Are you new to giving pedicure massages? In this article, we’re going to be walking you through the steps involved in pedicure massaging.

Pedicures are one of the most relaxing experiences that a customer can have. Having someone clean and take care of their feet, followed by a massage, takes them to a relaxing place in their mind. So, in order to make sure that you can give your customers a memorable experience that they’ll return for, you need to know the different steps involved in a pedicure massage.

We are going to be discussing what a pedicure massage includes, how to prepare to give one, and how you can give the best pedicure massage possible.

What Does a Pedicure Massage Include?

A pedicure massage can be different depending on how the salon that you visit performs it. However, your typical pedicure massage will include a deep tissue cleansing, a nail cutting and filing, and a foot massage. You may choose to have your nails painted to go with it, although this isn’t always necessary.

Before You Give a Pedicure Massage

Before your client sits on the pedicure chair and you begin the pedicure massage, there are a few things that you need to do to prepare.

- Clean the pedicure chair with disinfectant. The cleaning process that you use will differ depending on your salon’s cleaning policies, so follow them accordingly to remove bacteria and minimize the risk of infection.
- If you use a pipe-less pedicure chair, clean the jets. If your pedicure chair has pipes, then you’ll need to clean the interior of them by running the cleaning chemicals through the pipes and draining them afterwards.
- Make sure that all of the equipment that you will be using during this massage has been cleaned and soaked in disinfectant for at least 10 minutes.
- Wash your hands using hand sanitizer and if possible, wear disposable gloves too. You should replace these gloves between customers.

Now that you’re prepared, all you have to do is make sure that your customer doesn’t have any contagious health issues and you can jump right in.

How to Give a Pedicure Massage

Follow our detailed guide below and you’ll be able to give the best pedicure massage in no time at all.

Step #1 – Cleaning
As we briefly mentioned above, make sure that your hands are clean and after cleaning your own hands, clean your client’s feet. You should consider using an antiseptic spray on their feet as a precaution in case they have a pre-existing condition.

Step #2 – Remove Any Nail Polish
It’s important to remove any nail polish from your customer’s toenails before you continue. If not, you will not be able to clean their feet as best you could.

To remove nail polish, take a cotton ball and put a small dab of acetone, or nail polish remover, on it. One by one rub this cotton ball on the nail polish until it is completely off of all the customer’s nails.

Step #3 – Soak Their Feet
You can choose to soak both of their feet at once if you’d like, or if the client wants to bathe them in the whirlpool for a little while before you proceed with the pedicure, although it’s best to place one foot in the pedicure basin at a time.

Turn on the pedicure chair’s jets and apply any products that you will be using to clean the customer’s feet, before placing their feet in the basin.

Step #4 – Cutting the Nails
The best time to cut someone’s toenails is after they have been soaking their feet in warm water. This is because warm water helps soften nails, making them a lot easier to cut.

Take their foot out of the basin and put the other foot in – by the time that you’re finished with the first foot, the other one will be ready. Dry their feet, cut each foot’s nails, file them down so that they aren’t sharp and are shaped appropriately, and wipe the nails to remove any of the nail dust.

Step #5 – Dealing with the Cuticles
Not all customers want their cuticles to be dealt with during a pedicure massage so make sure that you ask them beforehand.

Never fully cut away the cuticles as they are there to protect the nail and prevent an infection from getting under your skin. Simply cut the cuticles back a little bit to make the nail look cleaner using a cuticle pusher and again, wipe the nail to remove any lingering dirt.

Step #6 – Removing Callus
This is one of the most difficult parts of a pedicure massage as it can be difficult and if the callus on a customer’s feet hasn’t been dealt with before, it can be stubborn to deal with.

How you choose to deal with callus depends on how you were trained, so take an approach that you are most comfortable with. Some people choose to use callus remover skincare products, other people have the equipment to deal with callus – it simply depends on your preference.

If you have limited access to equipment then you can try using a file to gently remove callus from the heels of your customer’s feet, between their toes, and on the base of their feet too. It’s important that if you do use a file or a piece of equipment which uses a razor blade, that you be extremely careful and focus on what you’re doing. When you get distracted you will risk hurting the customer.

Step #7 – Finishing the Pedicure Massage
By this point, you should have cleaned the customer’s feet, cut and filed their nails, trimmed their toes’ cuticles, and removed the callus from their feet.

This is the basic gist of what should be done during a pedicure massage and the whole process should take about 25 to 30 minutes, depending on what other services the customer has requested. To finish off the pedicure massage, put both of their feet back into the basin for a few minutes to clean any dead skin particles off of their feet, and dry them off afterwards.

A lot of the time when a customer requests a pedicure massage they will also be interested in having their toenails painted. If they don’t request this, don’t be afraid to ask them if they’re interested in this service as they may not know that you offer it and it will make their nails look even better.

Lastly, as you’re drying off their feet, give them a quick foot massage before washing your hands, draining the basin, and cleaning any of the equipment that you used so that it is clean and ready for the next customer.

To Conclude…

Now that you know how to give one of these massages, you will quickly build a regular customer base who will return knowing that you’ll give them a pedicure massage that’ll eradicate all of their worries. Even if you are already an experienced salon worker who knows how to give a pedicure massage, there are small details that you might not have picked up on over the years which could take your pedicure massages to the next level.