layout

Beginn ers
A c ry l i c
Nail Course



Content Pg.1-3
Pg.4-5
Unit 1:
Pg.8
• Introduction Pg.10
• Working conditions &
hygiene standards Pg.18
• Health & safety Pg.20-25
• Insurance
Pg.26
Unit 2: Pg.30-39

• Your essential kit & products Pg.46-47
• Anatomy of the natural nail Pg.50
& contraindications
• Perfect prep Pg.52-53
• Application steps
Pg.54-55
Unit 3: Pg.56

• Maintenance & infills
• Removal & after care
• Client rapport & equality

• Contra Indications
• Quiz



Unit 1:

Pg.1

Pg.2

A course for complete beginners Don’t worry there is a guaranteed
wanting to start their journey in pass and continued support will
acrylic and more! be offered for everyone both
during and after the course.
Spread across 2 days you will
learn how to do a standard full On completion you will receive
set and an infill using model cli- an accredited certificate.
ents and practise hands.
With this you can:
You will cover both practical and
theory-based content and receive • Be self employed
all the essential knowledge and • Work within a salon
fundamental skills you need to • Be fully insured
be able to demonstrate basic • Work from home
acrylic application by the end of • Work mobile
the 2 days. During the course you • Register for professional
will learn about the anatomy of
the natural nail, aspects of health accounts with recognised
& safety, hygiene, aftercare, infills brands
and guidance on how to build • Progress on to further
a reputable business and client acrylic skills.
rapport.
All students must attend with
An exciting opportunity to learn no products on nails; including
with lead technician; Georgia gel polish, nail varnish or acrylic
who has been within the industry as you will be working on each
for 7 years so far and now runs other.
a successful nail salon “Hiive”.
All students will receive a starter
Students will be assessed on the kit including popular brands such
practical/theory work completed as NSI, Glitterbels, Crystal nails
throughout the course, they will and many more!
be required to attend both days
and complete 1 case study in Pg.3
order to receive full certification.

WORKING CONDITIONS
& HYGIENE STANDARDS

Perfect working conditions Example : Room temperature
make your job enjoyable and the affects the rate at which your
clients appointment time both acrylic sets and also how
comfortable and relaxing. comfortable your client feels.
It is important that we create
a working condition that suits If it is....
everybody and enables us to do
our job to the best of our ability. Too warm your acrylic will set
quickly not giving you enough
Factors that contribute to time to manipulate the bead
working conditions are: correctly.

• Room temperature Too cold the acrylic will be very
• Suitable seating wet and will take longer to set,
• Desk height consequently it could run on to
• Lighting the skin and end up adding time
• Ventilation on to the appointment.
• Cleanliness
Considering how clients will
Pg.4 be affected by this is important
as it contributes to their
experience with you during
their appointment.

The perfect room temperature
is considered to be 18 degrees.

Hygiene standards..
are to be met at all times when
offering a treatment or service of
any kind to the public. You have a
duty of care to make sure you are
avoiding cross contamination and
providing a clean place for clients
to be in.

Regulations require you to be
responsible for keeping your
equipment and working
environment sterile. It is also
important to consider your
personal hygiene making sure
you are wearing clean uniform
and washing your hands regularly.

Ways to adhere to hygiene
standards are:

• Keep reusable tools in
barbicide solution
• Clean work surface down with
disinfectant between each client
• Wash hands regularly
• Dispose of any used cotton
pads/clippings/disposables
between clients

Pg.5

Notes Pg.6

Notes Pg.7

HEALTH
& SAFETY

Whether your working at home Other aspects of health and safety
or in a salon you must follow include your personal wellbeing,
health and safety regulations things to consider are:
in that particular environment.
These rules are to keep yourself • Respiratory sensitisation from
and others away from potential chemicals
hazards, to be able to do this it is
advised to run a risk assessment • Contact dermatitis
in the place you intend to work • Inadequate disposal of cotton
from.
wool and other disposable
Things to consider are: products
• Inadequate training of services
• Wires that could be tripped on carried out on clients
• Wet floors
• Electrical appliances tested Example: After inhaling acrylic
• Chemical products out of reach fumes regularly you can become
desensitised to the smell,
Example: If you have a wire however you must remember that
leading on the floor this would these fumes are very harmful if
be considered a hazard. there is inadequate ventilation.
If someone trips and causes This can cause headaches,
injury, you will be left liable for a dizziness and nausea, some
claim against yourself. technicians choose to wear a
surgical face mask when applying
Pg.8 acrylic and filing to prevent
inhaling dust particles and fumes.

Notes Pg.9

INSURANCE

When you become qualified and Some affordable insurance
have received your certificate companies to consider are:
you will then be able to obtain
insurance. It is important that • ABT (receive 10% discount
before you begin to offer your code for ABT on completion)
services you have adequate
insurance that protects you from • Salon safe
accidental damage, personal • Salon gold
injury and compensation claims
made by a member of the public.

It is a requirement for
salons and employers; however
you are responsible for your
own insurance if you are
self - employed or mobile.
By not getting the correct
insurance you are leaving
yourself open to financial
consequences. Public liability
insurance covers harm accidently
caused to a member of the public
while at work, it is usually easy to
purchase online by making a
one-off payment that covers you
for the year. Alternatively you
can pay monthly.

Pg.10

Notes

Pg.11

Notes

Pg.12

Notes

Pg.13







Unit 2:

Pg.17

KIT ESSENTIALS

The products chosen to go into
your kit have been carefully
selected to give you the best start
to your new venture in becoming
a nail tech. All of which are some
of my favourite brands that I
use on a daily basis. This kit is a
starting point from that you can
build on, you will find that some
are more expensive than others
and that the highest cost doesn’t
always mean the highest quality.

The brands and products
included in the kit are my
personal choice and work
for me, however you may find
that as time goes by and you
become more experienced
that you have an alternative
preference!

Please see following page for
some brands I like to use that
you may want to consider when
building your professional kit.

Pg.18

Brands Complete Mini Kit:
• NSI attraction
• Crystal nails • Acrylic brush
• Nails by Annabel (glitterbels) • NSI core powder
• Navy pro tools • NSI liquid
• Pro impressions • Dappen- dish
• Premier gel • Natural competition tips
• Halo gel • NSI glue
• The Gel Bottle • NSI Primer
• Candy coat • NSI files x2
• Buffing block x1
NOTE: • Prep & cleanse
This kit is for professional use • Tip cutters
only and should be kept out of • Cuticle pusher
reach from children or pets. • Cuticle nippers
• Cuticle oil
• Disposable gloves
• Dusting brush
• Nude gel
• Halo mini top coat
• Mini LED gel lamp
• Candy coat lint free pads

Pg.19

THE ANATOMY
OF THE NAIL

It is important to have an Nail body/plate - It is the hard
understanding of the natural surface area of the nail, it is made
nail and its functions. This is so up of translucent keratin protein.
we can look out for any Layers of dead compacted cells
contraindications, select enable strength and flexibility.
the suitable products and A healthy nail body will be
methods and advise our pinkish in colour, smooth and
clientsaccordingly. shiny.

Essentially the natural nail is the Cuticle - Used as a protective
base of our work therefore we must seal, it is a semi-circular layer of
know it inside and out. dead skin cells that extend past
The surface of the fingernail the nail bed protecting the ma-
consists of three main parts; trix from infection. It is the
the nail body, free edge and the non-living part that can be
cuticle - The functions of these removed in manicure/nail prep.
are...
Free edge - This is the tip of the
Pg.20 nail which is usually white or
translucent, it can be trimmed
back to determine shape and
length of the nail.

See diagram on following page!

Nail body/plate Free edge

Cuticle

Pg.21

Notes

Pg.22

Notes

Pg.23

THE NAIL UNCOVERED

Beneath the nail plate is the The sides of your nails which
nail bed, the live part of the are called the nail walls are folds
nail that includes capillaries of skin which overlap the sides
and glands. It is attached to of the nails. They are there to
the nail bed and acts as protect the nail plate edges. The
protection to the deeper collective name for the nail walls
layers of the skin. and cuticle area is called the
perionychium.
The matrix is underneath
or behind the cuticle, it is See following page for diagram.
responsible for the growth
of the nail. It contains nerve
endings, blood and lymph
vessels. For healthy growth it
is essential that the matrix is
well looked after at all times,
if it is damaged this can cause
the nail to die.

Underlying the free edge is
the hyponychium. It is the
skin underneath the free edge
between your finger and your
nail. It acts as a barrier from
germs and debris and keeps
external substances from
getting under the nail.

Pg.24

Perionychium Hyponychium
Matrix
Nail Bed

Pg.25

PERFECT PREP

This is the first stage of your Remove moisture
acrylic application, and in my
opinion the most important! Using a low grit file to buff the
The preparation of the natural clients nail plate will remove
nail will determine; Firstly how natural oils from the surface that
long your nails will last the client. makes it appear shiny. Then using
Secondly, give you the perfect IPA, cleanse the nail plate using a
neat end result when applying lint free wipe to remove any dust
acrylic and polishing. particles left from filing.
Doing this makes sure the nail
Your prep will be in 3 stages; plate is oil free, clean and dry
before application.
Create space
Aesthetic result
By using your cuticle pusher
to create space and gently Using your cuticle nippers to
exfoliate the nail plate you are gently remove excess cuticle and
giving yourself a bigger canvas dead skin will allow you to get
to work on. We do this by a smooth semi-circular shape
carefully pushing the client’s around the perionychium, this
cuticles and side walls back. will enable a neat application of
both acrylic and polish and give
Pg.26 the end result a clean precise
look. Using your hand file to then
neaten/shorten the free edge.

Once the natural nail is prepared
it is time to clear your work area
and begin the acrylic application.

Notes

Pg.27

Notes

Pg.28

Notes

Pg.29

TIP APPLICATION

In your kit you have been Sizing
provided with Pro Impressions
Natural Competition tips. Once your nails are prepped you
These have been designed will then need to choose the tip
specifically for professional, fast size to fit the natural nail. NOTE
and easy application. each finger on each hand can be
different to the other. The correct
However, you may come across way to fit a tip to the nail is to
many types of tips that have a hold it against the nail plate and
slightly different shape, curve slide it down towards to the free
or applicator. Please understand edge, making sure it fits flush to
that the method of application the nail and reaches across the
can differ slightly depending on entire width of the nail plate.
the type of tip you choose to use The tip should fit as close to the
after your course. nail walls as possible without it
actually touching them. If it is
Please see the following advice on too small the acrylic application
sizing, sticking and shaping your won’t cover the entire nail. How-
nails. ever if it is too big the acrylic
will end up on the client’s skin
which will make it difficult to file
without causing any harm to the
side walls.

Pg.30

Sticking Shaping & length

Applying the tips one at a time is When all the tips have been
the easiest way by moving from applied you can then use your tip
right to left starting with the cutters to shorten them to the
little finger. Once you have the desired length. Following this
correct size tip you will need to depending on what shape you are
coat the curved edge with a thin wanting to achieve you will either
layer of glue, approximately no leave the tips square or; use your
more than half a mm wide. If nail scissors to create a rough
there is too much glue dab the tip guide for your choice of shape.
gently on to a piece of desk roll For example; when doing a coffin
to remove the excess. To stick the shape nail, you would slightly
tip to the nail you must hold the taper the edges in by lining up
tip at an angle; resting the edge of your scissors at an angle from
the tip where the glue stops on to the free edge, make sure you give
the free edge, then gently rock it yourself extra room for filing
onto the nail plate. Hold the tip after acrylic application.
down for a few seconds making Remember at this stage the shape
sure all the sides have adhered. is not perfected, rather it is just a
guide line that later you will per-
TIP: fect after acrylic has been applied.

If you run your finger over the Finally you will blend the smile
nail plate you should not be able line on the tip gently using
to feel where the tip joins the your hand file to get rid of the
nail plate. ridge and therefore will create a
smooth base for application of
acrylic.

Pg.31

NAIL SHAPES

Almond Round Stiletto

Coffin Square Squoval /
Rounded square
Pg.32

Notes

Pg.33

Notes

Pg.34

Notes

Pg.35

ACRYLIC APPLICATION

What is acrylic? The consistency must be wet
It is a two-component system enough so there is time to place it
using monomer (liquid) and correctly, however be careful that
powder making it the most it isn’t too wet so that it runs all
strongest and versatile nail over the nail, this balance is key.
enhancement available!
Speedy application is imperative,
Acrylic monomer is another so that the bead doesn’t set
term used for acrylic liquid, before you have had chance to
when combined with the maniplulate where you need
powder this creates a bead of the acrylic. Most acrylic is
acrylic that sets onto the nail. self-levelling which will helps
When it is dry and solidified we create a smooth finish.
are then able to file it.

It is important to get the
consistency of the acrylic bead
right so we can manipulate it
into a shape we want. The bead
will begin to dry the moment the
liquid meets the powder;
therefore we must use the
correct ratio to give a paste like
consistency.

Pg.36