The term for a professional treatment of the hands and nails is a manicure.
A manicure commonly includes cleaning, filing, and shaping the fingernails, caring for the cuticles, removing hangnails, moisturizing the hands, and sometimes applying polish or nail art. Services vary by salon: some include hand massage, exfoliation, paraffin wax, gel polish, acrylic extensions, or decorative designs.
The word comes through French manucure and ultimately combines the Latin manus, meaning “hand,” with cura, meaning “care.” That origin helps distinguish it from a pedicure, which focuses on the feet and toenails. A combined treatment is often called a mani-pedi.
A manicure is primarily cosmetic, but hygiene matters because tools can contact skin and sometimes cause small cuts. Proper cleaning and sterilization help reduce the risk of infection. A French manicure is not a separate kind of hand treatment; it is a recognizable nail-polish style featuring a pale base and contrasting white tips.