Pedicure for gnarled hooves

[winkywinkola]

My feet are in pretty bad shape. Hard heels and sides. Brittle nails. Ugly neglected feet.

I'd love to pop into one of those pedicure places and get them filed (!) down and made presentable.

But I don't dare because I'm so ashamed of my feet. What home treatments can I do to make them more presentable before I go to have a pedicure?

I'm a beauty therapist and believe me we've seen all sorts of feet. Aslong as they are clean (including under the nails, many forget this area) then you would be fine going for a pedicure. If you've got dry or cracked skin smear Vaseline on them at bed time and wear socks if possible. Do this every evening. I swear by Vaseline.

In an expert. Flexitol is great but scholl cracked heel cream is better. Then first time go to a proper chiropodist in case you have issues.

Then you can go to beauty places. But use the cream

Go to a qualified podiatrist or chiropodist and have a medical pedicure, much much better than any pedi I've had at a beauty salon as they remove all the dry skin, callouses etc and treat any problems.

My podiatrist will also pop nail polish on when she's done.

Like PP, go to a proper podiatrist or chiropodist. They deal with pensioner feet on a daily basis as well as all sorts of medical conditions, yours will be no where near the worst they have seen.

All a beauty salon will do is a paint your toenails and maybe a foot massage, superficial at best. By all means visit them after the podiatrist though.

How much does it cost to see a podiatrist?

What sort of money does a podiatrist visit cost?

I tried loads of stuff, much of it recommended here on MN, but the thing that worked the best was soap and glory heel genius and soap and glory file/emery board. It's absolutely brilliant and so easy to do. I bought both from Boots but you can easily get them online too.

when oyu have really bad hard skin you need it filed off
about £30-40

I am surprised no one has mentioned to do a Footner treatment. You buy them from boots, pop on the socks for an hour then wash off. 10-11 days later all your dry skin will peel off and your feet will be like a baby's bum.

In fact I am off to do one tonight with a glass of wine. Search on MN for notes on Footner. I discovered it on here.

My podiatrist charges £45 for a session which includes nail polish.

If I were you Id fork out for a chiropodist first, then brave it for a pedicure. Where do you live? Do you have the proper cheap Vietnamese/Korean pedi places near you? Much better for the hard of hoof than the posh salons that faff about with paraffin and lotions.

Trust me, my local lace is frequented by all sorts and nobody bats an eyelid.

yes i love the Vietnamese places

I agree - go to a chiropodist or podiatrist first. Then you can go to a salon or treat your feet at home for continuing care.

On a more serious note the Sunday Times did an expose on nail/ pedicure bars in Britain a couple of years back.
Some of their staff were treated very, very badly. They were forced to work long hours and did not have freedom. It was very sad reading.

I highly recommend going to a chiropodist. I have hobbit feet and income out of there feeling like a super model. Mine charges 35 pounds and that includes nail polish if I want it. I also second the Vaseline on hard skin. I do it daily and have been shocked by how good the results are. Good luck.