A lot of clients asked: Do men come in to for pedicures?
For pedicures, surprisingly, many do. They often booked in advance. Sometimes, they came alone. Often, their wives or girlfriends took the first steps and introduced them to us.
Usually, these men came for the feet scrubbed and in-grown toe nails removal. They often expected a painful experience because it was painful to do it themselves, but nothing came close. The key ingredient is the feet soaking phase. When everything softened, we snipped off those hard edges. All of the sudden, they could walk pain-free.
That time an Army vet walked in
A few years back, a man—Mark—checked in and asked for a pedicure. He had this wonderfully trimmed gray beard that could have belonged on Duck Dynasty.
While my colleague ran the foot file on his tough feet, Mark told me about his Vietnam War tours. It was nothing heroic, he said. While there, he picked up the language. Mark could decipher some words between my colleague and I. He just never expected to see the nail business ran by so many Vietnamese.
As with every new clients, we asked Mark if he ever got a pedicure. He nodded. In fact, he wanted to nudge a friend into getting one. This visit was just for “research,” he said, to see which salon he should recommend the friend.
When all was said and done, Mark slid his feet back into his sneakers and stood up. He did short hop and smiled. To this day I still remember his final words after I asked how did it feel.
“Wow,” he said while looking down at the sneakers. Then, he took a few steps. “It’s like walking on clouds.”
That moment was so funny, I still think Mark lied. There was no “research” for a friend. Mark didn’t want to be caught dead treating himself to a good foot care. And although we would never see Mark again, we fondly thought of him every time the question came up.
If no one is more manly than a war vet, then men should get pedicures.