THUNDER BAY – LIVING – Most people think feet are gross, to begin with. 90% of my pedicure clients think they have the worst feet (trust me you don’t unless you are the 2% of clients that I do send to a doctor before I can take them). Pedicures can fix a lot of your feet problems that you may think are unsolvable.
Issues that I see the most at the spa:
- Dry feet
- Calluses
- Ingrown toenails
- No pinky toes (or barely anything there)
- Fungal Infections (in nails or athlete’s foot)
- keratolysis (pitted holes in soles of feet)
Regular Pedicures can help with all of these issues and if you also consult with your doctor; they can be totally resolved (minus pinky toes..if you can’t grow the nail that’s kinda it… but there’s an interesting solution to it!)
Dry feet + Calluses
These issues are always immediately addressed during a pedicure with foot filing, credo bladeing (if you ask) and with the foot massage. Usually, the esthetician should have a variety of creams meant for dry skin, sensitive skin, perfume allergies and extra moisturizing for cracked feet. You can always ask for an extra exfoliation scrub and ask for a paraffin foot mask which both will polish and extra moisturize the feet.
Ingrown Toenails + Missing Nails
If you haven’t read my full article all about ingrown toenails I highly suggest you do so first.
The basic breakdown of an ingrown toe is the nail plate is too wide or curves in at the sides, digging into the skin and causing pain.
Missing nails are very common, especially if its the pinky toe. Sometimes our bodies just decide that we don’t need that nail and it comes in weird, mostly callused skin or just nothing. Other toenail losses are common for people who are runners, dancers, athletes, wear work boots/combat boots and people who wear too tight of shoes (mostly high angled high heels are the biggest culprit).
But here is the interesting part, you can replace and fill the nail with gel or acrylic!
There are many products out there in both gel and acrylic systems that work very well, or are specifically made for attaching a fake/prosthetic nail on to the skin.
Because they are gel/acrylic nails they do grow out with your nails and will need to be filled every 3-4 weeks, closer to 4 I find for most of my clients as toenails grow slower than fingers. But if you have issues with ingrown you should be getting regular pedicures on a monthly basis either way.
Fungal Infections + Keratolysis
Many different types of fungi and bacteria love toes: they are dark, stinky, sweaty and for the most part, stay that way all the time. We trap them in boots, don’t dry them properly after a shower, not change or clean our socks and shoes enough.
Fungal infections should have 4 or more symptoms:
- red
- swollen
- itchy
- painful
- smelly
- flaking/peeling/crumbling skin or nails
- discoloured
Some fungal infections are just on the outside, affecting the top layers of skin and nails. A prime and most common example of that is Athlete’s Foot (tinea pedis). It is very easy to treat though. You can get powders, creams or sprays for your shoes and feet: though if you tend to wear your shoes barefoot I usually suggest to just throw them out (as well as any socks you were wearing).
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Onychomycosis is a common nail fungal infection that I see regularly. This is treatable with regular pedicures if it hasn’t gotten too far down the nail. It will get under the free edge of your nails, grow, and lift the nail plate away from the nail bed. It’s defining features is the crumbling nail underneath and the discolouration. Once it gets far enough down, it can start to reach blood vessels in your toes and become a systemic infection (very scary for those with weakened immune systems and diabetics!). This usually requires a trip to your GP and some medicine.
Karatolysis (pitted soles of feet). Many people (myself included) thought this was just how calluses would react to sweaty feet and walking barefoot a lot. It looks like tiny blisters or like you got some rocks stuck in your feet from walking on pavement. But it is actually a bacterial infection!
It is actually one of the main causes for smelly feet and it needs regular pedicures, home care and anti-septic sprays/anti-biotics from your GP. The regular pedicures will help take off the affected skin, but homecare tips are super easy: give your feet a spray you can get from your esthetician (I use LCN Mykosept and Gehwol antiseptic spray) or from your doctor and air them out!!