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Why get a manicure and pedicure? What types of manicure are there?

Our hands and feet interact with the environment every day, which makes them vulnerable to damage. Today a manicure and pedicure are not so much about beauty as about taking responsible care of your health. They are done not only by women but by men too. That is why a quality manicure and pedicure matter so much. Let’s look at why a manicure is worth doing and how it is done in modern beauty salons.

A quality manicure and pedicure:

– exfoliates the skin and prevents calluses;
– keeps nails clean and helps prevent fungal infections;
– helps prevent nails from breaking;
– removes dry cuticle;
– and as a bonus, many people notice an anti-stress effect.

What types of manicure and pedicure are there?

1. Cut manicure

One of the most popular types of manicure. It is done with cutting tools: scissors and nippers.

The downside of a cut manicure is the risk of injury: the cuticle can be cut with scissors (when the master tries to trim it “cleaner”).

In practice, many salons neglect the rules of instrument sterilisation. This greatly increases the risk of serious harm to the client’s health.

One of the most common sterilisation mistakes is using drying cabinets or cheap dry-heat ovens instead of a professional certified steriliser. Unfortunately, you cannot judge the quality of sterilisation by the kraft pouch, because Chinese dry-heat ovens and drying cabinets* also change the colour of the indicator on kraft pouches.
So don’t hesitate to ask the salon to show you how sterilisation is done. If a salon has nothing to hide, they will gladly explain (and show!) the whole process.

* We say “Chinese” because many salons in Tashkent use equipment from China.

2. File manicure

The newest and most modern type of manicure, gradually taking the lead. It is done with files.

It has a cumulative effect: each time the result lasts longer, and each next treatment takes less time.

We have a separate article about file manicure:

How long does a manicure last? It is individual and depends on your physiology. On average, from two weeks to a month and a half. As the cumulative effect of file manicure builds up, the cuticle and the skin on the side folds grow more slowly and the result lasts longer.

3. Hardware manicure

It is done with a nail drill and a set of bits for different stages of treatment.

One of the most dangerous types of manicure: the master can file through the nail plate or the side folds, and a sharp-tipped bit can cause a serious injury. 

Masters often try to clean out the sinuses (the corner of the nail where the cuticle meets the side fold) by pushing the bit as deep as possible, which very often pierces the skin, damages the nail and sometimes even the matrix (the nail base). Damage to the matrix is very dangerous, as the nail plate becomes deformed for a long time, and sometimes for good.

4. Combined manicure

A combined manicure means using several approaches at once.

The term “combined manicure” is very vague, so people interpret it differently. It is above all a salon term, used quite freely, and can mean anything: from a serious set of procedures to using an auxiliary tool in certain cases. 

5. European uncut manicure

An uncut (or European) manicure is a set of hygienic procedures carried out without metal cutting tools, which makes it the gentlest possible care for hands and nails. The method relies on special products that soften and partly dissolve the cuticle; its particles are then carefully removed and the rest is gently pushed back to the nail base. Unlike a classic cut manicure, which removes the overgrown pterygium and cuticle with hangnails using special tools – scissors, nippers, tweezers – and often leaves cuts, the European technique rules out any injury.

So how is manicure done in Tashkent?

Most beauty salons in Tashkent do combined and hardware manicure without any particular specialisation, mostly at a low price (with matching quality) and “on a conveyor belt”. Most people start their manicure journey in such salons. Over time they find a salon with “that very master” and keep going there.

As people become more conscious about caring for their health, they dig deeper into the details and find beauty salons that specialise in one or at most a few types of manicure. Such places usually select their specialists more strictly and pay more attention to doing the procedure correctly.

How to choose a salon and a manicure master?

When choosing a salon, we recommend asking: which types of manicure they specialise in, how they do manicure and pedicure, how instruments are sterilised (and whether they are at all!), how long the procedure takes, and which creams and products are used for care.

When choosing a master, even if you get a regular cut or hardware manicure rather than a file one, we recommend looking for specialists with experience in the file technique. Masters who know the file technique can do cut and hardware manicures so that the result lasts longer, because they know from practice when to stop while trimming and filing without filing through the skin.

For example, our nail studio in Tashkent specialises only in file manicure and pedicure, and all our masters know the fine points of file manicure in depth. Instruments are processed in a medical steriliser, and before the procedure the master opens a single-use kraft pouch from the oven in front of you. Care is done with premium cosmetics by Aveda and Oribe, leaving your hands and feet healthy, soft and well-groomed.

Which manicure is the cheapest?

The cheapest manicure is a file manicure without coating. The simplest manicure is also called a classic manicure. It is done with files and is completely atraumatic (no risk of injury). You could call it the minimum starter set for healthy hands. 

If you wish, you can add regular or long-lasting polish, as well as spa care with premium cosmetics: spa gloves (spa socks for a pedicure), mesorollers, serums and toners.

See also: pedicure and laser hair removal.