Elim pedicure or a normal pedicure: what is the difference?
Why a medical-grade Elim pedicure is so good for hard skin and cracked heels, what happens during one and how to keep your feet soft afterwards.
2 min read By Louisa
A lot of people book a pedicure for pretty toes and are disappointed that their heels feel rough again a week later. That is where an Elim pedicure is different, and why I offer it.
What a normal pedicure does
A standard pedicure is mostly about the nails: soak, file, tidy the cuticles, a quick buff of the heels and polish. Hard skin is often taken off with a blade or a rough grater. It feels smooth on the day, but scraping skin away can make it grow back thicker, because your feet are protecting themselves.
What makes Elim different
Elim is a medical-grade foot care range. Rather than cutting hard skin away, it uses active ingredients to soften and break it down, so it can be lifted off gently. There are no blades involved.
The products also put moisture back into the skin, so the result is not just smoother on the day. With regular treatments, hard skin and cracked heels improve over time instead of coming straight back.
What happens during the treatment
- Your feet are cleansed and the Elim treatment is applied to the areas of hard skin.
- Once it has worked, the softened skin is gently removed and your heels smoothed.
- Your toenails are cut, shaped and tidied.
- You finish with a massage and polish, or a gel pedicure finish if you would like it to last longer.
Allow an hour and a quarter to two hours, depending on how much work your feet need. It is a relaxing treatment, so it is worth not rushing off afterwards.
Who it suits
- Anyone with dry, cracked heels or hard skin that keeps coming back.
- People on their feet all day, runners and walkers.
- Anyone getting sandal-ready for a holiday, or after a summer in flip-flops.
If you have a medical condition affecting your feet, such as diabetes, or broken skin or an infection, please tell me when you book. Some conditions need a podiatrist rather than a beauty treatment.
Keeping your feet soft afterwards
- Moisturise your heels every night. A thick foot cream under a pair of cotton socks works wonders.
- Avoid picking or filing hard skin yourself between visits.
- Come back every four to six weeks while you are getting your heels back on track.
You can see the price and timings on the price list, or read more on the treatments page.
