Ode de Toes

Today, I offer a brief salute to nail salons everywhere for the major service they provide to men and women around the world.

My macho husband has sternly resisted my efforts to get him to “come with” when I get a pedicure. He’d be a pedicurist’s delight – he has really big feet, long, long toes and large, well-rounded nail beds.  A pedicurist would consider it an honor to serve those feet.  But he thinks it’s “ick” when men get a pedicure (though I wonder how he’ll feel about pedicures when he’s 90 and his feet look like Howard Hughes’ with curly talons).

Frankly, I think pedicures are one of life’s greatest and under-appreciated pleasures and it would be sad if we lived in a world without them.  Think of it:  billions of naked, dull taupe-colored toe nails, many discolored and others “grown in” and painful; rough soles with cracked skin at the heels; achy lower shins and ankles, and in older men and women, the likelihood of some edema from lack of exercise. Not a pretty picture, is it?

Asian countries have strong traditions of pedicure and foot massage – especially the Chinese, who are smarter than the average human, I think – but it used to be that only wealthier Western women would indulge in their pleasures.  Not so anymore; pedicures are truly universal in their appeal.

When you get a really good pedicure, you know it.  You walk with more zip in your step.  Pedicures make you feel sexy even when you’re tired and have droopy hair.  Plus, there’s the 5-minute pedicure massage, a heavenly reminder of the essential contribution of feet to overall well-being.  And colorful feet look really pretty when women wear open-toed sandals and flip-flops….

So let’s hear it for our feet! 

I’ve always been indifferent about manicures because they don’t last very long and they do seem to be a wee bit extravagant, but not pedicures – never pedicures.  When there is a special occasion – like a wedding or vacation or holiday – I treat myself to one.  Or if I’ve just got the blues and want to do something nice for me, I make it my duty to visit a nail salon. 

If you have foot fatigue, mind melt from a crazy work day, one of those bad moods you just can’t shake – or if you have a vacation that you’re ready to begin a day or two early -- try my recipe for a major mood shift.  Kick up your heels and trust the toes.  They know their power, even if you don’t.