Foot troubles are prevalent in all feet. You won’t believe how many times people say “eww you touch feet, I hate feet, I couldn’t do that”. Rhi Rhi Nails It has an interest in natural nail care and foot health! Attending multiple training courses on all things feet expands the intrigue further. Nail technicians are not clinicians therefore when it comes to foot problems our place is to recognise, recommend and refer, the 3 R’s.

In turn we do not diagnose toes with anything other than gorgeousness.  Normally caused by choosing a beautiful colour. This being said here are some common foot troubles we may all experience.

Foot troubles

Corn

A hard (usually round circle) of dry skin. They normally rear their ugly heads on the top or the side of your toes. Shoes are normally the culprit. Baby toes do end up wearing our corns and they are quite common in women. Do not try and cut these off, they can become infected! Moisture, they need moisture and comfortable shoes.

Ingrowing toenail

The ingrown nail, this happens so easily. You cut it at a strange angle 3 weeks later the nail has grown up, but the skin is in the way. Boom, inflammation, and an embedded nail on some incredibly soft toe tissue! Cutting the nail in a straight line with nice smooth edges is an art form.

Bunion

This condition is when the toe joint is misaligned. This will always require specialist care as it is serious.

Verruca

A verruca is categorised as a wart but in-growing. They are extremely common and can sometimes be identified by a black spot under the hard skin. A pharmacist visit can help with this condition.

Toenail fungus

Now fungus is such a big foot troubles problem for most people, but we don’t want to talk about it or even fix it. Please note this condition is contagious not just for pedicure treatments but for others in your home. It’s not serious but it can take a long time to get rid of. When under the toenail it can look like a white area, sometimes yellow. It does tend to appear in the corners, as the nail lifts from the skin slightly. If left unattended it can make the nail brittle.

Long toes nails enclosed in your shoes can also cause serious problems.  It presses and pushes on the nail tip which in turn can then lift the nail from the bed. Our old friend the fungal infection can get right into the tiny, moist, sweaty gap.

Athletes foot

Athletes foot is not just for the runners. This can be in between the toes and heels. It’s moist near our toes and its dry near our heels, both perfect real estates. It will appear to be peeling, flaking or cracking. In addition, it can get under the toenail and is extremely common.  Toenails need moisture too.

To clarify, all these conditions can NOT be diagnosed by your nail technician. Some conditions are common and easily recognised enabling us to know whether to continue with your pedicure treatment.

Our big and little toes are essential for our balance. Confirming why those 2 toes take the biggest beating. Big toes get the fungal or the in-growing. Little toes have no nails or very firm nails with corns as added extras. There is a lot to be said for good comfortable fitting shoes!

The epidermis (layer of skin) is much thicker on the palms of the hands and the soles of the feet. Note that there is ALOT of sweat leaving your body through your feet. We don’t want foot products to prevent the skin from perspiring, we want to moisturise the epidermis. So, we need fast absorption. A moisturised epidermis will prevent dry damaged feet.

Top tips

• Firstly, keep your feet clean and dry with nice fresh socks where you can
• Secondly, our feet need to be injury free and moisturised if we want them to walk us around the supermarket or look good in killer heels
• File nice and smooth, with no sharp edges, and moisturise

A pedicure is not a luxury, we brush our hair and teeth we need to love those hard-working puppies.

Lastly, let’s stop foot troubles, moisturise whenever you can, get good fitting shoes, we owe it to ourselves and our feet. You only get one pair.

There is a collection of foot blogs , if you’ve never seen them check them out.