For gorgeous feet and toenails, get a pedicure every four to six weeks – this is just as an estimate, since the exact time frame can vary for each person.
I love when my feet and toes look good – it just makes me feel more put together. This is why, as a former nail technician, I understood when my clients would want to schedule their next appointment as quickly as possible. I had to explain to them that there was a proper waiting period.
In this post I will show how often should you get a pedicure, why some people need to get pedicures sooner or later than this time frame, and why it is important to space out your appointments. Let’s begin.
How Often Should You Get a Pedicure?
On average, you should get a pedicure every four to six weeks.
However, this does depend on a few different factors. Due to this, some people may need to get pedicures more often, while others can hold off on a new pedicure for longer.
So:
How long should you wait between pedicures?
The exact time frame can depend on:
- The type of pedicure you get
- The kind of nail polish used
- Your specific anatomy
Let me break down the ideal appointment schedule based on these factors:
Full Pedicures vs. Mini Pedicures
There are two main types of pedicures offered by nail salons. The first one is a full pedicure – this is where the skin on your feet and soles are soaked and exfoliated. This is followed by the cutting of your cuticles. Then, your nails are trimmed, buffed, and several layers of nail polish are applied.
Then you have a mini pedicure. Here, the focus is largely on the toenails. Your toenails are trimmed and buffed and then nail polish is applied to them.
I advise getting a full, typical pedicure just no more than once a month or every six weeks. This is usually how long it takes for dead skin to accumulate and for toenail growth to get too long. Having your nails trimmed by a nail technician is a good way to avoid ingrown toenails as well.
If you are getting a mini pedicure, however, you can get one as needed. So, when your toenails get too long or your polish begins to chip, then you can get a normal pedicure.
There is also something known as a medical pedicure. This, however, isn’t carried out in a nail salon. Instead, it is handled by a podiatrist in their office or another medical setting.
This is a professional pedicure that can only be done by a medical professional. This isn’t done for aesthetics. However, it is typically meant for people with medical conditions such as diabetes or fungal infections.
These may also be a way to prevent ingrown toenails or to treat ingrown toenails that are quite bad or congenital in nature.
There are newer procedures like the paraffin pedicure, fish pedicure, etc. It is always a good idea to get these sparingly – every few months or so to avoid any adverse reactions.
Basic vs. Gel vs. Shellac
You will have probably marveled at the fact that the polish on your toenails can seem to last forever while the polish on your fingernails are chipped within a week.
Well, this is due to the fact that we don’t use our feet quite in the same way that we use our hands. What’s more, our toes are comfortably housed inside shoes for much of the day.
That being said, there are some types of polish that can help your pedicure last even longer still.
There are various types of nail polishes that can be used to paint your toenails. You have the basic pedicure, gel pedicure, and shellac pedicure.
With the basic polish, there are no special features. This is why it is the cheapest option and the most common one used. However, this is also more likely to chip and peel. This may begin to happen at the two to three week mark.
In this case, you may need to get your toenails painted twice a month.
The gel pedicure is where a hard gel-like polish is applied to your nails. It is then set with UV light so that it will last longer. This pedicure may last anywhere from three to four weeks.
Due to this, a monthly pedicure will serve you just fine.
Finally, you have shellac polish. This is a cross between basic and gel formulas. This, too, has to be cured with UV light. The upside is that it can last from three to four weeks at a time as well.
Understanding Your Foot Anatomy
Each person is different and this is true for your foot anatomy as well. Some people have slower skin turnover rate. This means that your body produces new skin cells more slowly.
For people like this, you don’t have nearly as much dead skin on your feet. Therefore, build up will only occur every few weeks. Until then, your feet look pretty good.
It should also be noted that these individuals have slower skin regeneration as well. Due to this, it can take your feet a bit longer to recover from an exfoliating.
Then, how often should you get a pedicure in this case? Well, you can schedule an appointment every three to four weeks.
There are those who have a much higher rate. This causes a lot of dead skin quite quickly. In this case, you may get dry, flaky feet, cracked heels, and itchiness.
How long is a pedicure supposed to last with such a condition?
Here, your pedicure lasts only a couple of weeks at a time. Therefore, you may need to schedule regular pedicures every two weeks to keep your feet looking good.
Is It OK to Get a Pedicure Every Week?
I know that it can feel nice to keep your feet and toenails looking good. If you have to wear open toe shoes a lot, you can be quite conscious of how your feet look.
Despite this, it is not a good idea to get a weekly pedicure. Let me tell you why:
Remember how I mentioned that when you get a pedicure a big part of it involves removing dead skin and hard skin is removed with a foot file? Well, if you get a pedicure too often, dead skin cells haven’t had a chance to form yet. So, you will be buffy away healthy living skin.
Not only can this cause you a great deal of pain, but it can also result in damaging the skin barrier. In turn, this can cause skin issues for a long time to come.
Well, what if you want to get a mini pedicure? How often should you get a pedicure in this case?
I would say that every week is probably still too much. Keep in mind that harsh polish remover has to be applied to remove the current application. This can damage or discolor your nails.
The other issue with getting a pedicure too often is your cuticles. While cuticles are pushed back or clipped when you get a pedicure, they actually serve a function.
They act as a protective layer for the new nail that is growing out – they prevent bacteria from attacking the nail. So, getting a pedicure too often could increase the risk of nail infections. This is certainly not something you want.
How Many Weeks Does a Pedicure Last?
This is another tricky question to answer because there are so many different factors at play.
To start with, there is the expertise of the nail technicians at the salon. If they do their job carefully, making sure to use quality products and proper technique, it is likely that your pedicure lasts anywhere from two to three weeks.
The type of polish used matters as well. Regular nail polish is good for about two weeks or so and will then begin to chip. If you invest in gel or Shellac, you can push this anywhere from three to four weeks.
You are a pretty important factor, too. If you tend to walk around barefoot, walk in the sand, or spend a lot of time in water, your polish isn’t going to last very long – a week or two at most.
The state of your toenails are key. If you have healthy toenails, they will be less likely to break – polish may hold on better to such nails as well. If you tend to have ingrown toenails or are developing an ingrown toenail, you will need to visit your nail technician sooner rather than later.
Are Pedicures Good for Your Feet?
A lot of people assume that pedicures are simply for aesthetic purposes, but this isn’t true. While you may not pay as much attention to your feet as you do your hands, they still take quite a pounding.
This is one of the reasons that there is such high cell turnover in this area. Unfortunately, if something isn’t done about this dead, hard skin, it can lead to painful and cracked heels. This can also increase the risk of skin infections.
In many instances, using a pumice stone by yourself doesn’t exfoliate your feet properly. You need a pro to get rid of all the build up courtesy of regular pedicures.
Pedicures are also great for ingrown toenails. Did you know that one of the major cause of ingrown toenails was clipping your toenails improperly?
You’re not to blame considering that clipping toenails is rather difficult. For one thing, the nails on your toes are much tougher. For another, the angle from which you are cutting your toenails makes it tricky to get a clean cut.
Nail techs, on the other hand, know precisely how to cut your nails so that they grow out well.
They also use products like cuticle oil to soften and protect various parts of your nails. This leads to healthier and better looking nails.
All in all, regular pedicures do have a purpose as long as they are spaced out properly.
There you go – you now know how often you should get pedicures. Now that you are aware of the proper schedule, you can keep your feet and toenails looking good while keeping them healthy at the same time.