Pedicure Foot Spa

The term pedicure foot spa, pedicure spa or foot bath normally refers to not just a vessel, but a vessel that performs some other function than just holding water. Footbaths today normally come with things such as rollers to massage the soles of the feet while soaking, vibrators, heating elements, bubble jets, jet streams and touch pad controls to control these settings with your feet. They also sometimes have loofah/scrub pads for you to rub your feet over to eliminate the need of having to scrub by hand.

Since these units circulate water due to the bubble jets and jet streams, they also come with filters to catch dirt so the water stays clean. These filters can be easily removed, cleaned and replaced. This is necessary because this is where bacteria accumulates.

If not given proper attention, bacteria levels at the filters and thus the water can become very high and as a result serious infections could results from usage. Infections so serious they can lead to amputations and even death. Some models of pedicure foot spa, with only bubbling action (and sometimes heat) can be purchased for as low as $20.

Ionic Detoxification Foot Bath

Another breed of foot bath is the ionic detoxification foot bath. They normally need consumable replacement elements or arrays. These baths claim to expel toxins from your body through ionic detoxification.

It is claimed that the unit creates negatively and positively charged ions from the metal in the consumable plates, water and salt in the foot bath. The negative ions though, then travel through our bodies attaching to toxins, which are mostly heavy metal, positively charged ions. These impurities are then drawn out through the over 2000 pores on the soles of our feet into the ionic foot bath by the power of osmosis.

The water used in ionic foot baths changes color over time when used. Manufacturers claim that the color change is in some part due to the toxins being released into the water from our bodies. They claim it depends on other factors as well such as the purity of the water in your region of the world.

Some ionizing detoxification foot baths can be found for as high as $1900+ bucks! The replacement arrays or elements can cost as much as $99 each for these more expensive units.

Many people do not believe these systems work because of the fact that the water changes color if your feet are in the ionic bath or not! No independent data exists which supports the manufacturers claims.

I must also note that since the arrays are metallic that are used in the ionization, they produce waste, which results in an electrolytic reaction that produces corrosion which also accounts for some of the water color change. Other factors as well, unrelated to toxins in our bodies also affect the color change.

Keep in mind though that ionic detox foot baths, pedicure foot spas with all the gadgets or elegant pedicure bowls are certainly not needed to give yourself a pedicure. They are just enhancements to the experience.

Back to the Pedicure Guide from the Pedicure Foot Spa page