In hot summers, most women prefer to wear open shoes. Flip-flops, graceful sandals, sandals allow not only to enjoy the coolness in hot weather, but also to demonstrate their neat well-groomed legs. However, not every woman has healthy and beautiful nails and legs, so many are embarrassed to wear open shoes and hide their legs from prying eyes. To cope with such a nuisance, to find healthy legs and nails, as well as give them an attractive appearance, there is a pedicure.

The concept of “pedicure” comes from two Latin words “pes” – “leg” and “curo” – “care”. As well as manicure, pedicure originates from antiquity.

The ancestor of the pedicure was Ancient Egypt. Even in those days, people knew that the feet were a very important area responsible for the work of internal organs, therefore, along with the aesthetic side of things, the medical side occupied an integral place. Foot care included keeping the skin in good condition, as well as a massage that improves blood circulation. Noble Egyptians rubbed their feet with a multitude of fragrant oils to nourish the skin of their feet, keeping it smooth and tender. Rubbing the feet and taking foot baths became an evening ritual, a mandatory rule of body hygiene.

It is known that the famous Queen Cleopatra, who still remains one of the standards of female beauty, contained a whole staff of slaves who were responsible for the beauty of her legs. They massaged her legs with various aromatic oils and rubbing, and then dried them with peacock feathers.

For the aristocratic nobility, who wore mostly open shoes, appearance meant a lot. In that era, in recognition of their superiority, it was much more likely to kiss not the hands, but the feet of high-ranking persons. To emphasize their divine origin and superiority over lower ones, the ancient Egyptian aristocrats painted their palms, feet and nails with then expensive natural dyes, including henna. The brighter the color of the skin and nails, the higher the position their owner occupied. Slaves were allowed to use only pale pastel shades.

The ancient Romans also noticed the beneficial effects of foot care on the whole body. This is because there are points on the feet whose stimulation improves the functioning of the internal organs.

In ancient China, only senior officials were allowed to do pedicures. In addition to hygienic care, their nails were painted in a bright color. The brighter the nails are made up, the higher the position in society.

But, however, in the Middle Ages, attention to his body was replaced by his harsh suppression, “pacification of the flesh.” And, of course, it didn’t even occur to the religious nobility, nor ordinary citizens and peasants to constantly take care of the beauty and health of their legs.

The triumphant return of the pedicure to the toilet rooms of the European aristocracy began in the Renaissance. And from that moment on, pedicure has firmly established itself as an important element in body care. Since then, pedicure technology has been continuously improved, the procedure has become increasingly popular.

Nowadays, pedicures have stepped far forward. Modern hygienic pedicure is very different from what was done in antiquity, and the decorative part of the pedicure is not limited to simply coating the nails with varnish. Nowadays, drawings are becoming very popular, both on the nails of the hands and on the nails of the feet, the so-called design. There are several varieties of pedicure: classic (trimmed), European (express pedicure), hardware, spa pedicure and permanent.