Fall for your pedicure… it’s good for your health!

Fall has arrived, and women all over the world are beginning the gradual shift from wedges and flip flops to ankle boots and pumps. As feet begin to disappear into socks, so too do the weekly appointments at the spa begin to disappear. Why? Because we get lazy. We don’t have to worry about the strap hangers on the subway staring in disgust at our feet when our toes aren’t painted. (I know rationally that people aren’t really judging my feet ALL the time.. but I am paranoid). This mindset is flawed, though.

While speaking with Carmen Grillo, our licensed nail technician and nurse, she enlightened me as to why frequent pedicures are beneficial not only aesthetically, but also for health reasons.  “While wearing closed toe shoes, nails that aren’t trimmed regularly will be pressed inward into the nail bed. Over time, this can cause ingrown nails and fungus on top of a sharp pain”.

Women are also in pain almost every day due to the constant wearing of high-heels. In SpaFinder’s 2012 Trend Report some startling statistics are provided. “The average person spends four hours (pounding out 8,000 to 10,000 steps) on their feet every day. We exert a force equivalent to several hundred tons every day on our (feet). Two in five American women now wear high heels every day, and 43 percent claim they won’t give them up, despite the misery”. And I won’t lie.. I am one of those women. Last year I woke up, walked a couple steps, and almost crippled over due to the pain in my foot. Thinking I might have pinched a nerve, I went to a podiatrist right away. Diagnosis: Tendonitis Cause: Wearing Heels every day. Not what I was expecting. I was forced off the heels for a month, and did I maybe think to cut back on the heels after that. Nope.

Instead, I found frequent pedicures to be my saving grace. I am not talking about some quick $10 dollar pedicure, though. Spas and higher end salons, like ours, have hour long pedicures that use masques and reflexology techniques designed to take away the tension in the feet. I also try to get our Fire and Ice Pedicure as often as possible. Hot Stones and the Biofreeze Cooling Gel are a nice balance to de-stress your feet too.

So what is my new mantra: Treat your feet like jewels not tools.

(and the fact that you can match your nails colors to your outfits is always a fun bonus)