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 What may seem like indulgent maintenance also has therapeutic benefits for diabetics and arthritics.
Our feet have more than 250,000 sweat glands under skin 20 times thicker than that on the rest of our body, and 25 per cent of our most tiny and fragile bones carrying our entire weight.
And if yours are anything like mine, the half-pint of moisture sweated through your feet each day seeps into stinky, suffocating shoes, creating a gnarly, callused and sore mess.
This is why we have pedicures. Pedicures are not cure-alls, but rather indulgent maintenance -- a feet retreat you might say. With any pedicure treatment you can expect to have your feet soaked, buffed, exfoliated, massaged and moisturized, and your cuticles and nails trimmed. Polish is often, but not always, included.
There are extras available with every pedicure, from a paraffin hot wax dip to extended massage, but they cost. So in choosing a pedicure that is right for you it's good to do your homework.
THERAPEUTIC BENEFITS
Pedicures don't just feel good, they can be good for you, says Marga Zacharias from Fingers and Toes European Health Spa in Victoria. Their therapeutic pedicures for people with arthritis and diabetes have a following.
"People with arthritis like the warm paraffin dip and wrapping and lymphatic massage," says Zacharias. For diabetic clients, she adds special creams and an anti-fungal ointment, and even does nail replacements.
Two-thirds of people with diabetes have nerve damage to their feet from poor circulation and less sensation than most people.
"They often have very numb, cracked and callused feet. They should have this kind of treatment every five or six weeks to put elasticity back in the skin."
TRY THIS AT HOME
Try this DIY routine:
- Strip old nail polish with a cotton ball.
- Soak feet in a basin of hot water and epsom salts or an invigorating natural oil like eucalyptus or lavender.
- Put in a few drops of tea tree oil to fight bacteria.
- Buff calluses with a pedicure paddle.
- Exfoliate with a homemade mixture of kosher salt, raw sugar and olive oil.
- Trim nails. Trick is to cut straight across nail and round edges with a file. This prevents you from cutting them too short and getting ingrown nails.
- Moisturize with a rich cream such as Burt's Bees Coconut Foot Creme or cocoa butter.
- If you don't have cuticle oil, rub olive or vitamin E oil on your nails and cuticles.
- Push cuticles back with a cuticle stick or popsicle stick.
- Polish? Apply colour in one stroke to the centre of the nail.
- Once a week, rub a heavy moisturizer on your feet at night and sleep in cotton socks.
Source: Vancouver Sun, September 13th 2007
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