What Does a Pedicure Include?

Thinking about pampering your feet with a spa pedicure? If you are you what does a pedicure include and what are you not going to get when you enter a spa?

Knowing what you are paying for is important because different nail salons may offer different treatments to a traditional pedicure. Understanding when you are booking a basic pedicure versus a luxury experience is going to impact the price you pay.

Regular pedicures don’t have to be fancy to make a difference to your feet but of course, sometimes you may think about getting the premium experience. Here is our take on what you should get in a typical salon experience.

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What Does a Basic Pedicure Include?

So what does a pedicure include? Well if you are paying for a regular pedicure there are certain standards that you should expect.

Generally, a nail technician in a standard spa will start by removing any old nail polish on your toes and you should expect a foot soak in warm water to soften the skin on your feet. Some salons will exfoliate your feet with a foot scrub and then use a pumice stone or foot file to remove the dead skin and calluses on your feet.

When this has been completed they will clip your toenails and file them into shape. Your feet and calves will be massaged with a moisturising lotion to prevent dry skin.

Does a Pedicure Include Nail Polish?

When the foot and calf massage is over most nail technicians will generally apply a fresh coat of nail polish if this is what you want.

In most salons, you should be given a choice of colours to choose from other than the basic red nail polish. It is worth noting that the nail polish will only be basic acrylic polish. If you want gel polish and a gel pedicure then you should expect to pay more.

A Shellac pedicure tends to be longer-lasting than ordinary nail polish but it takes longer to do than a basic pedicure hence why you are going to pay a premium price. Gel pedicures involve a base layer followed by two coats of color polish and then a further top coat. In between each coat, the nails are dried with UV light. This clearly is going to take a nail technician much longer to do than a standard basic pedicure.

Fancy Pedicures Offering Premium Experiences

What does a pedicure include? Well, a whole lot more if you want to pay for a fancy pedicure and get a premium spa pedicure.

Whilst your standard salons may just offer a regular pedicure there are plenty of upmarket spas that can offer you a whole lot more if you are willing to spend more money and time getting your feet pampered.

A normal pedicure usually suffices for most people if they just want to keep their feet looking good but for special occasions or for medical reasons you may want to think about different types of footcare.

Here are just some of the spa pedicures that you might think are worth considering.

Medical Pedicures

Whilst a standard spa pedicure superficially removes dead skin with a foot file a medical pedicure goes one step further.

Medical pedicures can help with more complex foot problems such as ingrown toenails, large calluses and corns. As such these are usually carried out by podiatrists and chiropodists rather than a spa nail technician.

Use this form of pedicure if your feet need a little more TLC than a standard spa can offer.

French Pedicure

A french pedicure offers many of the same steps as a basic pedicure but the polish color and style are what make it stand out in comparison to others.

A French pedicure is all about the nail color, White polish is usually used across the top of the nail for definition whilst the rest of the nail bed tends to be painted in very pale pink. This type of pedicure is known for being a chic and the height of understated luxury

Wine Pedicure

A wine pedicure centres around vinotherapy. This simply means that most of the products that are used in the actual pedicure are derived from wine.

You can get wine foot soaks, red wine foot baths and so on. Typically nails are painted in a deep red maroon colour to match a good red wine.

Chocolate Pedicure

Do you love chocolate? Well, some salons have created gimmicky pedicures to indulge you with products that are based around chocolate.

Fancy a chocolate foot soak followed by a chocolate foot mask and chocolate moisturizing lotion? They might even throw in some actual chocolate for you to eat whilst you have it.

This is the type of pedicure that you might buy if you were having an all-girls trip to the nail salon for a celebration. It is a little bit corny but also a bit fun and a bit of a talking point instead of the traditional professional pedicure.

Waterless Pedicure

Did you know a regular pedicure without water is known as a waterless pedicure? A dry pedicure is a perfect treatment for people with dry skin on their feet. There are no soaking feet involved in this type of experience as some technicians believe that they are able to remove dead skin cells more easily without the water.

Waterless pedicures can also be thought of as being more hygienic as there is less chance of you catching an infection from the spa water.

Margarita Pedicures

By now you are probably understanding that a pedicure can be based on certain types of products and given a new name. The standard services may be the same but the actual products themselves may not.

Margarita pedicures tend to centre around products made from lime and lemon such as this margarita foot scrub.

If your spa is licensed you might also get a cocktail thrown in. Another great experience for hen nights and parties but less useful if you have to go back to work after your treatment!

Fish Pedicures

Fish pedicures were everywhere at one point but thankfully they have died out because of ethical and hygiene concerns although we have seen them operating in some Asian countries.

This is probably the one type of pedicure that was least like the standard as no nail technicians were involved. Instead tiny fish nibbled dead skin off your feet.

They feel particularly old-fashioned and cruel now but only a short time ago every high street had one.

Stone Pedicure

A stone pedicure is very similar to a standard foot treatment apart from hot stones placed on the top and bottom of your feet.

The heat from the stones is supposed to relax your muscles and can be helpful in promoting stress reduction.

If you want to try this at home you can even buy a hot stone warmer kit to use for massages and foot care.

Paraffin Wax Treatment

For dry skin on your feet finding a spa that offers a paraffin wax treatment as part of your pedicure can help to soften the skin on your feet. A paraffin pedicure is just one that adds this extra element to the process whilst the remainder of the treatment remains similar to a basic pedicure.

Ice Cream Pedicure

Finally, if you are into gimmicks let’s not forget an ice cream pedicure. Where balls of different essential oils such as coconut and argan oil are placed in the way to soften your feet. No ice involved or sweet treats but a play on a summer theme to entice customers to have a different type of pedicure experience.

Always Investigate The Pedicure Spa Menu

What does a pedicure include? Well as you can see from our extensive list of foot care treatments that there is no standard.

We always recommend talking to a pedicure salon first to ask them for details of what their services are or look up the spa menu online. That way you are going to know exactly what you are getting instead of paying a premium for gimmicks and services that you don’t need.