When you get a pedicure, you expect to leave the salon with pampered feet and toes — not an infection.
Consider these tips from the American Podiatric Medical Association and Leslie Campbell, D.P.M., a podiatrist on the medical staff at Texas Health Center for Diagnostics & Surgery, to keep your pedicure as safe as possible:
- Be observant. The heated water in the footbath can breed bacteria as well as fungus and can spread from client to client (or from person to person). Walk away if the basin isn’t properly sanitized with a disinfectant between clients.
- Don’t shave your legs within 24 hours of your appointment. Shaving your legs allows small openings to form in the top layer of your skin, possibly allowing bacteria in.
- Be careful about callus removal. Never allow a pedicurist to use a Credo blade to remove your calluses. It is actually illegal in Texas, and it causes calluses to grow back tougher. Ask your technician to use a safe alternative, such as a pumice stone or exfoliating scrub.