Anyone who knows me knows that I'm not the foo-foo type.
I don't wear fake nails, I rarely wear nail polish, I avoid fancy hairdos and wear little if any make up.
But I really like to get a mani-pedi on a regular basis because I'm prone to develop large callouses on my feet and this is by far the best way to keep them under control.
Almost a year ago I injured my big toenail and stopped going for my regular pedicures because the toenail was painful and in bad shape.
I suppose I could have gone to the podiatrist, but I really dislike making unnecessary appointments because life is full of surprises and I avoid getting pinned down as much as I can, unless it's for a fun thing!
Finally, all these months later, with my toenail nearly grown back, and my callouses threatening to become Hooves, I returned to my neighborhood mani/pedi place, Magic Nails. Walk-ins constitute the lion's share of their business, though I believe you can make an appointment as well.
Owned and operated exclusively by those from the far East, of the three places in town I've tried for pedicures, this is the only one that gives a full service pedicure. And the prices are really good. For a mani-pedi combo, just $38.
I went at 5:30 this afternoon, they close at 7PM. The girl who did my pedi followed by my mani was barely more than child sized (her name is Mai), and I was concerned that she wouldn't remove my callouses properly.
I needn't have been. I am blushing when I admit that it took three razor blades using her special decallouser device that looks like a mini-cheese slicer, and I'm sorry to gross you out dear reader, but the towel she placed under my feet was littered with callous bits! I estimate a small cereal bowl's worth.
She pays minute attention to each and every toe nail as well, trimming the excess skin around each nail and buffing the nail with a sander until the surface is the perfectly flat and and shines. I got a wonderful foot massage (I'd forgotten how well they do this), and then she applied clear polish which is generally all I use.
She spent 75 minutes attending to my neglected feet, and they feel wonderful.
My fingernails and hands were much easier to do. Now that a few hours have passed, I examined my fingers closely and am disappointed that she didn't trim enough of the dead skin surrounding my fingernails, nor did she thoroughly clean under the nails. Perhaps she was tired? She only worked on my hands for 20 minutes including applying the clear polish. I will give her this bit of air. It was only 5 minutes to closing time when she finished.
The big bonus was that she allowed me to remain in the pedicure chair which vibrates and provides a relaxing back massage at the intensity of your choice.
Once I realized that Mai knew precisely what she was doing, I closed my eyes and reclined the chair, drifting into a day dreamy state while she pampered me and restored my feet and hands to a well-groomed state. I tipped her $12 making the bill an even $50.
BTW, men are welcome and it's my observation that many men could use a pedicure every now and then! read more