Meet the "Foot Whisperer" Who Will Make You Rethink Regular Pedicures for Good

Summary

Breaking Beauty Podcast – Episode Summary

Episode Title: Meet the "Foot Whisperer" Who Will Make You Rethink Regular Pedicures for Good
Release Date: July 15, 2026
Hosts: Jill Dunn (B) & Carlene Higgins (A)
Guest: Marcela Correa (C), Founder of Medi Pedi NYC

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Overview

This episode dives deep into foot care, pedicures, and why our feet deserve more attention—not just for beauty, but for overall health. Hosts Jill and Carlene interview Marcela Correa, known as the “Foot Whisperer of Manhattan” and a trailblazer in medical and aesthetic foot care. Marcela shares her expertise on what differentiates a medical pedicure from a traditional one, common foot health myths, what our toenails reveal about our health, and best practices for foot hygiene. The episode is packed with practical tips, myth-busting moments, and actionable advice for anyone who wants to step up their foot game—especially during sandal season.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. What is a Medical Pedicure? (03:25)

• Waterless Approach: Medical pedicure (“Medi Pedi”) is waterless and uses a sterile, dry technique.
• Protecting Dignity: Designed for those embarrassed by traditional salons or dealing with chronic foot issues.
• Educational & Preventative: Focuses on educating clients about foot health and preventing cross-contamination found in traditional salons.
• Quote:
  • "Medi Pedi was created with the intention to protect the dignity of the human beings and to prevent cross contamination." —Marcela (03:25)

2. When Should You Seek a Medical Pedicure? (05:00)

• If your feet don’t look or feel “like baby feet.”
• Common signs: thick nails, nail fungus, dry or scaly skin, athlete’s foot.
• A medical pedicure bridges the gap before specialist intervention is needed, akin to a dental hygienist before the dentist.
• Quote:
  • "If your feet doesn’t look like a baby feet, you should see somebody…" —Marcela (05:00)

3. Stigma, Shame & Toenail Health (07:59)

• Many people feel shame about foot issues and avoid seeking help, which can worsen conditions.
• People discuss hair, makeup, even waxing, but rarely foot issues—despite feet being “the foundation of the house.”
• Quote:
  • "You talk about your nails, your hair, your makeup, your brows… but they don’t talk about their feet. That is the foundation of the house." —Marcela (08:16)

4. What Toenails Reveal about Health (08:24)

• Unusual findings: signs of marijuana use (blackening), smoking (thicker, yellowish nails).
• Nail and skin changes often indicate broader health issues: vitamin and mineral deficiencies, liver issues, reactions to medication, or even melanoma.
• Quote:
  • “Their nails become thicker… doctors know when you smoke. Even when you say no, they already know by far away.” —Marcela (09:14)

5. Nail Salon Risks & Gel Polish Dangers (10:14)

• Fungus is often due to trauma, not just unsanitary salons.
• Gel polish = main culprit for ingrown toenails and nail fungus due to its rigidity and lack of removal.
• Nails should be trimmed regularly to prevent ingrowns (every 2-4 weeks).
• Quote:
  • “Gel polish is causing harm on the nails. I tell people, do whatever you want in your fingernails—but in your toes, it's different.” —Marcela (11:48)

6. Toenail Trauma & Recovery (15:35)

• Toenails do not age, but medications (especially blood pressure meds) can thicken/yellow nails.
• Toenail trauma: can lead to permanent lifting, chronic injuries, and risk of fungus.
• Newer treatments: laser therapy and daily home maintenance are crucial for success.

7. Patient Anecdotes & Hope for Recovery (18:06)

• Even nails that seem permanently damaged can often be rehabilitated.
• Techniques like “nail bracing” can train the nail to grow correctly again.
• Importance of specialized socks (with individual toes), nail prosthetics, and regular maintenance.
• Quote:
  • "I can fix it… Your nail is still growing, just not correctly.” —Marcela (20:28)

8. Nail Conditions: Diagnosing & Referring (26:53)

• Nail health can flag internal issues (iron, zinc, vitamin D deficiency, liver problems).
• Straight or dark lines on nails could be signs of melanoma—must be checked out ASAP.
• Quote:
  • “If they look like a spoon, you just gotta see a doctor.” —Marcela (30:15)

9. Managing Nails after Chemotherapy (31:01)

• Clients undergoing cancer treatment often have severely affected nails.
• Medical pedicure helps by safely removing dead tissue and maintaining hygiene to prevent infection during a vulnerable time.

10. Dealing with Fungal, Crumbly, or Damaged Toenails (33:13)

• Root-canal-like process: removing everything that doesn’t belong so new, healthy nail can grow back.
• Nail prosthetics can be built using dental resin or materials like Keryflex, but must be kept short.

11. At-Home Foot Care & Common Mistakes (41:35)

• Whitening: Use toothpaste and a toothbrush (electric preferred) once a week for healthy, glossy nails.
• Exfoliation: Mix olive oil, sugar, and lemon for a DIY scrub.
• Avoid oil “sitting” under nails—moisture = fungus risk.
• Quote:
  • “Brush your feet the way you brush your teeth.” —Marcela (41:41)

12. Products & Techniques to Avoid

• Cheese grater foot files: Too abrasive and damaging; use proper foot files with disposable stickers for hygiene (47:02).
• Baby foot peels: Can remove healthy skin and worsen issues like athlete’s foot (51:10).
• Russian pedicures: Too harsh and can cause trauma to the cuticle/nail bed (45:00).

13. Footwear & Shoe Fit (53:01)

• Shoe shape should fit your foot type—many problems (including bunions) are caused by ill-fitting shoes.
• Try shoes on top of your foot, not just by size, to ensure a proper fit.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Treat your foot the way you treat your face… If you treat it with friction, not with pressure, you get everything out.” —Marcela (47:22)
• “People discipline is harder to treat… if you don’t do the homework, nothing will change.” —Marcela (51:51)
• “Fungus is the easiest thing to kill, but you have to be disciplined and show them light.” —Marcela (34:15)
• On cuticles: “You push your gums? No. Otherwise, your teeth come out. The same with your nails. Don’t push. Leave it alone.” —Marcela (44:31)
• “I can transform a foot in 45 minutes – from homeless to beauty star – but maintenance is key.” —Marcela (52:05)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 03:25 – What is a medical pedicure?
• 05:00 – When to see a medical (vs. spa) pedicurist
• 08:24 – Surprising health signs visible in toenails
• 10:19 – Salon mistakes and the dangers of gel polish
• 15:02 – Medications and nail changes
• 18:06 – Can "hopeless" nails recover?
• 20:42 – How nail bracing and socks can help recovery
• 26:53 – Lines and color changes as medical warning signs
• 31:01 – Nail care for chemotherapy patients
• 33:13 – How to fix crumbly/fungal nails
• 41:35 – Toothpaste & toothbrush: Marcela's at-home pedi tips
• 45:00 – Why Russian manicures/pedicures can be problematic
• 47:02 – The truth about cheese grater foot files
• 51:10 – The problem with popular baby foot peels
• 53:01 – Correct shoe fit and its impact on foot health
• 54:28 – Marcela’s top 3 tips for healthy feet

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Marcela’s 3 Non-Negotiables for Healthier Feet (54:28)

1. Keep toenails shorter than the toe.
2. Toothpaste and brush once a week for clean, glossy nails.
3. Don’t forget the sole! Clean the soles of your feet as you would your tongue or face.

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Final Takeaways

• Prioritize regular, preventive foot care—not just for aesthetics but for health.
• Be mindful of salon practices, especially with gel polish, tool sanitation, and the use of harsh implements.
• Watch your nails for clues about your health—seek professional advice when changes occur.
• DIY can be effective (toothpaste scrub, home-made exfoliants), but don’t ignore persistent or serious issues.
• Foot shame is real, but help exists. Your feet are vital to your well-being!

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For more details, check the Breaking Beauty blog and follow them on social media. All products, techniques, and resources discussed are linked on their website.

Transcript

[A]

The following podcast is a Dear media production. Welcome to Breaking Beauty the podcast all about the breakthrough people, products and moments in beauty. We're your hosts, Jill Dunn and Carlene Higgins.

[B]

Happy Midsummer, everyone. Welcome back to another episode of Breaking Beauty Podcast, the podcast all about the breakthrough people, products and moments in beauty. I'm one of your co hosts, Jill Dunn.

[A]

And I'm Carlene Higgins. And we are two former beauty editors turned beauty podcasters here every single Wednesday with a breakthrough people, products and moments in beauty.

[B]

And we're always talking to the most epic people in the business. Bobby Brown, Hailey Bieber, makeup by Mario. The list goes on. There's like over 450 episodes at this point and we wanted to have this conversation today because there's a lot of topics in beauty that we don't necessarily get to touch. But given that it's sandal season and given that we all want to look good on vacation at the beach, wherever we are today, our guest is really going to help us make our feet look their best. And that is the foot whisper of Manhattan. Marcella Correa.

[A]

Welcome.

[C]

Thank you guys for having me here today. It's a pleasure.

[B]

Thank you. Thank you.

[A]

Marcela is the founder and CEO of Medi Pedi NYC and a trailblazer in aesthetic and therapeutic fitness foot care. A licensed medical nail technician with more than 20 years of experience, she got her start in her father's podiatry clinic in Uruguay where she studied podiatry for three years before bringing her expertise to New York.

[B]

And in 2013, she founded Medi Pedi in NYC, the Park Avenue destination for the medical pedicure. It's a waterless pedicure, everyone. It's sterile drop dry technique. It fuses that podiatry know how with a meticulous foot grooming. And I haven't had the pleasure to visit yet, but it's like unlike anything you've ever seen. It's like a dental chair almost that you're like relaxing in and your feet are up and being taken care of.

[A]

Her transformative yet painless approach has earned her a celebrity and athlete clientele. And Marcella's expertise has been featured everywhere, from allure to good housekeeping to women's health.

[B]

And Marcella is on a mission to change how we think about our feet. Not as an afterthought, but really the foundation of our health, quite literally. And in this episode, Marcella is going to tell us what our toenails reveal about our overall health, the hygiene, red flags to spot in a salon setting and the truth about those viral cheese grater foot files, those baby foot peels that where your DNA is being left all over the city and much, much more because Carlene and I have anecd personally to share as well.

[A]

Plus we find out Marcella's three non negotiables for healthier feet so that in the midst of the natural nail era, maybe you can pull off an elegant bare nails pedicure as well as a manicure.

[B]

And so be sure to watch this episode on our YouTube channel as well. You just search Breaking beauty podcast for any products mentioned. We will link to all of those on our website. So with all of that being said, let's dive in. So Marcella, for the uninitiated, tell us what is a medical pedicure and how does it differ from a traditional spa pedicure that maybe we've all had?

[C]

Okay, like you guys mentioned, medical pedicure, waterless pedicure. Waterless, yeah. When I decide to name a Medi Peri was thinking of collaboration with doctors. I want to bring the medical part of the necessity for the pedicure. I saw a lot of problems with the pedicure industry that people was getting bullied basically because their feet were not looking beautiful and I was looking more to look healthy. So that's when I say, okay, Medi Pedi needs to exist for the people who doesn't want to be sitting in a chair next to somebody else who's making faces and now these days taking pictures of their foot to post on social media. So for me, Medi pedi was created with the intention to protect the dignity of the human beings and to prevent cross contamination. That one of the biggest problem I see on the nail industry. So Mary Petty was created basically to protect their needy and to also give their knowledge to people. So people was missing a lot of knowledges on the food care. They have a lot of food problems and they have no idea that can be fixed in five minutes and they think it's a My mom has it, I have it, everybody has it. And I was like, no, has to be something more like educational, not just paint your toenails and go somewhere else and somebody else is going to use the cheese grater thing to remove what you think is callous and sometimes not.

[A]

Okay.

[C]

So yeah, so many people, so many

[A]

questions on the top of my mind. But how would the average person know when they need to go get a medical pedicure versus just go to their local salon?

[C]

If your feet doesn't look like a baby feet, you should See somebody. If you see that something is not right, if you look at other people's feet and you will be like, ew, what is that?

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

Yes. Don't question other people. Just look at your feet and say, I may need it, too. So I always recommend medi Peri for people who has overgrown thick nails. Thick nails in general, they can come from medical conditions or from nail fungus, whatever is the case. But yeah. Or they have dry skin that they don't know what it is. If it's callous or diastase. Eczema or dermatitis can be so many.

[B]

Or athlete's foot.

[C]

Or athlete's foot, which is the most common one is athlete foot. Definitely special on sport. And people who are very active is one of the most common problems. So, yeah, I will say, yeah. Anybody who look at their feet doesn't look normal to them, and they see that the nail salon will. Don't take care. Don't take a chance. Just come to us and we will refer you to podiatry, dermatologists, oncologists, endocrinologists. If it's not for us, we don't touch it. We basically try to clean up and make sure that also hygiene and clean. So the next expertise will help them out. If it's anything that we cannot handle.

[A]

Yeah, that's what I was going to ask is how do you know when you need to see a podiatrist versus somebody like you versus a dermatologist?

[C]

I always tell people we are like the food hygienist. Right. Like when you go to the dentist, before you see the dentist, they want to clean your teeth.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

That way they know if it's a cavity or is it dirty? Because a lot of times you think it's a cavity. And when you remove that, like, oh, what's in the cavity?

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

So on the feet happen the same way. So I would say to people, come to us, we check it. We know diagnosing, but we can kind of oversee the situation. And if we think it's something that the doctor have to be involved, we're happy to recommend you. We have a network, 300 doctors, I would say, at this point, from NYU to local podiatrists around the block from us and dermatologists, everybody in the network. I think we have a lot of expertise that will be happy to see. We sometimes send even pictures to make people to come to the doctors directly. Like, let me send the picture. If they think you don't need it, they will save you the trip. A lot of them Will be happy to just take a peek. After I clean it, I can send a nice picture. They probably check and go to this other person.

[B]

I would love to see your camera roll on your phone. Do you have a folder? Toenail fungus, cracked heels.

[C]

I would love to have that folder. I was thinking about this morning. I said how I'm going to show people before and after when it's all mixed with my garden. I love gardening. You're going to see a tomato, potato, a nail.

[B]

This is what Chat GPT can help you with. So apparently they can, like, organize your photos. But I think you make a really good point. Just come see you. Because I think what happens, certainly with my girlfriends, if you start seeing something that looks a little off about your toenails, your foot, the instinct is to do. To keep it private, to not go see someone because you're kind of embarrassed, maybe, or you're like, I'm going to skip the cottage outing or I'm going to skip the pool because I haven't had a pedicure or I don't know what's going on and I'm kind of afraid to ask, you know?

[C]

So I think that it's a very shameful. People get, like, if you. You talk about things with friends, but you never talk about your feet.

[B]

Totally.

[C]

You talk about your nails, you talk about your hair, your makeup, your brows. Who does your brow, you know, waxing even.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

People talk about their private waxing department, but they don't talk about their feet. That is the foundation of the house.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

So it's, like, amazing. Yeah.

[A]

What is something surprising that toenails can reveal about somebody's health?

[C]

Ooh, marijuana use.

[A]

Really?

[C]

Oh, big deal.

[A]

Toenails.

[C]

Oh, yes.

[A]

I could see fingernails getting yellow.

[C]

Oh, yeah. No, no, no. Yellow.

[A]

What is it?

[C]

Black. They turn black. And even this cuticle has a shadow. I tell people, you do this or you this. I tell them all the time. I don't want to say loud because people get like, oh, don't say what I do. I just said to them, this or this. So that way they know what I'm talking about. And sometimes they say, oh, not only this. I say, I can tell by your cuticles. The cuticles reveal so much in the nails.

[B]

Bad.

[C]

They get dark. They get dark. No matter what you try, they get dark every single day.

[A]

Do you know why?

[C]

Some chemicals on the. I never studied up the apartment. I was not curious about it. But I can tell from far away.

[B]

So you can tell by someone's toenails as well. If they're a smoker.

[C]

Oh, yeah. 100% smokers. Their nails become thicker.

[A]

She said either this or this.

[B]

Well, people are listening. People are listening. So she gestured. A joint and a dart.

[A]

Yeah. And there's two ways.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

How you hold position, your hands, how

[C]

you hold the cigarette or the joint. That's what I use a lot. What about.

[B]

Okay, people are inquiring. Minds are going to want to know, I'm sure what. What about gummies? Like, if people take like a THC gummy, that doesn't affect the toenails as much.

[C]

I haven't pay attention to that because most of the ones that take the gummies take the other one too.

[A]

Yes.

[C]

I see on the nails based on what they smoke. Doctors call it like a smoker nails.

[B]

Really?

[C]

Yeah, yeah. In medicine, the doctors know when you smoke. Even when you say no, you can say no, but they already know by far away.

[A]

Right.

[C]

That way you've done it.

[B]

Fascinating.

[C]

The keratin change the texture, the color. It's not a healthy keratin. And the skin, the hair, the nails affect that. Even one cigarette. I will say, I seen it on. People say, oh, I only try it. I say, I can see on your nails. And wow.

[A]

How often do people come to you to fix something that happened at a nail salon?

[C]

We're not going to blame the nail salon. A lot of times the nail salons are not a problem. People always say, the nail salon. I got fungus and depends what is the fungal is what I'm going to say, maybe it was the salon. If it's in a little bit in the corner after a pedicure, the cuticle got inflamed, your nail got lifted. I would say yeah, probably was the nail salon. But the nail fungus not really related to the nail salon. So a lot of times the nails are not related to the nail salon. It's more related to trauma. I don't see the nail salon being the number one problem right now. I will see the nails along with the number one problem with the nail. Ingrown nails. Because of the gel. The gel polish is costing a lot of ingrown nails. My business growing revenues on ingrown nails. I would say 30%.

[A]

Wow.

[C]

Yeah. Because of the gel. They leave the gel on. On the nail for too long. The gel is supposed to be removed after the nails start growing or cut the nail. They don't cut the nail or don't remove the gel and the nails don't bend. The nail become very hard and it's bumping on the front of the shoes.

[A]

Right, right, right.

[C]

So now become a problem. And now since that nail hurts, they bend the toe. So now they develop an ingrown nail and herma toes or bunion included because they changing the way they put the foot on the ground. So now they lose imbalance. So they're working funny.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

So the gel polish become a problem for the podiatrist business probably will see that too. The podiatrist doctor, we noticed that too, that the gel polish is causing harm on the nails.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

And I tell people, do whatever you want in your fingernails. You're not putting pressure on it, but in your toes.

[A]

I always do gel on my fingernails and regular polish on my toenails, but it lasts a long time and it's not like I'm washing dishes down there.

[C]

You have to cut your toenails anyway one or twice a month. So.

[B]

Yeah, yeah.

[C]

If you live in the polish a month, you're already behind on the trimming on the nail. If you don't trim your nail regularly, you're going to get an ingrown toenail, so.

[A]

Right.

[B]

I bet a lot of people do not trim their toenails twice or twice a month. No, I bet they're. They're not.

[C]

And they should. They should.

[A]

They should.

[C]

Yeah. At least file it if they don't want to cut it because they're afraid to cut it wrong, file it down now.

[A]

Why is that?

[C]

Why is that the length of the toenail has to be shorter than the toe? When you walk, the toe pressure is going to move the skin back. So you're sliding your foot inside the shoe. So if the nail is too long, the nail is going to stop in the shoe. It's not going to be the toe. The toe should be the one that take the impact, not the nail. The nail is to protect the toe. There's not the nail to, you know, to take the impact. If the nail takes the impact, it's going to lift the nail and then we can get fungus because the nail is lifted when you shower, the water goes under the nail.

[A]

So the number one reason why people

[C]

come to you, ingrown nails and nail fungus. Yep. Nail fungus. I would say first and then. Yeah, fungus. First a lot of fungus, like I said. Now with the gel polish become a new thing. People get nail fungus with the gel polish because the gel polish, you don't see what's going on on there. And if the nail is long, it's going to lift, it's going to get traumatized and you feel like, oh, hurts my nails. But you don't check why. And the why is what? And the why is the nail is lifting because. Too long.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

And the water gets on there. And by the time you remove the gel polish, you have fungus.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Because molds start building on there and they become a bacteria and bacteria infection. And here we go. We have new fungus. And a lot of times I have to cut it off half of the nail from a pedicure that they thought was beautiful and last them two months. And like two months is too long. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[A]

That's the tricky part is I think when your nail starts changing, you just don't know what's going on. Like, if it's yellowing, how do you know the difference? If it's.

[C]

Don't question. Go to see a professional and you get the opinion. The right opinion about it. Don't question yourself. Like, if it doesn't look normal, don't look at it and say, oh, maybe it's nothing. No, just go get check before become a bigger deal. Because can cost you $6,000 to fix a nail. Because you're going to need laser. You need pedicure. Altogether, it's going to be $5,000 easy that you got to fix one nail.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

Because you got to come every four weeks to see me. And then you have to do laser. And then you have to do topical medication to maintain the elasticity of the nail so they can grow correctly on the plate. So it's a lot of work to.

[B]

It's kind of like when you ignore a tooth that's aching. Yep.

[A]

Right.

[B]

You're just like, it's fine, that's fine.

[C]

And then you.

[B]

And then you're like. Then you're getting the tooth pulled.

[A]

And then $10,000 could have been a simple cavity, literally.

[C]

The nails y and the nail fungus can be contaminated in the other toenails. So now instead of one, you have five. And then people say, I have only one foot. They said bless you that you have only one foot and not both.

[B]

Yeah, yeah.

[C]

But sometimes you don't need them. Both feet.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Is some yellowing due to aging, though? Is some yellowing normal?

[C]

No. Nails never stop to grow. So your nails, they don't age. The nails continue growing. So you always have a fresh.

[A]

No nails. Something's going on.

[C]

Yeah. If you're older, can be medications like blood pressure medication. I see that one of the side effect thickness and yellow the nails.

[B]

Why is that?

[C]

There's some side effect of the medication. Only pharmaceuticals will explain better side Effects. But I've seen it, and a lot of people who take blood pressure medication, their nails become thicker. Yeah. After three or six months, I start noticing, like, are you taking low pressure medication?

[B]

Oh, my God. You're like the nail. You are the nail whisperer.

[C]

I was, you know, born to do this.

[A]

Yes.

[C]

I'm trying to do everything God put me on this earth to do, then it helps others.

[A]

So I've had a lot of toenail trauma. I will admit on this podcast right now that I have a fake toenail on both of my big toes, not just even one. And it started when I was in my early 20s, and I think it was trauma from playing soccer and things like that. And I remember at one point, I think they thought it was fungus and they wanted me to go on this medication. And every month, though, it was like, really hard on your liver and you

[C]

were touching a blood work. What's that? You need to get blood work. Right, to test the liver?

[A]

Yes. Every 30 days.

[C]

Because that you're too young to risk so much.

[A]

And I was in my early 20s, and I thought, I don't want to do that. I think I did it for a little bit. And then I said, I don't want to do it anymore.

[C]

Yeah, it depends on the risk. They do more often. Sometimes they do in the beginning and at the end of the course just to prevent damage to the laser.

[A]

This was many years ago, so they didn't have lasers. So I wanted to ask, what are you using lasers for? And is it you, or are you referring people?

[C]

I have the laser at home. We have a laser in the clinic. And words beautifully, but it's a teamwork. I can do laser magic in the clinic, but if you go home and you don't do homework, neo fungus require more homework than any other condition that you have. You can have acne. Can you do once a day or every other day? Probably you clear out the acne because you didn't eat what targets the acne. But with the nail fungus, you have to do a daily maintenance. So every day you have to keep it dry. Keeping dry the nails is the key. You get moist under the nail. You never heal. It's like a plant without the little holes on the pot. You know when you put a plant in a pot and doesn't have the little holes, it's not gonna drain it. So the nail has no way to drain. So you have to kind of COVID it since there's no little holes to drain it.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

So you have to cover the toenail when you shower. I always tell people, use a toe cap when you shower and you have problem on the nails, that they don't get mold. Well, the mold grows under the nail. It's not on the surface. You don't see it. But when you remove the polish or the prosthetic nails, a lot of time it's mold on there. And people say, how come it's not getting better with this prosthetic nails? It should get better. Depend how you take it at home.

[A]

Right.

[C]

Those kind of stuff.

[B]

I'm going to go out on a limb and say, Carlene is not wearing a toe cap in the shower.

[A]

No, I'm not wearing a toe cap in the shower.

[C]

Whatever you're going to say.

[B]

That would be interesting. An experiment.

[A]

I'm not sure. So I don't. I don't have the fungus anymore. I've been to podiatrist a few times now at this age, but. So what happened to me, and this is another PSA that I want to help people out with. Is that so? Then what would happen is my nails just became more and more susceptible to trauma. So I would hit the nail and we lift, bleed, turn black because it's this vicious circle. The. The more times it's traumatized, the more times it happens because it's not adhering to the toe bed anymore. And the way that I explain it to people, the way that my podiatrist explained it to me, is that because toenails grow so, so slowly that under your nail, there's a sticky, tacky. Right. Surface. But as it's. If it's growing so slowly, the skin starts to heal over. So it's like the skin on your. Like your fingerprint on this side of your finger. Well, once that happens, your toenail can't stick to it anymore. Yeah. The sticky part is gone. So that's what's happened, is that mine is. Is healed over. So now it will just only grow to a point, and then that's it. And then.

[B]

Because unless she comes to see you,

[C]

I'm just about to raise my.

[B]

Yeah, no, no, no. I was like. I was like, keep going. But I know she's sitting there going, I can fix it.

[C]

I already working on it.

[B]

She's got the solution, guys.

[C]

I'm already working on it. Like, my head is already. I fix it.

[A]

Okay.

[C]

Yeah. What? Yeah.

[A]

Is that actually possible?

[B]

How.

[C]

Because your nail is still growing. It's not growing correctly, but it's growing.

[B]

Clock it. Yes. Yes.

[A]

Yeah, but it's. But it's not sticking Anymore.

[C]

That's okay. No, that's what they.

[A]

No, I literally need to move to Manhattan so that I can come see you every four weeks. Because I don't think you. Your clone exists in Toronto, where I live.

[C]

Oh, Toronto has so many good texts.

[A]

Yeah, I need names. Well, honestly, we need a directory.

[B]

Well, I will say Naomi. Shout out Naomi. She does my nails. And she is basically what you're talking about. She does that as well. Medical pedicures. And I think she could. Yeah.

[C]

Oh, yeah.

[B]

She went and she went. She trained in Japan as well.

[A]

But this is what I mean. So I went to a podiatrist, and this is what I was told, that this is it. This is it for you, honey.

[C]

I think the podiatrist hasn't been updating himself. He probably learned in the old school and he never kind of go to courses and techniques that there's so many things you can do these days.

[A]

Like, you guys, my toenails may live again. This is late breaking breaking beauty news. Unbelievable.

[C]

Yeah, you can. You can fix it.

[A]

What would you do? I know this is like, a little too personal, but, like, what. What are a few things you would do? Laser, like nail brace.

[C]

First one.

[A]

Nail brace.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

It forces it to grow, to grow

[C]

the place that you should be growing. Because now your nails growing down, not growing straight.

[A]

That's right.

[C]

Yeah, I can see that without taking off the shoes. I can see it.

[A]

Oh, yeah, you can see it.

[C]

I love foot problems.

[A]

Oh, my gosh. This is you.

[C]

You have to understand, I need to be on camera. But use socks like this. Oh, stop wearing regular socks that squeeze your foot. You need the socks that give you freedom to spend your foot.

[B]

Okay, so these are called. These are called what? They're.

[C]

I don't know.

[A]

They're. They're socks that have individual toes.

[B]

They're like gloves for your feet.

[C]

Yeah, glove. You call it glove. Foot. Glove, yes.

[A]

Foot gloves. Okay. You need to come out with your own version of these. You know, that ones.

[C]

Soon, Soon. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[B]

Fantastic.

[A]

This is so wonderful for me to hear because, honestly, I totally relate to the idea that there's so much shame. Like, I've had nightmares. When I was younger especially, I worked at a fashion magazine and I was traveling open toe in the summer.

[C]

That's what I create Medi Perry for people like you.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

That's when it opened up about the conditions and treated.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

And it's treatable. It's 100% treatable.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

Oh, my goodness.

[B]

Life changing over here, you guys.

[A]

I do Want to go back to the trauma thing? Because as I said, mine. So now it happens all the time. I'll knock because it's lifted it. Every time it traumatizes, it lifts again, it bleeds again. So I heard when I was watching the pit on Craze, you know that show, that show that somebody had traumatized their toenail and it was all bleeding under it. And they said, you take a pin and you drain the blood. Which I've never done. And I've had them probably 10 times this has happened to me. And by the way, it's incredibly painful.

[C]

It is.

[A]

And I've never done the draining. So what do you do? You traumatize your nail, it's bleeding all over.

[C]

What do you do? Just keep it dry. Keep it dry, Keep it dry.

[A]

Do you have to drain it?

[C]

Yeah, it's better if you drain it. Use peroxide, a little peroxide to clear it out and make sure it's dry. After you drain it, make sure it's dry.

[A]

But how do you drain it? Who do you go to?

[C]

Podiatrist will drain it for you.

[A]

Okay, you need to go to a

[C]

podiatrist or dermatologist, either one. Go to the people who has the license to do it. Yes, I can do it, but I'm not a license to do it.

[A]

Okay.

[C]

So I tell people I don't play to be a doctor.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

We have so many colleagues that can help out. So go to the professional. They know where to drink and how. It's gonna be like a little drill bit.

[A]

Like, okay, don't do what I have done, which is nothing, and ignore it, because trust me, you will regret it.

[C]

Yeah, unfortunately.

[A]

Didn't know that. Where do you learn this?

[C]

Yeah, nobody talks about it.

[A]

Nobody talks about it. That's a podcast. Give it a like. Follow Share this episode please. This episode is brought to you in part by Quints. Okay, the summer is here. It's the perfect time to be stocking up on your summer wardrobe. But who wants to spend a lot of money? I mean, I know here in Toronto, it's such a short season. I hate to say that, but it is the time to be shopping at Quint because they are offering up summer pieces that you're just going to wear on repeat. They're comfortable, versatile, and right for every occasion. And what I love about quints, they're all about making elevated essentials using premium, premium materials like European linen, organic cotton, washable silk. And they don't have the traditional retail markup that you would get at Other kind of contemporary stores. I like that. Quince's 100% European linen pants, the dresses and the tops. They are items that I'm reaching for all summer long because they're so lightweight, they're effortless to style and they start at just $32. Take for example the 100% European linen wide leg pant. They come in probably 10 different colors, which is amazing. But what's excellent is they also have three different inseams, so three different lengths. So no matter what your size is for width, you can pick the actual length of the pant. I mean, who else is even offering that, especially at this price point? It's crazy. Quince also has beautiful 14 karat gold jewelry that adds that like soft little finishing touch. Simple hoops like a delicate chain and they don't break the bank. That's the best part. Quince's priced 50 to 80% less than similar brands. Honestly, if you haven't checked them out, you really, really need to. They're not fast fashion. They work directly with ethical factories and cut out the middleman. So you're just paying for exceptional quality and not the brand markup. So make your summer wardrobe feel easier. Go to quince.com/breaking beauty for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns. Now available in Canada too. That's. That's Q-U-I-N-C-E.com breaking beauty for free shipping and 365 day returns. Quince.com breaking beauty

[C]

hi, I'm Sif Hyder,

[B]

the founder of Array. I'm a wellness entrepreneur and digital creator. And this is my show, the Dream Bigger podcast.

[C]

Listen, I love dreaming big, but you

[B]

know what I love more? Actually having the resources to make those big dreams happen.

[C]

And hey, dreams can sometimes be private jets, but other times they can look a little something like having the best

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skin of your damn life or starting

[C]

a successful business or delving into spirituality. So on this podcast, I chat with

[B]

experts and thought leaders from different fields about their tips and tricks on doing exactly that.

[C]

Remember to subscribe.

[B]

We drop new episodes every Tuesday.

[C]

So see you then.

[B]

Okay. I want to go back to toenail health again because a lot of people could have like white spots on their toenails or ridges or what have you. What do you do for that?

[A]

Okay.

[C]

Always. We gotta go back to the medical doctor. They're gonna do blood work.

[B]

I see.

[C]

It's so much that your Nelson can say. So the toenail fungus that we call terminal fungus can be so many Things.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

So always go to the. I always tell people, if you don't know, I'm not gonna guess it. Yeah, it's like a blood. Blood work. Your liver shows on your nails too. People don't get it, but your livers, your zinc deficiency, calcium deficiency, so many different iron, big deal. Vitamin D. Come on. Vitamin D. What are, what are a

[A]

few of the things that you can name that look different, you can recognize right away? Because I've seen on TikTok like a black line, straight line through the nail

[C]

that can be a melanoma.

[A]

That's melanoma, right?

[C]

Always. But can be. Some cases can be melanoma. Depends on the, you know, the genetic of the person. Some dark hyperpigmentation in Afro American, Asians and Latino can happen on the nails. And no necessary melanoma. But depend who has it can be a melanoma and a white person with light eyes. I don't risk. I send them to the dermatology. And if it's touching the cuticle, if you grow from the cuticle out, that's one thing. If he grows from the and on the nail. Yeah. And then it's another thing. But depend how it's growing. If he's touching the cuticle and the skin, I will send it to the doctor. No matter if it's African American, Asian or Latino.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

I tell them, like what you check what is going to cost you a couple hundred bucks and then peace of mind for all of us. So that's one of the things I learned with my training. Like, oh, I do internship a lot of time with podiatrists and dermatologists to see what they see that they haven't seen it because not everybody's going to come to me. So I go to them and when I see it, like, okay, yeah, yeah, that what can be.

[B]

So everyone.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Wear your sunscreen.

[C]

Vitamin D is more important.

[B]

Yes, yes, I take it. I take a lot of it. And I got to get my iron going too.

[A]

Are there any other supplements you recommend to people? No, you don't do that. You don't believe in it or you just think I'm not qualified. That's not me.

[C]

I don't go to that department. They have some amazing people that can. They can take care of that. I shall see it. And I tell them, go to the doctor, check it out. Maybe something more than just what, you know, the pretty nail or ugly nail can be something related to deficiency or your liver, something that's cooking that we don't know what it Is.

[B]

Yeah, yeah.

[C]

I always tell them, when was your last time you went for your regular checkup? Annual checkup. And if they say, oh, two years ago, like, no, come on, let's go this coming month. So that way, peace of mind, we know that whatever is going on in your nails is not reflecting on your internal health.

[B]

Yeah. It's amazing. Like, Naomi, once again, shout out, who does my nails? I'm trying to. I'm doing natural nails right now. And normally I always had gels on. And she was doing my nails the other day and she was just like, are you iron deficient? And I was like, yep, I am. And she's the way she can tell. And again, this is my own personal experience. You guys can see your own terms. My tell is my nails grow up.

[C]

Damn.

[B]

They wait versus, like, most nails shapes are like concave, convex. And mine were concave.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

But they're weighing. So they're growing up. And they only grow to a certain length because they're growing up. It's like ski jump.

[C]

And you.

[B]

Then you have to.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Gut them. So I'm like, okay. Because I don't. I don't eat red meat. But she can tell like that.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

It's fascinating.

[C]

Yeah. No, it's fascinating.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

How much we can see. Yeah. If they curve too much down, can be your lungs or you hard.

[B]

Oh, interesting.

[C]

Yeah. If they look like a spoon, you just gotta see a doctor.

[B]

Okay. Yeah.

[C]

If they get the little darker instead of lighter and they look like a little spoon going down, you just gotta see a doctor. Because some interesting. They are long on the head. Yeah. No, everybody. Everybody's speaking through the nails. The nails can say so much.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

They can save people's life. Definitely. Yeah. Yeah.

[A]

I know that you mentioned oncology earlier, and I'm sure you have. You refer people a lot for that. Unfortunately, I have some people in my life who are going through chemotherapy and their nails have black. Really been affected. Just kind of coming up and you know, there's infection and everything. Once they go see a dermatologist, is there anything that you. A medical pedicurist could help with maintenance or.

[C]

Absolutely. I just clean up everything that is dead. The nails become black. Like they lose their life.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

So I remove everything that is not attached to the nail bed so I can prepare the nail bed to get a new nail. Because when you grow your hair back, you grow your nails back. It's not a problem. The nails will grow back healthy like nothing happened. But you constantly have to keep a maintenance. So that way they don't get infected and they don't. They don't hurt the person. Because they can hurt. Yeah, it's very painful when the cuticle get inflamed from the transition. So. Yeah, so we do a lot of people from the cancer institute, they send a lot of patients to us after chemotherapy or when they start their chemotherapy, they recommend them go to get your nails clipped. They're gonna get affected. So we prepare them for the transition that they're gonna go through.

[A]

Okay.

[C]

So like the hair salon, you know, do the hair for them and prepare them for this. We prepare them with their nails and with the solo. The footing.

[B]

That's fascinating.

[C]

Sometimes they build callus from side effects. Thick callus. Very painful thick callus. So I treat them too. Like, we treat them very slowly, but you don't compromise immunity because they already have immune compromise. So we try to. Don't open any skin and just to be very, very careful.

[A]

Yeah, exactly.

[C]

To treat them so that way they can go through the process.

[A]

Yeah. This is where hygiene really comes into effect, right?

[C]

Absolutely. Yeah.

[A]

But yeah, because the. The nail kind of lifts and gets cloudy and, you know, it does. It seems like. Again, back to that story where it may not grow properly ever again.

[C]

Will.

[A]

Can they.

[C]

Oh, 100. Yeah, yeah, they do grow.

[B]

They make, you know, your hair regrows, Right?

[A]

That's what you're saying?

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Yes. Like Wendy. Yeah, it's a side effect. It's keratin at the end. It's just a keratin that's going through a trauma. It happened on the hair, happen on the nails.

[A]

Okay.

[C]

It happened on the skin. A lot of times they get dry skin, itchiness and psoriasis. Some of them. Depends on how sensitive they are to the medication that they've been.

[A]

Yeah. I guess there's. It feels like there's a permanency with nails. Like once they hit a certain point, it may be a point of no return, you know, so that's great to know.

[C]

No, no, no. Nails constantly growing.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

You have to be removed. Miracle removed. You don't grow. But yeah, 99 of the people's now growing. Constantly growing. Even when you sleep.

[B]

Okay.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

All right.

[B]

What do you do? Because I had a girlfriend that this happened to where I think it was. I don't know if it was fungus or you'll tell me, but it was like, crumbly.

[C]

Now it can be fungus. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[B]

So what do you do in that case?

[C]

It's like going to the dentist again.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

You gotta do Like a root canal on the nail. Remove any. Anything that doesn't belong there, we gotta remove. So that way the starting over.

[B]

Yeah, starting over.

[C]

And it's always good to do in September, October.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

When you. I tell people if you're gonna have a fake nail in the salmon, enjoy it. But in September, October, we're gonna come back and we're gonna remove anything that doesn't belong there and start fresh. So by the next spring you have a full nail. Nails may take around nine months. And if you laser will grow a little faster because stimulate the growth. The laser, stimulate the cells. So what kind of laser is this?

[B]

Is it?

[C]

Yeah, it's just an antifungal laser they use. Okay. And this is the same machine that they use in dermatologists used for other treatments too.

[B]

Okay.

[C]

It's just different settings, but most of them are.

[A]

I need an at home one of those.

[C]

They have a little clips that you can get in Amazon.

[A]

Oh yeah.

[C]

Fungus need light to be go and move on. Fungus is the easiest thing to kill, but you have to be disciplined and show them light. They need moist, dark and heat. The three elements they need to grow like a mushroom. When you eat mushroom, where you find the mushroom? Under the trees on a dark dumb end. So the toenail is the same thing.

[A]

So what kind of light do you buy?

[C]

Can be red light, can be blue light, any light.

[A]

Doesn't matter.

[C]

They don't like light. Even on the Caribbean. Go sit down the beach for a couple of weeks. You have no fungus. We think Caribbean has fungus. Look at their feet.

[B]

Okay.

[C]

They don't have.

[A]

There's a really funny commercial in Toronto. I don't know if you guys get it here. And it's like a husband and wife talking and he's like, it's not fungus. It's so funny because it's the exact conversation that my husband and I will have. And I'm sure so many. What is wrong with husband's feet?

[C]

Like, I know and it's interesting because most of my clients are male. They love our clinical private room.

[A]

By the way, I'm going to say a PSA if there are any nail techs listening because I've had it done so many times. The nail. Is it called a nail prosthetic when you just put like a fake nail

[C]

on it depends on the material. Is prosthetic Now Kerican is used when you use dental kind of products. And nail. I don't know. Fake nail will be with the gel or the acrylic.

[A]

Yeah. What do you Guys use to build it up.

[C]

I use both. I use the dentist stuff that the same one the dentist use just to make it safer for everybody. And we use Keriflex. That's a product from Germany. That is a resin. So we use resin. Mostly resin. Because it's flexible resin. If you bump it, it's not gonna hurt your nail. It's gonna hurt only the part that is built, the prosthetic part.

[B]

This is exactly what Naomi was just talking about. My girl in Toronto. She was talking about Caraflex.

[C]

Yeah. Flex is very good because flexible. Yeah. And you never breathe through. So you can apply medication around the cuticle and will help the nail to grow healthy. Don't apply under the nail because we're not going to get moist. But you can apply medication on the cuticle to help the new nail to grow.

[A]

So my PSA is not to make it too long.

[C]

No, never.

[A]

I have had it done so many times in the past where it's too long and then her security gets caught on things again. No sticking to the skin. And then it lifts again. And then you get the trauma again and it's over and over. So it has to really be as short as possible.

[C]

The toe have to be the one who takes the lead, not the nail. The nail is just to protect the toe, not to take the lead.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

So make always sure that the toe is longer than the nail.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

People like big toenails. They're like, come on, I know you're gonna leave the office in two minutes, you're gonna come back that I didn't do good job because you wanted. This is a prosthetic nail. It's not a nail. It's not attached to you. And then you damage the little nail that's left a little bit. And then when you want me to apply and I tell you you don't have 20% of your nail. I cannot apply it. You get upset. I always tell them it's monthly maintenance. How often you maintain your.

[A]

Not enough. I probably go every eight weeks to get a pedicure. But I don't always replace the nail every eight weeks.

[C]

No, she doesn' remove it every eight weeks to see what's going on. I haven't seen your foot. So hard to tell. But some people needed to clear out and start fresh. Otherwise mold can get on there. So it's always moist trap. And you will never attach your own nail because the moist is there. Like a plant again going back to the water. You have a plant. You don't drain it. The roots Gonna go bad. So you damaging the oil.

[A]

What do you think about tea tree oil under the nail?

[C]

I always tell people tea tree oil is antiseptic. It's not an antibiotic. So if you don't have anything you preventing. Tea tree oil is preventive. It's not going to treat because it's not an antibiotic. It's an antiseptic. If you got a mosquito bite, put a tea tree oil with heal.

[A]

Right.

[C]

Because it's not infected.

[B]

Right.

[C]

You're trying to prevent it.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

If you put tea tree oil it smells good but I don't see the use.

[A]

Okay.

[C]

Yeah. I don't believe in tea tree oil.

[A]

It's more like I think as you said about the mold, like if you have a lot of space under there you can use it to. Yeah. Keep it clean. More hygienic, I guess.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

But just use a tiny, tiny bit.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

And rub it so it doesn't get sitting on the skin. You cannot let it the oil to be sitting on this have to massage and rub it on. So penetration. Not sitting. Put a drop under the nail. It's not going to do anything other than make it worse because it's going to mold it up.

[A]

Okay. Yeah. Got to keep it dry.

[C]

Yeah. Dry is the key.

[A]

See my podiatrist said keep it wet but use but you because that's if you want it to stay tacky. But use the tea tree oil to make sure that it doesn't get.

[C]

I want to meet this podiatry so we can work together one day and agree on something that I don't think

[A]

you're going to agree. I bet they're fired.

[C]

I would like to see what is the point to make it moist when was only grow with moist. Yeah, you can see tree oil is, you know, it's moist at the end.

[B]

Yeah, it's true. Jones Road Beauty is one of our show partners this week. I love the idea of effortless minimal makeup, especially in the summertime. And Jones Road Beauty, they just tick all of the boxes. Let me tell you. I love their formulations because they are formulated by a makeup artist none other than Bobby Brown her self. And a lot of people are familiar with the Miracle Balm. It's a multi use product. You can use it on your cheeks, on your eyes, on your lips. Gives you this effortless glow and you can put on a face in five minutes flat. There's no muss, no fuss. And I need to share with you a new product alert from Jones Road Beauty. And that's the foundation stick. So if you love using your miracle balm, the foundation stick, it just allows you to target where you want a little bit more coverage, maybe around the nose, underneath the eyes. I love the idea of swiping on a foundation stick and then just kind of melting it in with your fingers. This one is available in 30 shades. It never looks cakey, it never looks heavy. It looks like your skin and feels totally weightless. It's also dermatologist tested and packed with skin loving ingredients like ceramides and squalene to nourish your skin while you're wearing it. And the finish is just very natural. It's not too matte, it's not too dewy. That perfect in between. So modern makeup that's clean, strategic and multifunctional for effortless routines. That's what Jones Road beauty is all about. And for a limited time, our listeners are getting a free full size mascara on their first purchase. When they use code Beauty at checkout. Just head to jonesroadbeauty.com and use code BEAUTY at checkout. That's J-O-N-E S R O A D BEAUTY.com and use code Beauty at checkout. After you purchase, they'll ask you where you heard about them. Please support our show and tell them that that breaking beauty sent you. We'll link to the software in our show notes and on our website. Now back to the show. Let's say you don't have necessarily a medical condition, but you maybe have nail yellowing from staining. What can you do if you want to pull off that bare nails pedicure look this summer? Because I know that at your. At Medi Petty you don't put any polish on. So how do you get your nails looking like glossy and good or what's. What's your trip?

[C]

I would say toothpaste.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

And a toothbrush in the bathroom.

[B]

Really?

[C]

Brush your feet the way you brush your teeth. There's nothing wrong with that. Brush your toenails.

[B]

I am loving this. I'm gonna do that.

[C]

I don't say least mouthwash. I don't want to say any brand mouthwash. Come on.

[A]

What about whitening toothpaste?

[B]

That too.

[C]

Get a little electric brush. You're gonna go beyond. Got that little electric brush that you do your face or the one that you brush your feet. Get one. Get one just for your feet and keep pictures for your feet. Yeah, I brush my feet once a week.

[A]

Really?

[C]

I brush my. I love my feet. I want to.

[A]

With the toothbrush.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

Electric toothbrush yeah.

[C]

And get the mouthwash. Put the mixer with water spray your feet, make them.

[B]

What a delight. What a delight.

[C]

I love it. I love to walk around, feel that tingling like your mouth is clean your. So we love that single in refreshing feel.

[A]

Why not after you wear flip flops around Manhattan. Remember that was in the news about how much bacteria is on feed after.

[C]

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. No thank you. No, thank you. So yeah, I would say if you want to make them to look glowy healthy. Toothpaste. Yeah, let it sit. I would say let us see the toothpaste for at least a minute. So become dry. I want the toothpaste to become an exfoliation and then you just rub it your finger over the top so you kind of exfoliating the nail and then brush it. So uses as an exfoliation. Works fantastic.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

Every single time I use it, it feels so good. And the cuticle looks so clean.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Because the cuticle. Yes. Refreshes.

[A]

It sounds like a little facial for your toes. You know, you got the exfoliation. You use the mouthwash. That's like your toner. Yeah. And then do you do. And then you massage it. Do you use an oil?

[C]

Yeah. If you want to massage somebody else feet, the only thing you want is those feet to be refreshing, clean. Of course, if you want your husband to massage your feet, at least come with them, refresh it. You know, after shower is a good moment to. To do that.

[A]

Okay. And what do you use like an oil at all? A cuticle oil?

[C]

I use.

[B]

Yeah, I use nails.

[C]

I have a nail serum that we created at home.

[B]

Okay.

[C]

We use the nose. I use the nail serum, my fingers and my toes. So yeah, I use the nail serum all the time. So that's what I put a little drop and massage. Always massage the oils on the nail to have the purpose. Otherwise you put an oil there and leave it there. It's not doing anything. Massage, stimulate the nails. It hydrates the cuticle. Elasticity on the cuticle. Happening because you massage. Yeah.

[B]

I've heard that jojoba oil and grapeseed oil are the two best.

[C]

I love those.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And it's like almond oil is not that good for actually hydration. Right.

[C]

And castor oil. I'm a strong believer of castor oil.

[B]

You like that?

[C]

My son is going to watch this. He's going to be like, yeah, that's my mom. I even drink it. I love it so much.

[B]

Oh, really? Yeah.

[C]

I drink a spoon a week.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

I want my pipes to be lubricated. So I don't get Candida. So yes, I drink castor oil and don't do it because I say it. But you can try.

[B]

Okay.

[C]

I have castor oil. Yeah. I put castor oil in my cuticles too.

[B]

Okay.

[C]

And I try multi purpose. Yeah. Okay.

[A]

Okay. What about pushing back cuticles? Don't do it on the toes.

[C]

You push your gums.

[A]

No.

[C]

Otherwise you two come out.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

The same with your nails. Don't push. Leave it alone. It's the only way you keep a healthy nail. If you have a cuticle. I always tell people, you cut the cuticle, you lose the nail. You live along the cuticle, you bruise. Bruise. And loose is the cuticle. If you want to run and bruise it and grow your new nail under, that's it. Don't touch it.

[B]

So I'm going to guess, I'm going to go out on a limb here and say you probably don't like Russian pedicures or manicures.

[C]

A little too invasive for the cuticle. Yeah. And they come to me after the Russian pedicure. Believe me, I have line of people right now. They ask them how you traumatize your nail and they tell me a Russian petty, 80% of the traumas on the cuticle area and they get, not even fungal, they get infection on the cuticle because the machines is heat, it's vibration, it's heat. I don't cut. I tell people, leave the cuticle alone. God put it there for a reason. He has a purpose with that we are to try to manipulate it. I should exfoliate around the nail plate and that's it. But we do it with oil. I don't do it dry either. Russian pedicure isn't dry. So you don't bring any elasticity for the cuticle.

[B]

The dry pedicure is a game changer in terms of just like getting rid of the calluses, getting rid of all the dry everything. Yeah.

[C]

But on the cuticle area, put a little oil and then you do the drill bit with the oil on it. Yeah, only with the oil. I tell people if you're doing dry, you're risking to open skin and you cause more harm than good. And the idea is not just car the nails. Some people come into me and they have a line on the middle of the nail. Like that one was a machine that overdid it. And then you have a, A, you know, a mark on the nail and they say, oh, what is this mark on my nail? That one was the Russian pedicure or whatever technique.

[B]

They use physical damage.

[C]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. They damage the nail that takes nine months and then to grow out again. That line is going to grow until, you know.

[A]

Yeah. And what's the right way to cut your nails?

[C]

Tray across. Rounded on the corners. Don't let the corner to be sharp.

[A]

Right.

[C]

Because if your toes are squeezed on the shoes and the corners are too sharp, you're going to cut the next toe.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

Especially if you don't trim them off. And so you become a little rounded. Yeah, very soft. Rounded on the.

[A]

With what, like a shell?

[C]

Always with the five. Don't cut it. Yeah, don't cut the corner. Just soft it around.

[A]

Yeah. And only one direction. Right. The file doesn't matter.

[C]

No, you can. You can play violin with the fire. Play the violin with the fire.

[A]

I used to hear that you could. You didn't want to play violin with the file.

[C]

No, you can play violin. Violin is very soft. Only get the music out.

[A]

Okay.

[C]

Very gentle.

[A]

We gotta talk about this cheese grater.

[B]

Oh, yeah. Well, I. When people think of summer feet, even if their toenails are healthy, it's like the callus removing the. Getting rid of the dry skin. So tell me your thoughts on those cheese grater type.

[C]

Absolutely. No.

[B]

Okay.

[C]

Absolutely.

[B]

And why

[C]

something with the cut of the potato, not with the feet.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Treat your foot the way you treat your face. If, you know, doing the same way that you're doing your face, you're doing too much. Even if it's a T. If you treat it with friction, not with pressure, you get everything out.

[B]

Got it?

[C]

It's technique. It's always using products. You don't scrub your face without preparing the skin. So don't scrub your foot before preparing the skin.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

So always moisturize, hydrate the foot before you remove the skin. And this way you can get everything out. I get the thickest colors, like an inch of callus.

[B]

What?

[C]

Without using any tools? Just the foot file and the cream. It's. Just let the product work.

[B]

Work. What's your favorite foot file to use?

[C]

I use one from Gucci. It's the brand that we're using right now in the clinic. It's like a metal foot file with disposable. A little stickers. That's it. Simple.

[B]

Simple.

[C]

As far as not contaminated and has two sides. So one for the right foot, one for the left foot. Don't use the same sticker for both feet because if you don't have something on the other foot, you're contaminating your own feet. So one. One Side for each foot.

[B]

So true.

[C]

Yeah. Most of the foot files on the market has only one size. And that's why I decided like, let me use the sticker ones that you peel it off and one in each side. So I do always the healthy foot first and then the sick foot or the suspicious. Maybe it's not sick suspicious. And the same with the nails. Clip it. Always healthy nails first and then the sick nails because you don't know what is going on. So in case there's something contagious, at least your tools are not contaminated. So if you only have a clipper at home, only clip the healthy nails, finish everything on the healthy nails, and then we come to the sick nails so that way we don't contaminate the healthiness.

[B]

How do you sanitize your nail clippers?

[C]

In the clinic we use autoclaves. So we sterilize the medical standard. But at home you can boil it. Yeah, back in the day we used to boil everything before all these fancy tools. My daddy was a, you know, podiatrist and orthopedics. So we can boil it.

[A]

Good idea.

[C]

Boiling hot water kills once again.

[B]

I think there's a lot of people listening that haven't cleaned their nail clippers in a while. And it is like hygienic, especially if like other people in your house are using them.

[A]

I want to ask you if there are a few products that have impressed you that somebody can use at home. So, you know, we see all these foot powders and foams and, you know, all these different. Is there anything on Amazon or CVS that you would say is good?

[C]

I think people complicate too much. We go back to the days olive oil, sugar and lemon. Make your own scrub at home. You don't need more making natural things. But go back to what we used to use, grandparents used to use. I don't think it's necessary to spend money on product to get a good pellet. Yeah, at home you can make your own products with sugar, brown sugar, regular sugar, whatever you prefer. A little bit of everything and make a little scrub and scrub your own feet.

[A]

What are you doing with the lemon?

[C]

The lemon helps a lot with the pigmentation. You know, people get hyperpigmentation and helps to clean it when it's dirty. Like you see those little lines when you peel potato and your finger get those little lines. Mix those three ingredients together and scrub it. You will see your hand become perfectly clean. So the acidity or the lemon cleans those little dirty areas. Especially on the heels when people Walk around with open shoes and the heels look very dirty. Yeah. Mix it and scrape. That's it.

[A]

Lemons but not limes because limes can stain your fingers.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Give you a margarita burn.

[C]

Yeah, that's right.

[A]

That's right.

[B]

I will say I love the foot logic Foot foam. I love that because I, I get very cracked heels and I find it

[C]

really works because you vitamin D slow.

[B]

Yes, that too. That too.

[C]

Crack heels. 90% of the time are reflected on the heels.

[B]

I don't know how much more vitamin D I can literally take in the run of the day. I'm going to have to get the frickin iv.

[C]

No. Do I feel? Yeah.

[B]

Okay. Even more. Yeah.

[A]

And so the baby foot peels you get on Amazon.

[C]

No, no, I never use those. Yeah, you don't know what you're treating. And most of the time remove the healthy skin. Never the callus.

[A]

Right.

[C]

I haven't seen somebody say, wow, I use it. The callus came off.

[B]

Right.

[C]

Only area that came off is the arch between the toes.

[B]

So embarrassing.

[C]

And everywhere else but the callus. Callus is still there. Okay, so you're missing the purpose. And you don't know if you have psoriasis. Carlos. Or at left foot. If you put acid on athlete foot, you're making them even worse.

[A]

Oh yeah.

[C]

Because now it's going to be open skin. No, don't touch it.

[A]

Right.

[B]

What's the most challenging thing to treat? Is it bunions? Is it crack tails? Is it athlete's foot?

[C]

I will say people discipline is harder to treat. To make them to do homework is the hardest part.

[B]

Yes.

[C]

Anyone that I can transform a foot and 45 minutes I can send you like from a homeless to a beauty star.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

But if you don't do homework.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

I think just educating people and yeah. Making them conscious about the problem. Fungus, I would say the worst to treat. Yeah. Because people give up it easy.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

They don't see the growth in three weeks. They expect the nail to grow overnight after 20 years with fungus. And I tell them no, this is a process. Take one year. You got to come every four weeks. If you don't do every four weeks, they're going backwards. Because now the healthy that's growing is going to get sick from the one that. Because it's not the nail, it's the skin is sick.

[B]

Right.

[C]

People say I have nail fungus. I say, no, you have fungus under the nail. The nail has been affected by the fungus. But if we don't keep clipping that toenail that is sick. You never heal. I would say theonail fungus is the hardest because of the patient. People has no patience. They want instant result. Right now we believe in an instant result world. Yeah, we are. You don't get result immediately. You don't believe it at work. Yeah.

[B]

What are your favorite shoes to recommend? What are you wearing? Your sneakers.

[C]

I've no, I don't use brand shoes. I prefer to wear something that's comfortable for my foot.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

Every human being has different foot.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

People from Germany has a rectangular foot, very long. American foot is more in the triangle shape. It depends on where you're supposed to be born. If you have a high arch, you're supposed to be on a climbing where you climb in rocky. If you have flat foot, you're supposed to be in Africa. So interesting. If you are in South America, you're going to have a mix wider foot, very wide. That's why when South Americans come here, we get bunions. Because our foot is not made for this kind of shoes. So depends where is your background.

[B]

So if you are getting bunions, often it is you're wearing the wrong shoes.

[C]

Oh yeah. Yeah.

[B]

100.

[C]

Yeah. I. I always tell people, put your foot on top of the shoes, not inside. Buy when you're buying shoes. Really measure outside the shoes. If your pinky thing outside the shoes, you know that shoes not for you.

[B]

So what are. Carlene's not wearing them now. But what do you make of the flip high heel, flip flop trend that's happening right now?

[C]

I would say a lot of plantar fasciitis in the near future. I can see podiatrists getting a lot of cortisone shots and a lot of laser for pain. Yeah.

[B]

Yeah. Okay.

[C]

When I saw I was like, okay. New business for the service. Opportunity to make money in this country.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

You create a problem, you will have a solution. So.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Well, if someone could only do three things for healthier feet and toenails starting today, what would it be?

[C]

Keep your toenail shorter than the toe. Toothpaste them once a week, clean them up. And the solo the foot, don't forget the solo. The foot is like you tongue. So if you don't clean the sole of your foot, you're gonna get other conditions like crack heels, Atlas foot and stuff like that. So to keep the nail shorter than the toe is the most important for me.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Do you do reflexology?

[C]

No. At this moment we don't have a person. We're looking for somebody. So if you know anybody.

[A]

Good.

[B]

I just.

[C]

When you get reflexology it's great. I love it.

[B]

It's amazing. It's like so it has to be

[C]

reflexology because it's shooting foot massage and reflexology. So yeah, reflexology is great. I love reflexology myself.

[B]

Well Marcela, we've learned so much today. Thank you for sharing your expertise with us.

[C]

Both of your feet. So that way.

[A]

This is wonderful.

[B]

When this camera goes off, you guys turn the camera.

[A]

The shoes are flying off.

[C]

Absolutely. Happy to see that.

[B]

Thank you so much.

[C]

Thank you so much. My pleasure.

[A]

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