. This is why it’s used as a ‘solvent’ for the majority of nail coatings. The quicker acetone can remove a coating is a very rough guide to the permeability.

If you understand this you will see that some nail coatings are more permeable than others! BUT….on any individual nail coating, how much oxygen and water can penetrate?? This is not measured! Too much water can cause a big problem of lifting and possibly bacteria. Oxygen? Why does a dead nail plate need oxygen?

Breathing nails? It’s a marketing spin that so many subscribe to!! Both nail pros and the consumer (and the media!!!) This is due to a lack of understanding and so many just promote such misinformation!! It isn’t true; it isn’t accurate!

Can we just make a ‘trend of accuracy’? Do not get caught up in the spin!!