Your feet bear the weight of your body and help you go from place to place. They are bound to “crack” under pressure and get damaged to a certain extent. A pedicure is the go-to cosmetic treatment when they don’t look as pretty or feel as soft as you would want them to be. A pedicure will get your toenails cleaned and painted, the dead skin from the bottom of your feet exfoliated, and the skin of your feet moisturized. Getting it done at a nail salon saves you the effort of bending down and doing it yourself. Getting a pedicure will make your feet feel healthy and beautiful enough to be flaunted in sandals or peep toes, but in reality, salon pedicures cause more harm to your feet than good.
1. Foot Baths Are A Breeding Ground For Germs
You instantly feel relaxed when you dip your feet in a foot bath containing warm water. Since the water is close to hot, it gives you the illusion of being germ free. In reality, foot baths are a breeding ground for a variety of bacteria and fungi. These microbes can cause warts, athlete’s foot, boils, and in some cases, infections that are difficult to cure. Such microbes thrive in warm environments and are prevalent in the pipes of the foot bath. Cleaning the foot baths is not 100% effective in getting rid of all the microbes. It is better to get your feet washed in small tubs without pipes that create bubbles.
2. The Tools Can Be Infected
Most of the tools used by nail salons are not disposable ones. You will have to use tools that are already used on other people’s feet. This gives the tools a very high possibility of being infected by microbes. The sterilization techniques used by salons only get rid of low-level germs and leave out higher-level microbes that can cause severe infections. When your feet get infected by these microbes, you might get much more than you bargained for.
3. You Might Suffer Cuts
There are high chances of the person doing your pedicure getting a little too rough, every once in a while. Cuts and scrapes are quite common when getting pedicures, even when there is no blood. Most of your will let it go, let the bleeding stop (if any), continue with your pedicure, and forget about petty cuts. This can turn out to be very dangerous as it leaves your skin open to infections. The microbes will not only infect the surface of your feet, but they can easily enter your body through these openings. Getting calluses exfoliated also poses a threat of making your body more prone to infection. There have been cases of serious infections and even deaths due to faulty pedicures. If you shave your legs, it is advisable to do it two weeks before you go in for a pedicure.
4. Your Toenails Might Be Getting The Wrong Treatment
One of the first things a beautician will do when it comes to your toenails is push back the cuticles. The cuticles are your nails’ first line of defense against infection. Pushing them back makes your nails more susceptible to bacterial and fungal infection.
To remove old nail polish and to clean your toenails, acetone is used extensively in salons. Acetone dries you toenails to a great extent and makes them brittle. It is important to moisturize your nails if acetone is used.
You should always go for a square shape when shaping your nails as rounded nails are more likely to become ingrown toenails.
5. Your Might Be Exposed To UV Rays
You have to be careful and watch out for UV nail drying lamps. Many salons use these lamps when they dry your nails, and expose you directly to ultraviolet rays, which can cause cancer. You should not expose your hands and nails to them. Instead, use a hot air blower or a fan to dry your nail paint.
It is a good feeling to get pampered by someone else, but getting a pedicure done by yourself at home is much safer. The risks associated with getting salon pedicures are very high and only a little extra effort from your side will save you the trouble of going to the doctor. Healthy feet are more valuable than pretty feet.
