Pedicure with a Twist

My farmer feet takes a long needed

scrub and pedicure for a very extravagant price...

Who would have thought that a pedicure could cause me an arm and a leg, and maybe my head as well? I know everything here in Singapore is expensive, but I did not know how expensive it could be to get your nails done. I was of the mistaken notion that I could find a cheap shop where this kind of service would not be as expensive. In the Philippines, I can get a pedicure for P50 in the cities and cheaper rates back home. I should have dropped my Mass Comm degree, which is of no use in my line of work now, and traded it for a PMA course (Pukis, Manicure, Agkulot) when I had the chance, had I known that I could get this hefty amount by doing those here.

I could have tolerated seeing my nails' color evolve through time – from blatant red to dirty white, but the ingrown in my left toenail kept bugging me. It began to hurt because I now walk regularly and it gets pressed. As soon as I take off my shoes and socks, I could feel the nails cutting through the flesh.

I guess I should blame it all on the doctor who removed my whole left toenail years ago after I had a nail infection, and closed the corners where the sides of the nail ought to be. He told me that the toenail will not grow back, but he was grossly wrong! It did grow back and it started to cut through the flesh until the toe got infected again. When I got tired of drinking antibiotics, I went to have the toenail cut by a pedicurist, who when hearing about my minor operation promptly declared that the doctor was tabbed (stupid) for telling me that the nail won't grow back, because they do grow back eventually even when the whole nail is removed. Since that time, I had to have my pedicure regularly or else the same cycle of infection would happen.

A Singaporean friend accompanied me to the shopping district where this kind of service are supposedly cheaper but when we looked around, the rates were even more expensive than those I saw in another shopping center. Since I did not want to inconvenience my friend by asking her to accompany me to another shopping center next week and I also did not want to wait another week, I took a deep breath and unwillingly went into one of those shops.

They have two different kinds of services: the classic pedicure, which involves removing the cuticles, shaping and painting the nails, and the express one, which was definitely cheaper, but just involves shaping and painting the nails. I did not have any choice because I need to have my cuticles removed so I had to go for the more expensive one. (My mother would really strangle me if she learns the amount that I paid for this huhuhuhu...).

The service was not what I expected. It was rather nice and elaborate but I did not have the mindset to enjoy it as I was thinking all the while of the amount I would be paying, and regretting my decision at some point. But the process goes like this: first, they soak your feet in warm water to soften the nails. After that, they clean the nails and its surroundings and they take a long time to do that. In the Philippines, the pedicurist will clip the sides of all the nails so I was waiting for that part but it never came. Instead, the pedicurist asked me what toenail was hurting and I pointed to my left toenail and she started to scrape at the sides of the nails. This is interesting because in the Philippines (always my point of reference of course), they cut the ingrown using a nipper, but here, they use a tool that scrapes at the sides of the nails to lessen it. Then she asked me if it still hurt and when I said no, she stopped. But I asked her to scrape some more of it. She asked me if my right toenail hurt and when I said no, she did not bother scraping it. She let my feet soak some more in the warm water.

So I thought the whole thing was over. But, she took my feet out again and began giving me a foot scrub. This was a whole new experience for me as the only foot scrub I experienced was, when as a child, we would rub our feet on the stones when we go for baths in the Chico river hehehe... When she was finished, she rubbed lotion from my ankles down to my toes then she massaged them. If only she did a whole body massage, that would have made my day, and would have made me forget the amount. She dried my feet then applied the color I chose. This was a tedious process because she applied the coating thrice and very slowly. After this, she asked me to go and put my feet under what I call a 'feet blower' (I don't know what they call the machine), which blows cold air into my feet to dry the nails. It took about 10 minutes so I had time to chat with the friendly workers there.

Reluctantly, I paid the amount and went home, still dazed, hoping that my nails would not bug me for more than a month or that I could find a cheaper foot studio. Maybe, I should go looking for those other Filipino hang-outs here, aside from the famous Lucky Plaza in Orchard Road because it is too far from where I stay. I am sure that there would be a Filipina around who can do pedicure at a cheaper rate.