Pure Peninsula Spa FAQs

At Pure Peninsula Spa, a pedicure is a cosmetic treatment of the feet and toenails, and often includes a therapeutic component with a foot soak and massage. Medical-grade products are used as well as a fresh set of sterilized instruments for each client.

Besides having a cosmetic and therapeutic treatment of the feet and toenails, a pedicure can also have a medical component as well, depending on the facility. It can help make clients aware of and prevent nail diseases and nail disorders. Your nail technician does a professional assessment of your feet and toenails before proceeding with any treatment. You may be referred to a podiatrist if the nail technician feels you need medical treatment prior to a pedicure.

A medical pedicure includes the professional assessment by our certified nail technician and recommendations for treatment options based on those findings. A medical pedicure can help address conditions of toenails and skin pathologies of the foot where appropriate. It adheres to only the highest levels of sanitation to provide the most hygienic care of the toenails, surrounding tissue, and soles of the feet. Products chosen by our podiatrist for their therapeutic benefits and safety standards are used as well as a fresh set of surgical-grade sterilized instruments for each client.

A medical pedicure provides the safest pedicure option for people with compromised immune systems and other medical conditions, like diabetes, that would delay their ability to heal in the event of injury to their skin. While non-medical pedicures at Pure Peninsula Spa are still performed under sterile and clean conditions, our medical pedicures are tailored to the clients needs for skin, nail and callus care with use of enzymes and masques instead of harsher tools.

During a medical pedicure, the nail technician will review with you your concerns for your feet and nails as well as any medical conditions you have indicated on your intake form. Based on the information you provide, the nail technician can help you customize a pedicure package that will safely care for your feet during your service. As part of the assessment, the nail technician will evaluate your feet for signs of the following:

• Possible infection (e.g., bacterial, fungal, or viral).
• Possible skin conditions (e.g., calluses, corns, skin irritations or open wounds).
• Possible nail abnormalities (e.g., thickened toenails, ingrown toenails, discolored toenails).

After the foot and nail assessment, the nail technician will soak your feet for a shortened period of time, to soften your toenails and skin, but prevent microscopic skin breaks that could open you to infection. This type of attention to detail, personalized assessment and expert care level are the keys to making these pedicures the safest option for our more at-risk clients.

Light callus care is an approach to calluses that is safer and helps prevent injury. It involves enzymes, sugar scrubs and foot masques to help safely soften and breakdown the calluses without causing damage to the surrounding normal skin. While for some cases, more mechanical shaving of calluses is necessary, this is only lightly used in combination with our other therapies. Generally, if your calluses are extremely thick, you may want to consider a visit to your podiatrist prior to your pedicure for professional removal.

Having a pedicure is a personal choice and how often you should have one as well. If you enjoy the spa treatment of a pedicure and would like to keep your feet looking and feeling healthy, you may want to have one on a monthly basis.

To get the full benefit of a medical pedicure, you should have a pedicure at least once every other month with polish changes in between. This will greatly decrease your risk of infection from long nails or hard calluses.

There are several things you can do to prepare for your pedicure, including:

• Wash your feet with soap and water.
• Wear comfortable clothing that allows for easy roll up of the pant legs; no skinny jeans. Avoid skirts because you’ll be sitting with your legs apart.
• Don’t trim your toenails or remove old polish.
• Bring flip flops or other open-toed shoes to wear after your pedicure.
• Don’t bring children with you to your appointment, as we want this to be a quiet and peaceful time for you and your neighbors.
• Don’t shave your legs beforehand.

During your appointment, please silence your cell phone.

Dr. Sarah Neitzel chooses all of the lotions, creams, and moisturizers we use at Pure Peninsula Spa. These items are all specially chosen for their therapeutic benefits, safety standards, natural ingredients, and lack of harmful chemicals and acids.

You should see a podiatrist instead of a nail technician if your toes look infected or if you have nail fungus. You should also see a podiatrist for problems with ingrown toenails. Nail technicians are not trained to provide ingrown toenail care.

If you are having issues with your skin or toenails, you may want to see a podiatrist for consultation and treatment before scheduling a pedicure. Dr. Sarah Neitzel can help you with your toenail problems.

You shouldn’t have a pedicure if you suspect you have an infected or irritated ingrown nail, open wounds on your feet or legs, or active peeling to your feet from athlete’s foot. If you have any of these conditions or toenail problems, it would be best to see a podiatrist for treatment of these conditions prior to sitting for your pedicure service. Dr. Sarah Neitzel, is available for new patient appointments within her practice, Peninsula Podiatry.

Dr. Sarah Neitzel recommends that diabetics have a foot care service at least once a month to maintain the moisture in the skin to prevent cracked heels and other skin irritations or nail infections.

For a diabetic safe pedicure, also considered our medical pedicure, our techniques and protocols are modified from a standard pedicure to ensure optimal foot health for our diabetic clients:

DOs

• Do use cream, lotions, and moisturizers that are free of extraneous preservatives, harmful chemicals and alcohol.
• Do use a foot spa but for less time to prevent micro openings in the skin.
• Do scrub the foot but less aggressively.
• Do provide a foot massage to stimulate the muscles, improve circulation, and reduce pain.
• Do use sterile instruments for each pedicure.

DONTs

• Don’t use pumice stones for foot scrubs.
• Don’t cut cuticles.
• Don’t use a callus trimmer. If the diabetic patient has a large callus, it should be removed by a podiatrist. Note: These should be removed before scheduling a pedicure.

Callus care is especially important for diabetics or those undergoing cancer treatment, as the calluses can mask foot problems such as foot ulcers. 

In a healthy person, the nerves in your feet help to keep the skin’s moisture intact. For someone with diabetes who may have a foot neuropathy, the nerves are unable to signal that there is a breakdown of healthy skin cells, resulting  in foot ulcers or foot infections.  

In general, calluses can cause a lot of pain when walking and should be regularly addressed to prevent limping and other changes in the way a person walks. 

You should never cut or shave off calluses as you may injure the tissue of your feet. If you cut too far down into the skin, you may get an infection. Leave the removal of any calluses to a professional.

If you are a diabetic, you should never try to remove your own calluses nor should you use a pumice stone to file them down. You may cause a skin irritation that could develop into an infection. Plus, some diabetics have neuropathy in their lower extremities, and may not feel pain when trying to treat their own calluses. It is, therefore, recommended that you have a podiatrist tend to any foot problems you are having.

While calluses actually offer the foot protection while you are walking around, they can be problematic if they get too large and painful or if a client has diabetes or is undergoing cancer treatment. These clients should see a podiatrist for all callus treatment.

If you are a healthy client and your calluses don’t bother you and they are not painful, then leave them be. But if you think they are unsightly and want them removed, ask your pedicurist to smooth them down.

You can prevent calluses by doing the following:

• Wear properly fitting shoes that are comfortable, well-cushioned, and have shock-absorbing soles. Check out these tips on “How to make sensible shoe purchases.”
• Wear socks with your footwear.
• Use cushioned or padded insoles. You can also ask a podiatrist about customized insoles.
• Inspect your feet daily and keep them clean.
• Wash them in warm soapy water, dry them thoroughly, and apply a moisturizing foot cream to keep them soft and supple.
• Keep your toenails trimmed.
• Don’t walk barefoot.

A foot soak is performed to soften your toenails and calluses. This will make it easier for your nail technician to trim and shape your nails as well as provide light callus work.

For most clients a foot soak is for 10 minutes to soften your nails and calluses. For diabetic clients, a foot soak is no more than 5 minutes.

We follow EPA guidelines for all non-tool items, including our foot basin sterilization procedures and all other items being single-use and disposable. We also use disposable liners for each client visit.

A foot massage improves circulation, stimulates muscles, reduces tension, and often eases pain. CBD cream can be used during our foot massages to provide additional lasting pain relief, rejuvenation and relaxation of leg and foot muscles.

CBD has been known to aid in a variety of different ailments, including, general aches and pains, anxiety, migraine relief, reducing inflammation, chronic pain, fibromyalgia, joint pain, treating neurological diseases, various other bodily ailments, and diseases.

If you have ever noted a white powdery discoloration on your toenails after removing nail polish, this is actually a specific type of toenail fungus called “white superficial fungus.” This fungus is easily addressed and treated, however, can cause permanent nail color changes and deeper fungal infections if ignored. If you have noted this fungus on your nails between polish changes, we have a clear polish base with infused antifungal medication. This will help simultaneously treat existing fungus and prevent fungus forming under the coats of your nail polish.

If you notice white nail discolorations on your nails between polish changes, that is a superficial type of toenail fungus. Left untreated it can lead to more permanent color changes and deeper fungal infections. If this is a condition you are prone to, you should consider an antifungal nail polish base before the application of your polish.

Discoloration can occur for multiple reasons. The main cause of minor discoloration is due to nail polish sitting on the nails, disrupting the flow of oxygen to the nail beds. An easy fix would be going with a natural manicure minus the polish to give your nails time to heal. Fungus can also cause discoloration, but it can be medically treated. 

We recommend that you get a manicure at least once a month to help maintain healthy nails and remove any dead skin or cuticles that could grow onto your nail beds. Of course, you can always get a manicure at whatever frequency you prefer. 

Because your hands are not exposed to UV light for an extended amount of time, the risk of any damage being done is extremely low. However, if you are concerned, you can always apply sunblock to your hands before receiving your gel manicure. 

A freshly manicured nail bed, where the nail technician removes any dead skin or cuticles that may be adhering to the nail bed, allows the nail polish to be applied more smoothly and last longer.