This nail tech shared his hot take about pedicures, and people are not happy about it.
Many people say that it is a common experience to go to the nail salon and feel judged by the nail techs for the state of your nails, appearance, or nail choices.
Some nail techs try to manipulate you into getting add-ons that run up your bill. Others will straight up roast you to your face for having chipped polish, rough heels, or neglected cuticles.
This is all part of a broader conversation about the power dynamics between beauty professionals and clients and what behavior is and isn’t acceptable.
But in a recent video, a nail tech faced backlash for his controversial opinion.
Nail tech says this type of person shouldn’t get pedicures
In a trending video with more than 530,000 views, nail tech @naildadstudio got heat for this opinion.
“Getting a pedicure is a maintenance, not a complete overhaul,” @naildadstudio said.
@naildadstudio starts off by saying that if a person’s feet “starts a fire just by walking across the hardwood floors,” then they shouldn’t be going in to get a pedicure and expecting their hardened or cracked feet to be fully taken care of at the salon.
He says that the basic pumice stone they use on clients isn’t going to be able to perform to the level a person may need.
“We’re not turning mummified feet into babies’ feet. We can’t do that,” @naildadstudio says.
If that’s the case, then @naildadstudio should just use the “cheese grater” to handle tougher skin.
But @naildadstudio says he doesn’t like using it.
“I’m not gonna Olive Garden your feet and make parmesan cheese,” he says.
Instead, he states that clients with rough feet should get a large pumice stone. And they should use it exfoliate their feet daily prior to coming into the salon.
Is the foot cheese grater even safe?
There was a period of time when the foot cheese grater (remember the Ped Egg?) was a staple of TV infomercials and nail salons.
But experts say they’re not safe, and they’re actually banned in several states.
“When these go too deep and are used on patients with thin skin, poor circulation, or diabetes, it can cause burns and terrible wounds or infections,” Daniel Michaels, DPM, told the Reconstructive Foot & Ankle Institute.
Instead, people should use exfoliating creams designed for thicker foot skin.
“These creams have gentler ingredients like urea and lactic acid and can be used several times a week to keep skin smooth and thin out calluses in little time,” he added.
Commenters react
Many people were upset about the nail tech’s take, given not only how callously he spoke (pun intended) but how expensive pedicures have gotten.
They say if they’re paying for a service, they do expect to be fully taken care of.
“Let’s go back to 30$ pedicures then I’ll maybe take your advice,” a top comment read.
“For $70 yes sir it is a overhaul,” a person said.
“lol he’s like ‘do your pedicure before you pay for your pedicure,’” another pointed out.
“Wrong angle. Now if you said ‘here’s how you preserve the results I give you’ you’d get better reception,” a commenter added.
@naildadstudio The cheese grater makes it come back worse! #nails #nailtech #nailsalon #fyp ♬ original sound – naildadstudio
The Daily Dot reached out to @naildadstudio via Instagram and TikTok direct message.
Internet culture is chaotic—but we’ll break it down for you in one daily email. Sign up for the Daily Dot’s web_crawlr newsletter here. You’ll get the best (and worst) of the internet straight into your inbox.
