I love getting a pedicure. There is something deeply satisfying about having a well-trained professional apply their magic hands to that poor pair of gnarly, calloused lumps I laughingly call my feet. Getting the exfoliating calf and foot massage is always a treat and the feel of my feet after enjoying the attendants' well-practiced ministrations is like heaven. My tired tootsies end up smoother than a baby's backside (and way better smelling too!) The nicest, prettiest, and most long-lasting part of the process is the cute nail design I get on my toenails for the big finish.

Sock it to Me

Then a friend of mine suggested that in-between the heavenly relaxation break a monthly pedicure regimen provides, I should try one of the new "sock-type" exfoliation products that have gotten their foot in the door of fashion circles recently. I was leery of the idea of letting my feet marinate in flesh-eating chemicals, but my friend was insistent so I promised to give them a shot.

Socks A-Peel

This New Age heel-softening hosery comes in a number of brands such as "Baby Foot" and "Footner" and are available at select locations of Shoppers Drug Mart, as well as from Amazon.ca. You might not want to be standing up when you put them in your real or virtual shopping cart, though, as the price nearly knocked me off my feet. One typical Amazon price was a cool $62.01 for the 70 ml Baby Foot variety. This is only enough to do a single application on both your feet. (Pirate captains with a wooden leg can get by for half that amount.)

Wanna do some acid?

No matter what brand you buy, however, they all boil down to the same thing; filling plastic stockings with acid and then soaking your feet in them for an hour or two. Although it sounds painful enough to use as a torture option in place of waterboarding, in reality the acid isn't strong enough to sting or prickle. Still, what comes after the soaking process is so gross, I would probably have preferred the pain instead.

What happens next?

Immediately following the soaking and rinsing processes, the effect seems rather minimal. If you haven't researched the treatment before trying it, you might even be disappointed that the acid didn't appear to do anything.

And then?

In a few days, though, suddenly you may think you have contracted some disgusting disease like leprosy or something as your feet will start to shed skin cells like crazy. Your shoes and socks (the regular kind of socks, that is) get filled with discarded skin chunks. As gross as that is, sandals are way worse as it looks like your feet have a bad case of dandruff.

Ewwww!

The shedding can last for days, which also means you may end up with a bed full of skin droppings (at least the microscopic mattress critters will enjoy this phase.) In the end, however, I will say that my feet really were softer and the thick build-up on my heels from having missed last months' pedi appointment had melted away.

Not Habit-Forming

In the end, although I did have pretty soft feet, I decided the peeling process was simply too unappealing for me and just not worth it. Not only was the process long, boring and super disgusting when my skin was rotting off my feet, but it was also about twice the price of our own Binh's Nails Tamarack professional pedicures (which range between $35 and $55.) The deal breaker, however, wasn't the price, as much as it was feeling like plastic acid socks just didn't give me the same "me time" experience that a real pedicure can deliver. Plus the dead skin removed by our pedicurists gets properly washed down the sewer drain and not invited into my bed!