Exam Nail Tech

• Abrasive – a discription of a material used to roughen, shape, polish or remove the surface of artificial and natural nails; or one component of a file
• Absorption – The soaking in, of a liquid or gas into a solid substance
• Accelerator – A substance added or applied to an adhesive/ coating to promote or control the curing (accells)
• Acrylates – family of monomers used in light-curing gel products
• Activator – A chemical used to accelerate a reaction or increases chemical activity in another material
• Allergen – A substance capable of producing a reaction or allergy
• Allergy – A disorder due to extreme sensitivity to certain foods or chemicals
• Antiseptic – A substance used to destroy bacteria, fungi, and viruses on HUMAN skin
• Backfill – doing a fill on a set of pink-and-whites; involves taking down the surface of the nail so the smile line can be recreated
• Bonder – Uses UV light-activated ingredients to BOND with the natural keratin in the nail (creates adhesion)
• Carbide – A very hard metal made of carbon and one or more heavy metals; usually used in the manufacture of drill bits
• Carcinogen – A substance capable of causing cancer in humans or other animals
• Chemical – Anything that can be seen or touched, except light and electricity
• Coating – A generic term for any product that covers the nail plate with a hard film
• Combustible – liquids having a flash point (the lowest temperature at which material will catch on fire)
• Crystallization – an undesirable but preventable formation of tiny crystals in the uncured nail coating often resulting from unusually cold temperatures or drafts while a nail technician is working with wet acrylic products
• Dehydrator – A substance capable of absorbing water from the natural nail
• Distal Nail Plate – A nail’s free edge
• Eggshell Nails – nails that are thin, white and curved over the free edge; the condition is caused by improper diet, internal disease, medication, or nervous disorder
• Enamel – Any coating that flows to a smooth layer when applied and dries with a glossy or dull appearance
• Eponychium – The thin line of skin at the base of the nail that extends from the nail to the nail plate
• Furrows – Long ridges that run either down the length of the nail or across the width of the nail

  
• Hepatitis C – a contagious liver disease that ranges in severity from a mild illness lasting a few weeks to a serious lifelong illness that attacks the liver
• Humectant – A substance that promotes water retention. Products like moisturizers retain water to skin (starts with H)
• inhibition layer - the sticky residue left over after curing gel polish
• Initiator – a molecule that absorbs extra energy and uses it to cause chemical reactions to occur (starts with in)
• Linen wrap – a wrap made of closely woven, heavy material that can be applied to the natural nail bed to strengthen and protect nails from breaking and splitting

  
• Mantle – also called nail fold; the deep fold of skin at the base of the nail where the root is embedded
• Matrix – small area of living tissue directly below the proximal nail fold
• Microdermabrasion – a skin freshening technique that helps repair skin by deep exfoliation (micro___)
• Moisture – liquid diffused or condensation on skin
• Nail bed – a thick growth of epidermal cells that supports the natural nail plate
• Organic – any substance that contains the element carbon.  Nearly every product used in nail care is organic.  This term does not imply any degree of safety
• OTC – a short form for ‘over the counter’, any product that can be purchased in a retail store
• Paronychium – The part of the skin that surrounds the entire nail area
• Polymer – the ‘powder’ of the liquid/ powder acrylic system.
• Polymerization – The process of forming a polymer (Acrylic hardening)
• Primary Allergen – a substance that can cause immediate allergic reactions; poison ivy
• Primary Irritant – a substance that causes acute or immediate irritation to skin
• Pseudomonas – an unsightly bacterial infection sometimes referred to as “greenies”