GuideNail salon

Nail Salon Terms: A Glossary for Owners, Techs and Clients (2026)

The words on your menu are the words the chair, the booking page, and the phone all have to share. This glossary explains them in plain language: the services, the shapes, the parts of the nail, the products, and the front-desk words that decide who sits down and what she pays. It's a shop guide. It isn't a medical page, and it doesn't set your prices, your deposit, or your state's license rules.

By the Bukkii Team Nov 13, 2026 14 min read

Read in:Tiếng Việt Español

Contents · 11 sections

How do you use this list?
What do the menu words mean?
Which names belong on the booking page?
What do the shape words mean?
What are the parts of the nail called?
Which product and tool words matter?
What do lifting, heat spike, and greenies mean?
Which words does the front desk need?
What do you say on the phone?
Checklist before the names go live
FAQ

How do you use this list?

A client who asks for "gel" might want color on her natural nails, or she might want a full set with length. Those are different chairs and different prices. This glossary is how the desk, the tech, and the booking page stop guessing. Read a row, then put the name you picked on the menu. If two techs use two nicknames for the same visit, pick one name and retire the other.

On November 13, 2026, a US search for nail salon terms turned up public glossaries that sort services, shapes, and the parts of the nail but say much less about the desk: walk-in, no-show, rebooking, ticket, turn, deposit, cancellation window, booth rent, commission. Those desk words are in the tables below. They were written here, not copied from those lists. Every price stays yours. The blank menu and the math are on the nail salon price list.

These are the service names clients already use. The note tells you what to do with each name on your menu and on the book.

Term	Plain meaning	Note for owners
Full set	A new set of enhancements on all ten fingers, built fresh or after the old product comes off.	Always name the product: gel full set, acrylic full set, or dip full set. "Full set" alone does not tell the book how long to hold.
Fill	A maintenance visit that covers the grown-out gap at the base of a set she already has.	Write your own fill window. Past that window, the menu line is a new set. This page does not set a number of weeks.
Overlay	Product laid over the natural nail for strength, without adding length.	Shorter than a full set. Don't book it in a full-set slot.
Tip	A plastic piece glued to the free edge to add length, then covered with product.	If tips change the price or the time, give them their own line or a clear add-on.
Sculpt	Length built on a form under the free edge, with no plastic tip.	Sculpting usually takes longer than a tip set. Put the longer time on the book.
Gel manicure	Color gel on the natural nail, cured under a lamp, with no extension.	Write "gel manicure," not just "gel," so it is not confused with a gel full set.
Acrylic	A set made by mixing liquid monomer with powder. It hardens in the air, not under a lamp.	Acrylic full set and acrylic fill are two lines, two times, two prices.
Dip powder	Colored powder layered with a bonding liquid. Many systems finish with an activator and no lamp. Some finish with a gel top coat that does cure.	The menu says dip. The bottle says which finish you use. Don't book a dip as a gel manicure.
Builder gel	A thicker gel used to add strength or a short extension, cured under a lamp.	It needs its own time. It is not a gel manicure.
BIAB	A shop name for builder gel that comes in a bottle and brushes on, then cures. BIAB started as a brand name. Shops now use it for that kind of brush-on builder.	If your bottle is a different brand, the menu can say builder gel. The phone can add "the one clients call BIAB" so both names hit one line.
Hard gel	A gel that is filed down at the next visit. It does not soak off in acetone.	A hard-gel fill is not a soak-off appointment. Don't put them in the same slot.
Soft gel	A gel that can be soaked off with acetone.	Removal is its own line. Don't hide the minutes inside the set price.
Gel-X / soft gel tips	A pre-shaped soft gel tip applied with gel and cured. Gel-X is a brand name shops use for that method.	Use the name your clients already say, and give it its own time. One name on the menu.
French	A pale or clear base with a contrasting tip, often white. It can sit on a natural nail, gel, acrylic, or dip.	Say whether French is the service or an add-on, so the ticket doesn't surprise anyone.
Soak-off / removal	Taking product off, usually with acetone, sometimes after the bulk is filed down. Peeling is not a removal.	Always its own line, its own time, and its own price. A removal plus a new set is two lines.
Repair	Fixing one broken or lifted nail instead of redoing all ten.	One repair is not a fill. If more than one nail needs it, say how you charge before she sits down.
Classic manicure	Shape, cuticle work, and regular polish on the natural nail. No enhancement and no lamp.	Put "classic manicure" on the menu. "Mani" is fine at the desk once she knows which one.
Pedicure	A visit for the feet: a soak, toenails, and smoothing the skin, finished with polish or left plain.	Classic and gel are different times. List both if you do both. This page does not describe medical foot care.
Gel pedicure	A pedicure finished with gel color that cures under a lamp.	Don't book it in a classic pedicure slot.
Polish change	Color only, on nails that are already shaped. No full cuticle service.	A short slot. If she also wants a shape and cuticle work, that is a manicure.
Nail art	A design on one nail or the whole set.	One accent nail and a full-set design are different times. "From" belongs here, because the work changes the time.
Add-on	Anything sold on top of the main service: art, extra length, a French tip, paraffin, a removal.	Add-ons get their own lines so the book holds the extra minutes.
Combo	Two services booked as one visit, such as a gel manicure plus a classic pedicure.	The combo gets its own line, its own time, and its own price.

Which names belong on the booking page?

The link she taps should use the same names as the card at the desk. Vague names are how a 45-minute gel manicure ends up in a 90-minute full-set chair. On a Bukkii Calendar booking site, type one service per line, with the minutes your techs actually finish in and the price from your own math. The starting grid, with the prices left blank, is the price list template.

If she says	Put this on the booking page	Why
Gel	Ask, then book gel manicure or gel full set	"Gel" alone does not set the minutes
A fill	Gel fill, acrylic fill, or a dip maintenance line, after you check your fill window	A fill is not a new set
A full set	Gel full set, acrylic full set, or dip full set	The product changes the time
Just a polish	Polish change, unless she wants cuticle work	Cuticle work is a manicure
A pedicure	Classic pedicure or gel pedicure	The lamp changes the slot
Take this off	Soak-off / removal, plus the new service on a second line if she wants one	Two jobs, two lines
Mani and pedi	One combo line, such as gel manicure + classic pedicure	One visit needs one time and one price
Make them longer	Extra length, as its own add-on	Length changes the time, so "from" is honest here
A design	Nail art, one accent nail, or nail art, full set	One nail and ten nails are not the same slot

Calendar is $0 for up to 3 staff and includes the booking website, so the name, the minutes, and the price you type are exactly what she sees. Reserve with Google is not on Free. For $20 a month, you get unlimited staff and customers, plus Reserve with Google. Email reminders come with the $20 plan. Calendar does not answer the phone.

What do the shape words mean?

Ask about shape when you book a set. A shape isn't its own service unless it changes the time. Extra length and a long stiletto often do. The rest are preferences the tech needs to know before she picks up the file.

Term	Plain meaning	Note for owners
Square	Straight side walls and a flat free edge.	A common request. It does not add time by itself.
Squoval	A square with the corners softened.	Clients may say "square but not sharp." That is a squoval.
Round	The free edge follows the curve of the fingertip.	Shorter than an oval. Confirm she doesn't mean oval.
Oval	Sides that taper, with a rounded tip, longer than a round.	If she wants it past the fingertip, that may be extra length.
Almond	Sides that taper toward a soft point.	A soft point, not the sharp point of a stiletto.
Coffin / ballerina	Sides that taper and a tip that is flat.	On most US menus both words mean that shape. If your shop treats them as two shapes, say so at the desk before the file starts.
Stiletto	Sides that taper to a sharp point.	Long stilettos take more time and more product. Put that on the book as extra length when it does.
Lipstick	The free edge is cut on a slant, higher on one side, like a tube of lipstick.	Show a photo if she has not worn it before. The angle is easy to get backwards.

What are the parts of the nail called?

These names keep the desk and the tech pointing at the same thing. This table is a map of the nail, not a treatment guide. Don't cut living skin. What a license allows is a state rule, and the states don't all write the same rule.

Term	Plain meaning	Note for owners
Nail plate	The hard nail you can see.	Product sits on the plate. The plate is not the skin under it.
Nail bed	The skin the plate rests on.	You see its color through the plate. You don't file the bed.
Free edge	The part of the plate that grows past the fingertip.	The shape is cut here. "Extra length" means a longer free edge.
Cuticle	The thin, dead skin that sticks to the plate near the base.	Shops often say "cuticle" for the living skin too. The living fold has its own name below.
Eponychium	The living skin fold at the base of the nail. It seals the area where the nail is made.	It is not the dead skin on the plate. Leave the living skin alone.
Lunula	The pale half-moon at the base of some nails.	A landmark, not a service. Not every nail shows one.
Matrix	The area under the skin at the base, where the plate is formed. You don't see it.	You don't cut it, and you don't promise to change how the nail grows.
Hyponychium	The seal of skin under the free edge, where the plate lifts off the fingertip.	Don't dig under it. A tear there is not a "clean-up."

Which product and tool words matter?

Clients rarely book these by name, but techs and whoever trains a new hire use them every day. The bottle, not this page, tells you how that system is used.

Term	Plain meaning	Note for owners
Base coat	The first layer under color. It helps the color grip and keeps some polish from staining the plate.	Part of the service, not a separate booking, unless you sell the bottle.
Top coat	The last layer. It adds shine and slows chips. A no-wipe top coat is made so you don't wipe the nail after that last layer cures.	If the color is still sticky and the top coat has not gone on, the service is not finished.
E-file	A handpiece with a spinning bit, used to reduce and shape product. Clients often say "drill."	The desk can say e-file. The bit and the speed are a training item, not a menu line.
Grit	How coarse a hand file, buffer, or bit is. A lower number is coarser. A higher number is finer.	Write the grits your shop actually uses on the training card, not on the client menu.
Dehydrator	A prep liquid that takes surface oils and moisture off the plate so product can grip.	Prep, not a service. Skipping it is a common reason a set lifts.
Primer	A prep that helps product bond to the plate. Acid primer is the stronger bond. Non-acid primer is milder.	Use the one your system names. This page does not tell you to switch.
Monomer	The liquid in an acrylic system. It mixes with powder and hardens in the air.	Use the liquid your product system names. This page does not compare brands.
Acrylic powder	The powder that mixes with monomer to make the acrylic bead. Also called polymer.	The color on the menu is the set. The powder is the material behind it.
Inhibition layer	The sticky film left on top of some gels after the lamp. Also called the tacky layer.	Wipe it only when that gel's instructions say to wipe. A no-wipe top coat is there so the last layer stays glossy without a wipe.
Lamp	The LED or UV light that cures gel. The product maker names the lamp and the time.	A gel that is not cured is not a finished nail. Match the lamp to the product you stock.
Acetone	The solvent used to soak off gel, dip, and many acrylics.	Removal time belongs on the menu, not as a surprise at the chair.
Cuticle oil	Oil rubbed on the skin around the nail after the service.	Finish work, unless you sell the bottle. A bottle sold is retail, a separate line on the ticket.
Nail form	The sticker or reusable support under the free edge when a tech sculpts length.	The form is how a sculpt is built. It is not a shape.
Credo blade	A handled blade some shops use on thickened skin of the foot. Also called a callus shaver. A liquid callus softener is a different product, used so skin can be smoothed rather than cut.	Whether the blade may be in the shop is a state rule. California's rule, as of Nov 2026: no establishment shall have on the premises or use any razor-edged tool to remove calluses (16 CCR §993, Justia, current through Register 2025, checked Nov 13, 2026). Other states write their own rule. Read your state board before a blade is on a station.

What do lifting, heat spike, and greenies mean?

These are shop words for things you can see or a client can feel. They aren't diagnoses, and this page doesn't name a medicine or a treatment. If skin hurts, swells, or looks infected, that visit is not a set. What a license allows on that nail is a question for your state board.

Term	Plain meaning	Note for owners
Lifting	Product that has pulled away from the plate, often at the tip or near the cuticle. A gap you can see or catch.	Water, oils, and a skipped prep are the usual shop checks. Book a repair or a fill. Peeling a lift off takes the plate with it.
Heat spike	A sudden hot feeling while gel cures under the lamp.	If she says it hurts, take the hand out of the lamp. Thick product is the usual shop check. This page does not call it an injury.
Greenies	Shop slang for a green or dark stain under a lifted nail, where moisture sat in the gap.	This page does not name a germ or a treatment. Pain, swelling, or skin that looks infected means that visit is not a set.
Cuticle flooding	Gel or acrylic that ran onto the skin at the base and cured there.	A reason the set lifts. It is not a service you sell.
Ring of fire	A red ring around the nail after an e-file bit ran too hot or too long in one spot.	A friction mark. Stop. Don't promise a day it will fade.

Which words does the front desk need?

These words run the book and the money. Most public glossaries barely cover them, and they're the ones a new hire gets wrong on a Saturday.

Term	Plain meaning	Note for owners
Walk-in	A client who shows up with no appointment.	Decide if you take them, and say it in one sentence on the phone. The wait you quote is the wait you see in the room.
No-show	Someone who was on the book, did not come, and did not cancel.	Different from a late cancel. Write what you do about it in your own cancellation note. This page does not set a fee.
Late cancel	A cancel inside the notice window you already chose.	Say the window out loud. A cancel with plenty of notice is neither a late cancel nor a no-show.
Cancellation window	How much notice you need before a cancel counts as on time.	One window, the one you will keep on a Saturday. Wording you can copy is on the cancellation policy for a nail salon. This page is not legal advice.
Rebooking	Booking the next visit before she leaves the chair.	The next fill or the next pedicure, on the book, on a day she agreed to.
Ticket	The list of services and add-ons for that visit, and what she pays.	The ticket should match the lines she booked. Anything she adds at the chair goes on the ticket before she pays.
Turn	A rotation so the next walk-in goes to the next tech whose turn it is.	Write the order down. Otherwise one tech gets every walk-in.
Deposit	Money you collect before the appointment. It applies to the ticket.	You choose the amount and which services need one. Say that it goes toward the service. This page does not publish an amount.
Booth rent	The tech pays a set rent for the chair and usually keeps the service money.	Her prices may be her own, unless the agreement says she matches the salon menu. The phone has to know whose price it is quoting.
Commission	The salon pays the tech a percent of the services she does.	The percent is in your agreement. It changes the lowest price that still covers the chair. See commission vs booth rent.
Grace period	How late she can be and still keep the chair.	Pick a number of minutes you will enforce. Past that, the time goes back on the book.
Waitlist	Names you call if a chair opens.	A waitlist spot is not a confirmed time. Say that when you write the name down.
Double-book	Two clients written in the same slot.	Only when you mean to overlap a short service. An accidental double-book is how Saturday falls behind.
Gap	Empty minutes between two appointments.	A gap that fits a polish change does not fit a full set. Look at the minutes.
New client	Someone who has not been on your book before.	Explain the service in the menu's words, not shop slang.
Regular	A client who already has a tech and a usual service.	Rebook the next visit. Keep the menu name the same so her history matches.

What do you say on the phone?

Say the menu name, then the time you can actually hold. The longer scripts, with blanks for your salon name and your price, are in the nail salon phone script. Fill [X minutes] with the wait you actually see in the room. Fill any price from your own menu. This page has no service prices.

Moment	Say this
She says "gel"	Are you looking for a gel manicure, or a gel full set?
She says "a fill"	A fill is for a set you already have. If you're past our fill window, I'll book a new set.
She asks the shape	Do you want square, almond, or coffin?
You take walk-ins	Yes, we take walk-ins. The wait right now is about [X minutes].
You don't	We're not taking walk-ins right now. I can book you. What service do you need?
She wants it off	Soak-off is its own service. I can add the new set on a second line.
You take a deposit	I can take a deposit to hold the chair. It goes toward the ticket.
She's leaving the chair	Want me to book your next fill before you go?

AIVA answers callers in English only. She does not speak Spanish, Vietnamese, Chinese, Korean, or any other language to callers. You can read this page in Spanish or Vietnamese, but the voice on the phone stays English. That's why the booking page should use these English service names: they're the names AIVA can say back once you train her on your menu. AIVA is $200 one-time. No free trial, no monthly fee, no contract. That one payment covers a dedicated number, training on your menu and policies, calendar setup, and call forwarding, plus 100 voice minutes and 1,500 SMS. After that, voice is $0.35 a minute and SMS is $0.035. Packs never expire. She texts the appointment details after the booking is made. She does not auto-text someone who already hung up. Setup is call forwarding. This page does not describe number porting. The number on your door stays with your carrier. Prices are from bukkii.ai/pricing, checked November 13, 2026. Hear the English voice at (215) 791-6766. Get started.

Checklist before the names go live

Check the menu, the booking page, and the card by the phone on the same day.

Every service uses one name from this list. Nicknames only the techs know come off the menu.
Full set, fill, and soak-off are separate lines. The product is in the name: gel, acrylic, or dip.
Shapes that change the time are add-ons. Extra length and a long stiletto aren't hidden inside "full set."
The booking page matches the desk. Same name, same minutes, same price, matching the price list you already filled in.
Deposit, cancellation window, and fill window are in your words. Any amount you haven't chosen stays blank. Wording for the window is on the cancellation policy.
Walk-ins are one sentence. If you take them, the turn order is written down.
The phone knows whose price it is quoting. Commission and booth rent aren't the same menu. The comparison is in commission vs booth rent.
AIVA is trained on the English names. She answers in English only. The phrases above are the ones worth putting into that training.

FAQ

What is the difference between a fill and a full set?

A fill covers the grown-out area on a set the client already has. A full set is a new set on all ten nails. Put the product in the menu name too: gel fill, acrylic full set, or dip full set. Write your own fill window. Past that window, the menu line is a new set. This page does not set a number of weeks.

Which names should go on the booking page?

One line per service, in the words clients already use: classic manicure, gel manicure, gel fill, gel full set, acrylic full set, acrylic fill, dip full set, classic pedicure, gel pedicure, and soak-off. A combo gets its own line, its own time, and its own price. Add-ons and removal stay on their own lines. Type those same names into the Bukkii Calendar booking page so the desk menu and the link she taps say the same thing.

What is a turn, and what is a ticket?

A turn decides whose chair takes the next walk-in. Write the order down, or one tech ends up with every walk-in. A ticket is the list of services and add-ons for that visit, and what the client pays. Anything she adds at the chair goes on the ticket before she pays. The ticket should match the lines she booked.

What is the difference between booth rent and commission?

Commission means the salon pays the tech a percent of the services she does. Booth rent means the tech pays a set rent for the chair and usually keeps the service money. Her prices may be her own unless the agreement says she matches the salon menu. The phone has to know whose price it's quoting. The percent and the rent belong in your agreement. This page does not pick a model or a number.

What does greenies mean?

Greenies is shop slang for a green or dark stain under a lifted nail, where moisture sat in the gap. This page does not name a germ, a medicine, or a treatment. If the skin hurts, is swollen, or looks infected, that visit is not a set. What a license allows on that nail is a question for your state board.

Does AIVA explain these terms in Spanish or Vietnamese?

No. AIVA answers callers in English only. AIVA does not speak Spanish, Vietnamese, Chinese, Korean, or any other language to callers. You can read this page in Spanish or Vietnamese, but the voice on the phone stays English. Train AIVA on the English service names on your menu, and she can quote those names and the prices you gave her. Calendar does not answer the phone. Calendar is $0 for up to 3 staff and includes the booking website. Reserve with Google is not on Free. For $20 a month, you get unlimited staff and customers, plus Reserve with Google. Email reminders come with the $20 plan. AIVA is $200 one-time, with no monthly fee, no contract, and no free trial. That payment covers a dedicated number, training, calendar setup, and call forwarding, plus 100 voice minutes and 1,500 SMS. After that, voice is $0.35 a minute and SMS is $0.035. Packs never expire. She texts the appointment details after the booking is made. She does not auto-text someone who already hung up. Setup is call forwarding, not number porting. Prices are from bukkii.ai/pricing, checked November 13, 2026.