17 Sep What you need to know about pedicures

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Classic pedicures are a wonderful choice to remove dead skin. A Gold pedicure however will involve soaking your feet in rose petals and bath salt followed by cuticle and callous treatment, exfoliation, massage and your choice of polish.

Benefits

Although the feet are at the bottom of your body and not seen as often as your hands are, there are several benefits to getting a pedicure. Having been walked on all day your feet will find solace in resting and pampering at your salon.

Health

A professional pedicure exfoliates your feet will creating a softer and cleaner appearance. By removing callouses, dead skin cells and grime, new growth is encouraged so that you feet have an attractive look.

As with manicures, regular checks of your feet will allow you to catch any signs of infection, bacteria or cracking as soon as possible. If this does come up during one of your appointments then the practitioner can give you advice on how to prevent build up.

Blood flow

As pedicures involve massaging the skin, exfoliation, moisturising and cuticle treatments they can be highly relaxing. As aches and pains subside heat is distributed around the body to improve blood flow.

As pedicures are relaxing, pampering and destressing they will boost your mental health as well as your physical and physiological. With both mind and body relaxed you can feel the benefits for much longer than just the treatment time.

Are pedicures dangerous?

There are some salons that are questionable in hygiene so it pays to look around and find the one that is right for you. Hygiene is important when having any kind of treatment but when it comes to cuticles and nails it is more important than ever. This is because the cuticle is a waterproof barrier that protects the skin from infection. If bacteria get between the nail and the toe then a fungal infection can break out. For this reason Beautiva will provide a whole set to the client that they are able to take home with them and ask that the customer brings their own polish. This prevents cross contamination and ensures that your nails are free from infection.

Part of the manicure process involves use of a UV light to cure the nail polish. This is a quick process and time is minimised to prevent cancer however there is a relationship between UV light and cancerous cells. This is minimal compared to sun bed usage and sunbathing.

Questions for your salon

Do you have an easy to clean footbath that is sterilised between uses?

Can I have my own set of nail equipment or can I bring my own?

Are all tools sterilised before use?

What is your hand washing policy?

These questions will help you gauge whether you the salon has good hygiene standards and prevent fungal contamination.

Things to look out for

To avoid cross contamination of fungal infections Beautiva provides clients with their own kit that they can take home and ask that the client brings their own polish. This prevents the bacteria entering the polish bottle and being applied to further clients. Unfortunately not all salons follow this practice so it may be a question worth asking your practitioner before having the treatment.

Aftercare

After you have had your pedicure it is important that you leave adequate time for your nails to dry. If possible wear open toe shoes for a while to prevent scuffing.

To keep the fungus away ensure that you keep your feet clean, thoroughly washing and drying, and change your socks daily.  If you find that your feet are getting sweaty apply talc between the toes to absorb the excess moisture.

Moisturisers, lotions and foot sprays will help your feet to feel refreshes while a cuticle cream or oil will look after the health of your cuticles.