And DeNiro, too?

What do iconic celebrities Cate Blanchard, Gwyneth Paltrow, Naomi Campbell and Robert DeNiro have in common? (Beside the fact they have more money lost in their couch cushions than most of us have in our chequing account.) The answer is they all use the same pedicurist to take care of their feet.

When Your Feet See Stars

Bastien Gonzalez is French-trained podiatrist and "pedicurist to the stars", who began as a 23-year old pedi-prodigy in Paris. Now, after 20 years, although Gonzalez has spas all over the world, many of his well-heeled clients with damaged soles jet him right to their mansion, palace or private island, as the case may be. Besides the Who's Who of European cinema, Bastien is a favourite of the ruling class and various royalty around the globe. Charging up to $1500 for a pedicure does tend to limit one's customer base, after all. Still, if you look at it like a mere $150/toe, maybe it's not so bad after all.

Top Tips from Bastien's Lips

To check out Bastien Gonzalez's Top Tips for Perfect Nails and Feet, have a look at his story in Britain's Daily Mail. The story includes an informative list of surprising (and some not so surprising) mistakes people are making daily that damages their feet.

My Chemical Romance

If having a high priced expert like Mr. Gonzalez fly to your house to exfoliate your feet doesn't currently work with your meager household budget, there is another option. How about a do-it-yourself chemical bath for your dead skin-encrusted feet? Known as "Baby Foot" this DIY extreme exfoliation treatment comes to us from Japan and is taking the pedicure planet by storm.  According to numerous sources, this procedure would take the callouses off a granite statue.

Not the Booty Call We Were Expecting

The Baby Foot process involves sliding your feet into a pair of plastic booties prefilled with special super-duper, thermo-nuclear goop that makes caustic soda or sulphuric acid appear mild. The magic gel is said to be 17 different varieties of "natural extract" but it should be pointed out that cobra venom is a natural extract, as well. Mostly, however, the extracts are such recognizable exfoliant ingredients as glycolic, salicylic and lactic acid.

The Step-By-Step Process (Includes Extra Long Coffee Break!)

After you slip on the booties to seal all the yummy goodness in, one must finish off the look with a pair of insulated socks.  Thus encumbered, all a person can do for the next 60 to 90 minutes is sit around and read fashion magazines and dream of being rich enough to delegate all this stuff to that Bastien Gonzalez fellow.

You've Got Skin in This Game so Fill Your Boots

After the booty duty, it is imperative to wash your feet thoroughly... then wait. In the days and weeks to come, every last dead skin cell anywhere near your feet will be shed... somewhere. (Shoe vacuuming may become a thing as a result.) Once the shedding process is complete, you can now reap the rewards of soft, pliant callous-free feet.

See For Yourself From the Safety of YouTube

Those who have experimented with this extreme form of chemi-pedi report the results are stunning despite the enormous "Ewww!" factor involved the ordeal. You can see a YouTube video of the procedure here.  Personally, I think I will stick to my good old-fashioned relaxing professional pedi, thanks!