Mealy Hands, Anyone?

This is a Mealy Hand. It is dry corn meal and flour mixed together and poured into a vinyl glove. Once filled, the student should lightly tap the glove to pack the mixture into the fingers and to release pockets of air. A well packed glove is key to creating a realistic hand for the student to successfully master filing techniques and correctly hold the finger while filing and shaping the nail. A rubber banded is used to close the glove. Nail tips are then attached to the fingertips with super glue and nail acrylic is applied. After a few minutes of curing, the acrylic is hard enough for the student to cut the acrylic overlayed nail tip and perform a mock manicure.

We use these hands for practicing the basic manicure and for nail competitions. The student objective is to file the nail to a smooth finish without nicking the glove and causing the mealy hand to lose its filling. We love these mealy hands because we can make them at will, and they are pliable. The meal and flour mixture creates an accurate weight and texture to the hand. This enhances the realism of the practical exercise. Unlike the plastic mannequin hands, which really are too light and not pliable, the student is able to mold these hands to fit over any object and is able to hold the fingers properly.

The completed manicure on a mealy hand. It is still a rough finish, as this was a new student's first attempt.