Seriously....a pedicure question.

[ghostinyou]

At the risk of sounding a bit silly, I am very curious to hear if anyone has a suggestion on this question. I normally get pedicures a couple times a month. My feet tend to callous up and get rough on heels due to 1) going barefoot a lot especially at the beach where i live and 2) playing sports. When I have the pedicures, I have the special "callous remover" done to smooth things out. But I am thinking about all the trekking I am going to do on the Camino. I am thinking I might be better off leaving my feet toughened up and skip the pedicures in the month or so before my departure.
Again, I realize some are probably laughing at this but I have been thinking about it and just want to prepare my feet as well as possible for what I am about to do to them!!!!!
Of course I will have proper shoes and thicker socks and all, so maybe it isn't even a factor. I don't know. Any thoughts?

[HuskyNerd]

Not a silly question at all. In my opinion callouses are not a particular advantage in avoiding blisters. I've seen terrible blisters under callouses. They're hard to treat because of the tough skin above the blister. In fact, 2 weeks after my latest camino I still have 3 blisters under the thick callouses on my heels. I never treated them but instead just put up with the 1-2 days of minor pain. Given that, I don't see the advantage to letting callouses build up on your feet.

Another thing to consider pedicure-wise is that your toenails need to be trimmed to the barest minimum possible. Some pedicures leave a margin of toenail for looks, but I've seen toenails turn black during the camino, largely because they're too long and get pushed against the front of the boot. Also, my own toenails sometimes develop sharp corners that rub against the neighboring toe and break its skin, causing bleeding. I have to trim off these corners every couple of weeks. You wouldn't want your pedicure to retain sharp corners on your toenails.

Finally, I saw your mention of thicker socks, but didn't hear some of the other common anti-blister strategies. I hope you're planning on a) vaseline between your toes each morning, b) taping of blister-prone areas, and c) sock liners under woolen socks. These are the most beneficial ingredients for blister prevention in my opinion.

Hope this is helpful. Buen camino!

[Lipka149]

... your toenails need to be trimmed to the barest minimum possible. ... because they're too long and get pushed against the front of the boot.

Good point ! Toenails really take a beating.

I saw your mention of thicker socks, but didn't hear some of the other common anti-blister strategies. I hope you're planning on a) vaseline between your toes each morning, b) taping of blister-prone areas, and c) sock liners under woolen socks. These are the most beneficial ingredients for blister prevention in my opinion.

Also good points, but I might suggest trying them out first. Sock liners actually GAVE me blisters, and I found corn cushions worked vastly better than tape. Never tried the vaseline, but a soldier along the Way shared that it was wise to shower in the evening rather than the morning so that the skin on your feet was not softened just before walking. This worked for me ...

Good question, ghosty !

[zzotte]

I think is a great idea, no pedicures for a couple of months at least, (thicker skin = no blister) no one gets blister walking bare feet right? Seriously, since you are not doing the walk bare feet and provided you have followed all other precautions you should be fine, another point though no feet washing like bathing before the walk either because your skin is the softest after a shower, hence keeping your feet dry is very important.
Zo

[ghostinyou]

Thanks! Interesting things to consider. beyond the shoes and socks, i have considered liners. i am still not sure what is best and am experimenting. i read somewhere else about vaseline but had also seen a tip on the Body Glide or something like that which can be used on feet but also elsewhere that chafing may occur.
thanks lipka for corn pad and shower tip!