What to Expect from a Professional Pedicure

Like a manicure, a pedicure can be both useful, and a personal luxury that leaves you feeling relaxed and refreshed for the rest of your day. And they are given with basically the same techniques and materials.

The first thing your aesthetician will do, is to trim and shape the nails, cutting straight across, with a gentle rounding that leaves the corners free of the sides of the toe, to prevent ingrown toenails.

Next, your feet will be soaked in a basin of warm water and soap, or other preferred treatment such as oils. The time allowed for this varies, but the purpose is to soften hard, dried tissue. One at a time, a foot is removed from the basin, and a foot file that is well-soaped, will be used to remove the worst of the roughness. Each foot is then rinsed, and patted dry.

A cuticle cream/softener may be applied, along with the gentle pressure of an orange stick, to push the cuticle back. These seldom need trimming, and if one should be torn, will be snipped very carefully to avoid causing infection of the nail bed.

Attention then returns to the foot, where an exfoliating cream may be used to remove the last of the dry or rough skin on places like the heel. This is then wiped and/or rinsed off the feet, and a moisturizing lotion applied. Depending on the salon's technique, this may include a foot wrap with a warm, damp towel, to help the cream penetrate deeper into the skin.

To finish off, the nails are wiped with a polish remover to make sure any cream is removed, and then a base coat, and your favorite color is applied to help show off those new open-toed slingbacks!