Professional Pedicure

[curiousheels]

Has anyone here ever had a professional pedicure?  'm seriously considering one today but am obviously nervous about it.

[Pascal]

I had, one time, a few years ago.

I don't think they were professionnal. They were courteous but the woman who took care of my feet hurt me (by cutting too deep one of my toe nail). She asked me like 3 times if I was sure about the color (i choose a deep blue). She did a poor job, in fact, and I never went to a pro pedicure since then.

I did feel judged by the ladies, but none said a thing. There was a man waiting for his girl who was having a manucure, he looked at me several times with a strange look, if I reckon well, but overall it was because of the poor service and job that I never went for a pedicure again. Now my significant other and I take care of each other's feet.

[curiousheels]

That sounds like a horrible experience.  The lady on the phone sounded surprised i wanted polished but said she'd do it and that they weren't busy at all in the afternoons on a weekday.  I'm considering it but not sure.

[Pascal]

I'm sure that your experience will be great. True pros won't matter which color on which feet and will treat each customer with due respect.

Are you going to that store wearing heels?

[curiousheels]

i think that would be appropriate.  What do you think?

[Pascal]

That would be daring. And very appropriate, in fact. Takes confidence, are you heeling out frequently?

...

Years ago I did not wear heels while doing so. Afraid of stranger's eyes.

Nowadays, I think I'd push myself out of my comfort zone and would probably wear some little wedge-type booties. These boots are quite subtle since they don't make the typical heel noise.

[curiousheels]

I don't heel at all so it would be a big step for me.

[Pascal]

6 minutes ago, curiousheels said:

I don't heel at all so it would be a big step for me.

Really! Were you going there alone? How much is heeling a secret, do any of your friends or family members know about it?

[curiousheels]

Nobody knows about it

[CPB]

I say go for it. Most salons that offer pedi's & mani's do so professionally. Occasionally you'll find some that don't do a good job or the lady doing it doesn't do a good job. But I haven't had many problems in the 10 years or so that I've been going, and I've been to 4 different salons. Two of them didn't have a problem painting, although you could see that they thought it a bit strange. The one that I went to before I moved was the best so far. She loved painting my toes & she'd willingly done my fingers as well, but my wife isn't too happy with the idea. She also didn't have a problem with me wearing heels, skirts, leggings, skinnys. It just blew her mind that I had so many heels & that I had no problem wearing them.

I'd suggest testing the water first, see if they willing to paint & then next time maybe wear heels. The last one that I went to painting was out of the question, it was something that men didn't do. But living by the sea I wasn't too worried.

[curiousheels]

Well i went.  I didn't wear heels but she was open to the idea of painting them.  i was so nervous but she was very cool.

[Henri1942]

I get a Mani Pedi every two weeks.  Being diabetic foot nail care is extremely important.  I cannot do justice to my toenails.  Therefore it was recommended by my Physician to get a Pedicure at least once per month to take care of ingrown toenails.  

While there might as well get finger nails taken care of also.

Henry

[curiousheels]

Little snapshot of the finished product

[Steve63130]

Looks great Curiousheels!

I get a mani and pedi every month from my local salon, and have been doing so for at least 5 years. I started with no polish, but quickly went to clear, then subtle colors. I stay away from the pinks and reds, at the request of my wife, although I do push the envelope with a dusky reddish brown occasionally (see the foot pic below). Usually I get metalics - silver, gold, and copper, but I've also done brown, flesh color, and last St. Patrick's Day, I did my fingernails in green (I was quite a hit at the local party!).

The gals who do my mani and pedi are always professional, have no problems with my wearing heels or hosiery, carrying a purse, or wearing women's jeans. They're there to give me good service and I tip them well (20%) if they do.

If they don't have a dryer, you may want to wear thong type sandals afterward so you don't rub the polish off or make smudges.

Enjoy your new look. The sandal season is pretty much over here in Ohio, but I still like to color my toenails year round.

Steve

[mtnsofheels]

8 hours ago, curiousheels said:

Little snapshot of the finished product

Good for you curiousheels they look great! You now know that it will become a regular event!, and why shouldn't it be, it is a great self appreciation event you can do yourself, I have been doing for more than 20 years, like every month. I don't like when they are not done, Other half does not mind either so it is a regular event for me!

[curiousheels]

I feel like at least through the winter months I'll want to have them done.

[Rockbass19]

I get a professional pedicure about every 6 weeks.  I don't get color, but I do get clear gel polish on them because it lasts much longer.

[mlroseplant]

I used to get pedicures every 2-3 weeks. Well, why not, when your friends own the shop and refuse to charge you? I made up for it by doing handyman/repair work for them when they needed it. However, my favorite nail tech and personal close friend left the industry a few years back, and I quickly decided that I didn't want anyone else touching my feet. I know, I'm weird that way. So these days, I do my own. I think I was a pretty good student, and my ex-nail technician has complimented my work on several occasions. I do miss it sometimes, though. As an aside, I have never gotten polish, as I prefer bare, but well-groomed, nails on both men and women.

However, I know that the nail salon, which still goes on, has several male customers, although I guarantee none of them are heel wearers, because I would have heard about that immediately through the Vietnamese grape vine.

[robbiehhw]

I get them about once a month and did before i was out as a trans woman. Always relaxing and the people have almost always been great.

[CPB]

On ‎2016‎/‎11‎/‎11 at 9:49 PM, curiousheels said:

Little snapshot of the finished product

Gorgeous looking pedi, lovely colour. Now that you've crossed the bridge, I guarantee that you'll be back for more. Maybe next time in heels  ?

[curiousheels]

I'm really happy with how it went and I also love the color.  I really can't wait to try it in a nice pair of heels.

[hernaezjames]

Did my own pedicure, my first time and i love it.

Too shy to go on a nail salon to get a pedicure done.

[Logjam]

I get a pro pedi, and usually mani also, about every four to six weeks. I should get the pedi more often. I started for purely health and personal care reasons, then started with clear polish, then decided to try color on my feet. 

I always get clear, usually matte, on my hands. Last visit, yesterday, I got matte gel on my hands because I generally managed to chip the regular polish in a day or two.

Toes are a different story. I get color probably at least every third time, maybe more often. I tend to like blues, grays, and dark red best. At yesterday's visit, I got matte clear with a thin black tip.

I've gone to several shops or salons before settling on the one I now use. In each case, the nail techs were open, even enthusiastic, about putting color on a male client, and the women in the shops at the time were generally positive as well. Perhaps some were just being polite, I don't know for sure.

My nail lady and I discussed, for the next visit, doing toes in colors and maybe a pattern to match my recently acquired tattoo on my lower calf. Still thinking about that one!

Logjam

 

[HappyinHeels]

curiousheels,

You should absolutely get a pedicure if you want to do it. Service may have been crappy in one store but there 999 more to replace it. Any business worth their salt will welcome all customers with open arms and treat those customers with dignity. Some here get pedicures without colour and present themselves completely in guy mode. Others mix feminine and masculine clothing articles while others always wear some type of heeled shoe into the nail salon. I have twice gone with Steve63130 to his favourite nail salon in central Ohio and got my feet pampered. Both times I wore my Jessica Simpson "Carlow" sandals with 6.8"/20cm stiletto heels and was treated royally. Remember you paying for a service and, at least in the United States and Canada, that service should be enjoyable in its delivery. The reason for this simple. For a sizeable swath of businesses repeat customers are 50% of their revenue. "Welcome them in, treat them well, watch them come back." Those businesses whom master this simple maxim nearly always succeed and withstand the test of time if the rest of the their business is run soundly.

I get a pedicure when I can at a private home in the Chicago area. I always wear some sort of sweater or polo shirt, bootcut or occasionally skinny jeans, and some boots with stiletto heels or some obvious summer wedge sandals and often carry my tan fringe handbag. It enhances the experience. After the pedicure I'll visit my friend's shoe store and hot some other favourite shopping spots. Shopping and enjoying the day with a fresh pedicure just like the girls and never a bad word. You'll never know until you do it again. A positive experience is just around the corner.

HappyinHeels 

[HeeledSteve]

I've never had a professional pedicure but have had many manicures in a salon. Other customers mainly female pay no attention and any professional establishment should treat you with respect and be more than happy for your business. My advice would be to take the polish you want to use in case they don't have exactly the colour you want, be sure it's a professional quality polish though as the salon won't want to provide a substandard finish due to the quality of your polish. For a pedicure remember to take some open toed shoes or flip flops so you wont damage the polish when you come to leave.

I think you will enjoy the experience and be more than happy to return.

[Cali]

On 11/11/2016 at 11:14 AM, Henri1942 said:

I get a Mani Pedi every two weeks.  Being diabetic foot nail care is extremely important.  I cannot do justice to my toenails.  Therefore it was recommended by my Physician to get a Pedicure at least once per month to take care of ingrown toenails.  

While there might as well get finger nails taken care of also.

Henry

Being diabetic (no longer) I too was advised to take care of my feet.  So I have a professional pedicure every 2 (sometimes 3) weeks. I get the full spa pedi and enjoy the massages to my feet and legs.  When I first started I only got clear, now I will have the top nail art pedicurist asking to do my feet because they know I am not tame when it comes to nails.  I try to wear a different heel in for them each time.

My fingers are done at a different salon about every two week where I get acrylic fill and gel polish. Currently I have lavender acrylic with Izzy Wizzy gel coat. 

Edited April 16, 2017 by Cali
put in picture

[Cali]

Did I mention I like hand drawn art?

From my "Snow Flake Files"

Edited April 18, 2017 by Cali

[Stoney3057]

I was afraid of getting a pedicure, till someone put it to me that they don't care if you are male or female. They have a business and just want your money. So I went and a very old man was getting his toes trimmed, and just before it was time for her to paint my nails a woman walks in and sits RIGHT next to me. I thought I was about to run right out of there, but I soon realized if it bothered her or not nothing was said. I started small talk with her. I found out that she was a school teacher, and goes there on a regular basis. When I got home my wife swore up and down that those were not my real toe nails. They did that good of a job. Ok so all I am saying is that you are your worst enemy. I am no way ready to wear heels in public. Understand I wear 5 to 6 inch heels, and there is no way someone would not notice.

[curiousheels]

Both times I've gone, were Sunday evening just before close.  I was mortified someone might come in or even worse, someone I knew.  But ti never happened.  They were both very exciting experiences for me.

[Logjam]

I can't recommend strongly enough that in this day and age, pedicures for men arei almost always fine with the salon, and whomever wants a pedi, just go for it. Color too, if that's your preference. Same with manis. If you experience one of the few exceptions, take your business elsewhere.

Based on other poster's comments, reactions on the street may be more of a mixed bag. For me, while I have not been out and about a great deal with color on my toes, I've not yet heard a word either way from other citizens. I tend to doubt that a lot even notice.

I mentioned in another thread that I recently had a procedure done for an ingrown toenail. The young middle-aged female doctor suggested wearing sandals or open toe shoes more often, and asked if I got pedicures. When I told her that I did, she surprised me by suggesting that I try getting my toes painted ( of course not knowing that I already do) and said something to the effect that "men are doing that now."

An aside - happened to go in for my monthly nail care earlier today. I'm trying black on my toes, I haven't done that color before. I like it!

Logjam