Just So You Know

There's something about a pedicure...

that just makes me cringe.

Don't get me wrong, I love having someone massage my feet and paint my toenails but there was a news article not to long ago on the spread of foot fungus and other diseases from nail shops with unclean practices. They gave a list of things to watch for and to avoid. I recently had a pedicure at a shop picked by someone who loves going there. Considering her insistence on extreme cleanliness standards, I figured the shop would abide by the simple rules given by the news report.

1. Soaking tubs should be sanitized between clients. - - - Imagine my shock watching them drain one tub and immediately start refilling it for the next client. Not only did they not disinfect it, they didn't even rinse it out and dry it. Who knows what callus shavings and cuticle clippings were still in it? I did my best to pick out a massage chair with a dry tub. How was I to realize that the jets in it were broken and would spray everywhere.

2. Tools should not go from client to client but should be cleaned between uses. - - Another total cringe factor here for me, thank goodness I know the person whose feet were in the callus shaver before mine. I knew her feet would not have an infection and I couldn't help but be grateful the woman was so quick and didn't give me time to think about who was there before the person before me.

3. Loofahs and other scrubbing items should be individual use or cleansed between clients. - - Another ick! here that nearly had me run screaming from the shop if I didn't know that I would have to walk barefoot across the floor and who knows when that was last sanitized.

4. Nail polish bottles should not be shared for all clients. - - I saw this one coming when we walked in so I made sure to pick a brand new bottle that was still sealed. Even so it totally grossed me out to have her dip the brush into the bottle each time she did my toes.

Needless to say, I couldn't wait to get home and wash my feet with disinfectant!

The place I like to go for pedicures - - puts a fresh liner in the soaking bin when the client sits down, gets tools for each client out of one of those blue disinfectant tubes that you see at hairstylists stations (and they change the solution every few hours). She has small loofahs to scrub my feet and she throws it in the garbage when she's done. As for the nail colors, if I don't bring my own, she pours it from the jar into a thing that looks like a disposable artist's palette and uses a disposable brush to do my nails (the brush goes into the garbage right behind the loofah when she's done). I also see her use hand sanitizer before and after she touches my feet which also makes me feel confident about her professionalism. The down side to my lady? She doesn't have a massage chair for me to sit in, just a nice recliner that she puts a fresh clean towel across before I sit in it and there are no jets in the soaking tub but considering that the ones in the other place kept squirting me, I'm not sure that is a downside.

posted by Shondratasha @ 23:10