Hey, a thread that is right up my alley, LOL....I am a manicurist. I am going to be completely honest with you all, as I have nothing to gain...none of you are potential clients.....most of you are very far from my place of work....
Please do not feel insecure about your feet or be 'weirded out' about a professional touching your feet. It is not at all wierd for a professional. It should be comfortable, relaxing and enjoyable for you!
First of all, almost the first words out of EVERY client who comes in for a pedicure is "I hate my feet, I am nervous about someone touching or seeing them." (for some reason, people are very self-conscious about their feet!) Every single time, they are wrong and have perfctly lovely feet. Seriously, I have never had a client under the age of 70 that has "bad feet". And in the elderly, most foot problems are due to illness, poor circulation and/or medication. Most of the time, they get over the anxiety very quickly.
I find that people who have ticklish feet need a firmer touch during the massage and a towel between my hands and their toes during clipping, filing and polishing to overcome the ticklishness. I have NEVER had a ticklish client who had a problem beyond the first 2-3 minutes of the pedicure. They usually refer me to anyone they know who has expressed a 'tickle' problem.
I love giving pedicures because they are so appreciated and it is really easy to do a better job than most people could do on themselves (only because I can reach their toes with MUCH more ease than they can) Heck, it is hard to properly pedicure my own feet!
Also, I have a few elderly clients who literally cannot care for their feet due to illness or mobility problems...I get the satisfaction that I really am making them feel better.
Please, if you have a nail "fungus" (usually noted by one or more toe nails that are soft, peeling, discolored and/or flaky), be prepared to be turned away. This is not personal and NOT due to bad hygiene...it is an infection that is contagious. We simply cannot work on your feet until they are cured, by prescribed oral medication (OTC ointments and oils do NOT work). This also is applicable to athletes feet. We cannot risk infecting other clients (and ourselves). So please, if you are in doubt about something, tell the tech and ask them to examine any areas of concern first, before you start soaking. (I am only mentioning this because many people think a pedicure will fix the problem and are unaware that they need to see a doctor).
Also, mention if you have any illnesses that affect the circulatory system, like diabetes or a history of deep vein thrombosis. This is important to know because of the foot/leg massage involved. You CAN still get a pedicure, but not be massaged.
Also, NEVER allow anyone to use a 'cheese grater' type of metal implement to get rid of your callouses. This is NOT safe and can cause serious feet problems and even infection. There is a reason you have callouses on your feet. They protect your feet. We can greatly improve the softness of your feet, but you should never remove all of the callous. Not all of that 'hard' skin is dead...not ALL of it should be removed.
If anyone has any questions about what to expect, let me know.
Sorry such a long post...Now I realize I have written a novel...LOL