Pedicurist Jumps In, Flourishing Both Feet

Foot fetishists may feel differently, but many of us would rather forget our down-under digits. When not ignoring them, most people think their feet are ugly. So says Barbara McCoy, a manicurist and pedicurist at Essence Salon in Newport Beach.

“People think they have funny shaped toes or toes that are longer than the others,” says McCoy, an 11-year trimming, filing and buffing veteran. “But after the pedicure, they walk out of here looking great.”

This is another in a series of first-person columns that allow people connected to the fashion industry to talk about their encounters.

Everyone’s on their feet all day long, but they don’t think about their feet. I say they should be pampering themselves more and take better care of their feet.

Pedicures feel great, but they are also healthy. Toenails that grow too long result in fungus under the nail or nail lift. We call this “tennis toe” because lots of runners and tennis player get it. The nails turn black.

Very few people are ticklish, but I do run across a few who are.

I do about three to four pedicures a week, more in the summer. I recommend having a pedicure once a month in the summer and once every two or three months the rest of the year. Your feet are exposed more in the summertime, and women like having their toes polished more then because they wear sandals.

A lot of people get pedicures before they go on vacation. I also see a lot of brides who want their toes done for their new husbands. They want kissing feet.

I also give men pedicures. They love it. If we get them in here once, they come back. The only weird thing is they want their wives to stay with them, because they don’t know what’s going to happen.

What a pedicure is is a cuticle treatment and a reshaping of the nails. It’s important that I cut the nails straight and round the corners but not cut into the nail; otherwise the client would get ingrown toenails. I also exfoliate the skin and remove calluses with a foot paddle or pumice stone.

You shouldn’t use a blade because it causes callous buildup and cracking on the heel and bottom of the foot. If calluses are not removed, there will be cracking, and it could cause infection.

Sometimes I go over the allotted hour if I notice that the client is really enjoying the foot massage. Most people want to be totally relaxed and have a glass of wine and read a magazine. I use a special pedicure stool so it’s comfortable.

I soak their feet in a foot bath with an antiseptic and pedi-scrub and rotate the feet so one foot is always in the water and staying warm while the other foot--which is wrapped in a towel and also kept warm--is being worked on. Our implements are always soaking in an antiseptic and are sterile.