Have clients with bad smelling feet? How to finally give those odors the boot when using your Whale Spa Pedicure Chairs!
Let us get down to the foot of the problem. To take care of our clients and have them smelling rosy fresh and confident when they leave your salon, let’s find out why our footsies start to smell in the first place.
The main cause of the problem is sweat. Our feet more sweat glands than any part of the body. People walk all day long in little to no ventilated shoes and sweating away creating a favorable environment for bacteria to grow and produce bad smelling substances. One of the main causes of this awful odor is the bacteria Brevibacterium and it lives on human skin and ingests dead skin on the feet and in the process creates a sulfuric aroma or makes our feet smell cheese-like. So what can we do to save nail techs and our clients? Follow the list below!
- DO use sodium bicarbonate which is basically a mild white salt. Another name for this is baking soda and is water soluble and it will create a bad environment for bacteria that makes the awful smell. A few table spoons into the basin should do the trick.
- DO NOT use tea bags in a Whale Spa pedicure chair to prevent odor, what it will do is make stains around the basin and will look unappealing to clients with brown rings everywhere.
- DO use foot deodorizer sprays before, during or after the pedicure service, however it might make clients feel a little self-conscious.
- DO use antibacterial soaps. Bacteria causes the smell and antibacterial soap will kill off all the germs.
- DO NOT use bleach or other very strong cleaning agents while the client is soaking their feet in a Whale Spa pedicure chair. Though it can definitely get rid of foot smells, bleach can cause mild to moderate skin irritation, blisters and dangerous chemical burns. Even diluted in the basin of water it is still not a good idea.
Always bear in mind that all the foot soaks, vinegar, soaps, salts and other remedies will never truly cure foot odors completely because of the natural reoccurring bacteria that our bodies have. If your clients ask for advice on how to prevent foot odor in the future, here are some helpful tips you can give them!
- Wear thick socks to absorb the moisture, the best material is wool or cotton because they will absorb better than polyester and nylon.
- Wear shoes that are well ventilated. Allowing the feet to breathe and give a chance to let the moisture evaporate will reduce
- Wash feet with salt. Salt water dries the skin and reduces moisture of your feet. However do not rinse feet afterwards, just simply wipe with a towel and let your feet dry before putting socks/shoes on.
- Wash feet with Anti-bacterial soap
- A symptom of Zinc deficiency is foot odor, try taking more zinc to restore your body’s immune system to fight off bacterial proliferation.
We sincerely hope these guidelines will help your clients as well as your nose. Stay tuned for more articles to come and happy pedicuring!
