So what exactly is a Podicure® – Is it a pedicure or a podiatrist appointment? What exactly do podiatrists even do? Should I be seeing a podiatrist or can I only see one if something is wrong?
Well, let’s answer these questions!
What do podiatrists do?
Podiatrists are health professionals who specialise in looking after your feet and lower legs – a little like how dentists care for your teeth, gums and oral health, we care for your skin, nails and musculoskeletal system of your lower limbs. So, this means that we can manage and treat everything from skin or nail infections, ingrown toenails, verrucae, corns, calluses, sprains, strains or generalised pain of the foot and lower leg.
Do you need to have anything wrong to see a podiatrist?
Not at all! Just like it’s normal to see your GP or dentist for a checkup, it is a great idea to see your podiatrist once or twice a year for a check-up of your skin and nail health, and to ensure that everything is in tip-top condition. This is a great time for us to check out your nails, skin health and whether there is the beginning of any fungal infections, and even to check for moles on the soles of your feet.
Other people might see podiatrists because their toenails are difficult to reach or difficult to cut – either the shape or thickness of them can make them challenging to trim properly, and we have specific tools available to shape and thin the nails back to a more regular form.
So what is a Podicure®?
A Podicure® is a bespoke pedicure, tailored to your feet, which is performed by a Resonance® Podiatrist in a hygienic clinical setting. At our clinics, we often heard women admitting that they would come in to get their feet done properly by us, before going off to have their nails painted at a nail bar, lamenting that they wished we could do nails too. In addition to this, we had found over the last few years that quite a large number of women were foregoing treatment for their fungal nail infection so they could keep their nails painted to ‘hide’ the infection.
Podiatrists are health professionals, right? So why are we offering to paint your nails?
Well, the Podicure® means that those people who would otherwise be visiting potentially unhygienic nail bars, don’t have to any longer. But it’s more than just painting nails – we did a lot of research into how we can use products that will actually improve the health of the feet, and minimise harm. The Kester Black nail polish which we use is free from 10 of the common harmful chemicals that are found in most nail polishes, and it’s water and oxygen permeable, which means it is able to be used with our water-permeable antifungal nail treatment, Spirularin®. We also use Gehwol® skin treatments, which contain natural moisturisers such as avocado and jojoba oil to help improve hydration, skin texture and health.
It almost goes without saying, but of course everything that we use on your feet is either sterilised or single use. This means that there is a very low chance of any type of skin or nail infection being transferred from person to person. We use sterilised instruments from a fresh pack for every client, single use sanding disks for buffing dry skin, and we don’t dip the brush back into the polish when we’re painting nails. We decant the polish and use single use brushes for every person.
This might seem like a lot of detail to go into just for a Podicure®, but this is how much care should be taken with your feet. You only get one pair, and if anything goes wrong then it’s scary how quickly things can escalate. Being a health professional, we can help guide you around the best management of any foot conditions and keep you walking on air!
To contact us about booking a Podicure®, visit our website, or phone us on 04 499 5732
by Resonance Podiatrist Bronwyn Easterbrook-Smith
