After a long day or week at work, people all need to do something to relax and treat themselves, whether it be catching your favorite late-night movie, eating at that new restaurant in town, turning on Netflix, or getting some relaxing massages and self-care activities.
For men or women, one of the most undeniably best ways to relax after a hard week or month is getting your manicure and pedicure appointment. Nothing beats the feeling of warm water and essential oils running through your feet, sometimes with some extra foot massage. It has come to a point where getting a manicure or pedicure isn’t just about getting your nails done. It’s also a form of self-love.
But here comes the question. How often should you really get a pedicure? A manicure? Is there a rule when it comes to painting your nails?
What is a Pedicure?
If you haven’t heard of pedicure or manicure, you’ve got to be living under a rock. But for the benefit of those who don’t know what this is, what is a pedicure?
A pedicure is a cosmetic and therapeutical treatment of the feet and toenails and removes dead skin and softens the hard skin to shape, treat, and make art on your nails. Contrary to belief, pedicure doesn’t only involve cosmetic procedures to the toenails. It can also include procedures that remove dead skin on the soles of your feet using a pumice stone.
Pedicure vs. Manicure
If you don’t know the difference between pedicures and manicures, it’s very simple. Pedicure and manicure only differ on where the nail treatment is done.
For the pedicure, this is where nail care is done for nails on the foot or the toenails. However, this doesn’t only involve nail care, as other foot services can also be done in a pedicure like foot massages and foot scrubs, as will be discussed later.
Meanwhile, a manicure is nail care done on the nails on the hands. Because the skin around the hands is more delicate than the skin around the feet, extra care is necessary during a manicure, as wounding can happen if the manicure is not done carefully.
There are various treatments available in nail care, whether in the foot or the hands. You can do basic nail polish, gel coats, acrylic, paraffin manicure, dip powder, elaborate nail arts.
These sessions can last as short as 3 minutes or as long as 1. 5 hours or more, especially for acrylic nail polishes.
What Is Done During a Pedicure?
A regular pedicure is usually done in a traditional salon than a massage parlor, although they may sometimes involve a bit of foot massage.
During a pedicure, you would usually find yourselves the following services:
- Soaking your feet in warm water to soften and relax the skin and toenails
- Trimming and filing of the toenails
- Nail cuticle treatment by pushing back the cuticles and applying cuticle oil
- Application of base coat polish, toenail polish, and topcoat polish
- A short drying session under a nail dryer to make sure the coats are nice and dry before ending the pedicure session
A regular pedicure usually involves those steps mentioned above. However, you can request additional services that include a relaxing (and tickling) foot scrub that helps remove calluses and flaky, dry skin on foot, usually on the sides of the foot, especially the soles and the sides of the soles.
After the foot scrub, you may want to engage in a relaxing short foot and lower leg massage just before your nail treatments and coat application, if necessary.
So, how long does a pedicure take? It depends on the kind of services you’re going to get and the condition of your feet, but they usually take around 30 minutes to an hour– or maybe more than an hour if you choose a full service, including foot massage and foot scrub.
How Often Should you Get a Pedicure?
Depending on the kind of pedicure session you’ve done before, you can get a pedicure from 2 weeks to a month after your last session. If you choose to go for a gel pedicure, it’s best to go every two weeks. Going once a month is fine for a basic pedicure, as long as your coats are still in good condition by then.
You may want to go to a pedicurist sooner if you find your nail coats disintegrating day by day as they could be pretty embarrassing to look at, especially when going out with sandals.
Does the season matter on how often you should get a pedicure done? Let’s find out.
How Often Should you Get a Pedicure in Winter?
Even if your toes are hidden in socks and boots, do not forget to get your pedicure done at least once a month regularly.
Pedicures are just as necessary during the colder seasons, even if your toes are all bundled up. Why? Keeping your toenails properly trimmed and maintained will prevent ingrown toenails due to the pressure of winter boots and socks.
Also, the cold winter weather promotes dryness and rough skin and sucks all the moisture out of our skin, even in the feet. Without proper attention, soon, your heels will become cracked, causing ugly cracked heels with accompanying pain. Keep your feet exfoliated and moisturized as much as possible to avoid this situation.
Most importantly, hidden toes under the warmth of boots and socks don’t mean your feet and toenails are free of infection and bacteria. Even in winter, getting them regularly checked will help your pedicurist spot potential problems that may grow beneath the darkness, especially fungal bacteria. Nail fungus and athlete’s foot are the most common conditions that are the easiest to cure when addressed early on.
Keeping your toes and feet well taken care of even in winter by keeping them soft, moisturized, and healthy will help you prepare them for the open-toe season when summer comes around the corner.
How Often Should you Get a Pedicure in Summer?
Sandal, or open-toe season, means that your feet and your toenails are out in the open to see for everyone. While the general rule is to get your pedicure done once a month or 4-5 weeks, it is advisable to do them more often during the summer months.
How often you should get a pedicure in summer will ultimately depend on you. If you frequently wear sandals, you might want to sport a new nail art, or nail coat every two weeks, then go as often as you wish.
Getting other pedicure services like foot scrubs and foot massages is okay once a month, but during summer, where the weather is humid, you might want to give that extra care more often on your feet, and they will thank you for it.
