The Luxury Medi-Pedi

I've had many a pedi in my lifetime, but never a medi-pedi, which is the same as a pedicure but it's medical. I was definitely intrigued, isn't having a pedicure all about nice painted toenails and sandal-ready feet? How can a qualified podiatrist put their spin on this? I was asked to try the medi-pedi at DG Podiatrist, Mayfair, which is housed within the beautiful Wellness Centre on South Molton Street, and handily close to Bond Street tube station. I loved the chic design of the waiting room, you don't normally see this at your average podiatrist's clinic. 

DG Podiatrist is Dina Gohill, a woman determined to put luxury into the medical business of "sorting out feet" - a.k.a podiatry. She's actually a well qualified and published medical professional who tells me she always wanted to do something within medicine and tried various strands of the profession before finding out that feet were her thing. Whereas most people only see a podiatrist when they have a foot problem, Dina wants to combine podiatry with a pedicure as regular maintenance of probably one of our most neglected body parts. It's all about optimum health and wellness, but the good news for beauty treatment fans is that Dina is also making it about luxury. Her elegant taupe treatment room (below) features anti-bacterial spray in a fancy vintage perfume atomiser, and my feet are rubbed in Creme de la Mer (!) at one point. I could get on board with such medical fanciness 

You sit back on the comfy bed whilst Dina sits on the stool and makes an assessment of your feet. The treatment involves some scalpel work to remove hard skin, which sounds horrendous but doesn't hurt a bit. There's also a machine that kind of sands down hard skin - again, this is totally painless, and leaves you with butter-soft skin. My nails were cut, and then cleaned underneath along the top and sides, leaving me with toenails so buffed and shiny, they looked like a slick of opaque varnish had been put on top. I think that says it all with the medi-pedi - there's no nail painting because you don't need it. Your feet are restored to factory settings, full of health and vitality - and mine also looked weirdly smaller and younger (did I have that much hard skin?). For someone like me who has feet resembling Monster Munch crisps, Dina did an amazing job in making them look not just sandal-ready, but sandal-pretty. Days later my feet still feel like soft little clouds I'm walking around on, and they're so silky smooth I die with happiness each time I get in bed and they touch my bed sheets.  

At the end of the day, a salon pedicure is only going to paint over the cracks (not literal cracks in your nails I hope), and be superficial in their treatment, whereas a medi-pedi is a full-on treatment for making feet healthy, treating any specific foot issues, and getting sound advice from a professional on the best products to use. Dina even taught me a toe exercise to minimise pain and increase flexibility around a bunion which hasn't quite formed yet but is on its way, and she told me to avoid varnish products that damage nails, and stick to ones with healthy ingredients such as Nail Inc's kale range. As well as being a fount of knowledge, Dina is lovely and chatty, and you'll leave feeling like you've been taken good care of as well as having had a luxury experience. 

The DG Podiatrist Medical Pedicure is £120 for 45 minutes. My treatment was complimentary in return for this review.