“Just a normal manicure, please.” There are in fact three different techniques behind that word: classic, e-file manicure and combination.
I hear this every week. And every time I ask what “normal” means — because everyone means something different.
There are three lines on the price list and they look nearly the same. In practice they are three different ways of working with the skin around the nail. And they suit different people.
E-file manicure, classic and combi: the short version
An e-file manicure is done with a bit and no cutting tool. Classic is cut with nippers, combination uses both. Each one is covered below.
Classic — cutting
The cuticle is softened and trimmed with scissors or nippers.
Who it suits: dense, tough skin with lots of hangnails. People who have known this technique since childhood and like the closely trimmed look.
Worth knowing: trimmed skin grows back faster and tougher. And any cutting instrument used in a hurry is a risk of nicking you.
E-file — no cutting
Bits are used to remove pterygium — the thin film that grows onto the plate — and to work the side walls.
Who it suits: thin, dry, sensitive skin. Anyone who would rather nothing was cut. Anyone whose hangnails come back quickly after trimming.
Worth knowing: an e-file in unskilled hands leaves file rings — fine grooves near the cuticle that show through the coating later. Skill matters here more than in any other technique.
Combined — both
The e-file opens the area and removes pterygium; the cutting instrument takes off what has already separated.
Who it suits: most people. It gives the cleanest result with the least intervention.
This is the technique I teach most often — not because it is fashionable, but because it produces an even line without being aggressive to the skin.
So which one
Not by fashion. By your skin.
Tough skin that grows back quickly — classic or combined. Thin and dry — e-file or combined. If you don’t know, say so out loud and a good nail tech will look and suggest.
And techniques can change. This isn’t a marriage. If one doesn’t suit you, next time we do it differently.
How to tell it was done well
- The line is even all the way around, with no steps in it.
- No new hangnails after three days. If there are, the wrong thing was removed, or removed the wrong way.
- No cuts. Not one. “It stings a little” is not normal.
- The skin around the nail hasn’t become tougher two weeks later.
Those four points tell you far more about a nail tech’s level than any Instagram photo. 💅
Do you know which technique is used on you? Most people don’t — and that’s fine, but it’s worth asking.
