A Pedicure?
May 30, 2011 4:49 PM Subscribe
(How) would my feet benefit from a pedicure?
If they're rough and crusty anywhere, it will make them nice and soft. This is to the benefit of your sleeping partner as much as it is to your feet. And, unless you're extremely ticklish, the pedicure itself feels nice. Also, they'll paint your toenails pretty colors. If you're into that sort of thing.
posted by phunniemee at 4:55 PM on May 30, 2011
posted by phunniemee at 4:55 PM on May 30, 2011
I've always been confused about this-- so your feet might be nice and soft, but then aren't they more prone to damage? I've got tough foot skin, but that's so they don't get hurt when I do things with my feet!
(for the OP: I have had a pedicure before, the soaking part was nice, and if you're into massage that's good too. I don't think I'd get one for myself, though.)
posted by nat at 5:00 PM on May 30, 2011
(for the OP: I have had a pedicure before, the soaking part was nice, and if you're into massage that's good too. I don't think I'd get one for myself, though.)
posted by nat at 5:00 PM on May 30, 2011
Contessa and phunniemee have nailed the benefits for your feet. I'd just add that it is hard to explain the joy of looking down at your feet in the shower and seeing painted toes. (I am fond of red.) Not to mention how fun pedicured feet are to put into sandals.
posted by bearwife at 5:00 PM on May 30, 2011
posted by bearwife at 5:00 PM on May 30, 2011
i have soft feet, barely any rough spots. i'm fanatical in the shower with the pumice stone and pumice scrub and buffing and lotioning after. i love, love, love pedicures. it feels nice (and i usually don't like non-professional foot rubs), your cuticles look better than you can do yourself, and you don't have to wrap yourself into weird positions to get it done.
i would let your toe nails grow out just a little bit so they have something to trim and file. i went in with too little nails on my hands and feet and they were slightly stumped at the lack of stuff to work with (which caused them to clip a little close).
posted by nadawi at 5:05 PM on May 30, 2011 [1 favorite]
i would let your toe nails grow out just a little bit so they have something to trim and file. i went in with too little nails on my hands and feet and they were slightly stumped at the lack of stuff to work with (which caused them to clip a little close).
posted by nadawi at 5:05 PM on May 30, 2011 [1 favorite]
Definitely let your nails grow out a little. Getting your nails professionally cut gives you a nice base to work with when you trim them yourself in the future, and you're less likely to get ingrown nails or hangnails going forward (although those are less common with toenails, in my experience). It looks like your nails are cut a little closely and are maybe a little damaged; letting them grow and getting them trimmed professionally will probably make them healthier and less damage-prone.
posted by MadamM at 5:10 PM on May 30, 2011
posted by MadamM at 5:10 PM on May 30, 2011
My girlfriends (friends who are women) in the past have suggested that I get a pedicure (not because I have grody feet, or that they've even seen my feet), because they said it was relaxing, and fun.
So one day, in Las Vegas, after being told that I had X, Y, Z comps which included spa (ah, baccarat, and the things the hosts their do to keep you happy and coming back to lose your winnings), I decided to hit the spa for some package.
This package included a pedicure.
I've never gotten a pedicure before, didn't feel it was necessary, but kept an open mind to it. They soak your feet, and it's soothing. They massage your feet, and it's relaxing. They trim your nails and cuticles, and it's... convenient? But then they apply this magic goo on your feet and affix patches of gauze or summin to keep it in place, and then get to work on these areas with an abrasive file.
Sheets of skin came off. I'm talking massive amounts of skin. Dead skin. Skin that would otherwise have rubbed off on its own, in dry form, and become embedded in your socks. Skin that would have micronized and sifted through the cotton weaving of your socks and become embedded in the inserts of your shoes. Dead skin: food for mites and carriers of foot funk, whose cellular structure allows for the penetration and retention of various odorants and fungi, which become moist again from perspiration and environmental exposures to water, leading to stench anew.
Your feet might not benefit at all, in the grand scheme of things: callouses form for a reason, and are protective. The smooth feeling of pedicured feet might be considered trivial for this reason.
Your nose, your shoes, your socks, however, may benefit in that you might avoid funky feet.
I mean, shoot, imagine sandpapering your dry callouses, or collecting all the skin flakes if you have dandruff, and putting all of it in a ziplock bag. And then add some water. And then let it sit out for a few days. And then open the bag and take a big whiff.
Pedicures are good for avoiding the funky feet. That's my theory, and I'm sticking to it.
posted by herrdoktor at 6:03 PM on May 30, 2011 [17 favorites]
So one day, in Las Vegas, after being told that I had X, Y, Z comps which included spa (ah, baccarat, and the things the hosts their do to keep you happy and coming back to lose your winnings), I decided to hit the spa for some package.
This package included a pedicure.
I've never gotten a pedicure before, didn't feel it was necessary, but kept an open mind to it. They soak your feet, and it's soothing. They massage your feet, and it's relaxing. They trim your nails and cuticles, and it's... convenient? But then they apply this magic goo on your feet and affix patches of gauze or summin to keep it in place, and then get to work on these areas with an abrasive file.
Sheets of skin came off. I'm talking massive amounts of skin. Dead skin. Skin that would otherwise have rubbed off on its own, in dry form, and become embedded in your socks. Skin that would have micronized and sifted through the cotton weaving of your socks and become embedded in the inserts of your shoes. Dead skin: food for mites and carriers of foot funk, whose cellular structure allows for the penetration and retention of various odorants and fungi, which become moist again from perspiration and environmental exposures to water, leading to stench anew.
Your feet might not benefit at all, in the grand scheme of things: callouses form for a reason, and are protective. The smooth feeling of pedicured feet might be considered trivial for this reason.
Your nose, your shoes, your socks, however, may benefit in that you might avoid funky feet.
I mean, shoot, imagine sandpapering your dry callouses, or collecting all the skin flakes if you have dandruff, and putting all of it in a ziplock bag. And then add some water. And then let it sit out for a few days. And then open the bag and take a big whiff.
Pedicures are good for avoiding the funky feet. That's my theory, and I'm sticking to it.
posted by herrdoktor at 6:03 PM on May 30, 2011 [17 favorites]
Pedicures vary a lot in quality of service. Cheap places are more about trimming and painting your toenails than really sloughing off a lot of rough skin.
Nat: It's counterintuitive, but letting rough skin build up can actually leave them terribly prone to infection and wounding, because thick rough skin can crack and those wounds are very slow to heal. I used to have this problem a lot because I prefer to wear slingbacks and sandals, and the climate where I live is dry. Now I'm vigilant about scraping with one of those egg shaped foot file things... It's like a grater, it's very effective... and I don't get cracks anymore.
Pedicures are fun but the risk of fungal infection is serious. It doesn't happen a lot obviously or places wouldn't stay in business, but when it does, it's devastating. Those fungi are terribly hard to kill. I know a woman who had to have a toenail removed because of a fungus she picked up at a salon.
posted by fingersandtoes at 6:15 PM on May 30, 2011
Nat: It's counterintuitive, but letting rough skin build up can actually leave them terribly prone to infection and wounding, because thick rough skin can crack and those wounds are very slow to heal. I used to have this problem a lot because I prefer to wear slingbacks and sandals, and the climate where I live is dry. Now I'm vigilant about scraping with one of those egg shaped foot file things... It's like a grater, it's very effective... and I don't get cracks anymore.
Pedicures are fun but the risk of fungal infection is serious. It doesn't happen a lot obviously or places wouldn't stay in business, but when it does, it's devastating. Those fungi are terribly hard to kill. I know a woman who had to have a toenail removed because of a fungus she picked up at a salon.
posted by fingersandtoes at 6:15 PM on May 30, 2011
the massage is the best for me. I love when my salon staff massage right at the base of my achilles. It releases all stress.
I haven't had the pounds of skin removed that herrdoktor references, but love the trimming of the cuticles and what not to make my feet feel more tidy. Plus pretty colours!
posted by TravellingCari at 6:16 PM on May 30, 2011
I haven't had the pounds of skin removed that herrdoktor references, but love the trimming of the cuticles and what not to make my feet feel more tidy. Plus pretty colours!
posted by TravellingCari at 6:16 PM on May 30, 2011
Speaking as a male who has gotten one pedicure in his life as a lark. The soak was nice as was getting my feet rubbed to the point all the hard spots were gone. The women in the spa were ecastatic that I let them paint my nails a ridiculous color.
However with that said, they money would have been much better spent on traditional massage. I have enjoyed massages a whole lot more than my pedicure. I thought the value proposition wasn't quite there for the pedicure.
posted by mmascolino at 6:48 PM on May 30, 2011
However with that said, they money would have been much better spent on traditional massage. I have enjoyed massages a whole lot more than my pedicure. I thought the value proposition wasn't quite there for the pedicure.
posted by mmascolino at 6:48 PM on May 30, 2011
You're a guy, right? The old dead skin will be gone, your feet will look good enough to touch, and please don't get colored polish.
posted by Ideefixe at 7:49 PM on May 30, 2011
posted by Ideefixe at 7:49 PM on May 30, 2011
If you've never had a pedicure before and you have a lot of calluses, it may help to ask them NOT to remove all of the calluses. fingersandtoes makes a good point that too much tough skin can be infected much more easily, but if you've never had that skin removed before and your rough feet go to incredibly soft and smooth, your next few days could be very painful. The first time I got a pedicure, they removed all of the rough, dry skin...and I spent the next few days hobbling because walking for more than 5 minutes was very painful. Getting more frequent pedicures can solve this. I personally don't get them very often (only for things like girls nights and wedding party get-togethers and the like) because I really dislike other people touching my feet, but obviously ymmv with that. And if you're going to get a pedicure, pay for a good one.
posted by kro at 12:27 AM on May 31, 2011
posted by kro at 12:27 AM on May 31, 2011
As you get older, your skin tends to get more callous-y. Too much callous can be problematic; it turns into corns, and is otherwise not good. A proper pedicure helps a lot (proper being one that doesn't disable your ability to walk.)
posted by theora55 at 10:13 AM on May 31, 2011
posted by theora55 at 10:13 AM on May 31, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
If you have callouses, rough patches, hard thick skin on the soles of your feet, heels, etc. - this is where the magic happens. The only indication on the top of one's feet that a pedicure has taken place is that the nails are sometimes painted - completely optional if you're male, of course. Instead they may file and buff your nails.
It's very relaxing. You get a foot massage, leg massage, a nice soak - all benefits even if a pound or so of dead skin isn't being sloughed off your tootsies.
posted by contessa at 4:54 PM on May 30, 2011 [3 favorites]