Ticklish Pedicure? It just might be...

Wondering if you’ll have a ticklish pedicure experience? Some do. This is a common question first time “pedicurees” normally ask. However, there is no cut and dry answer. It really depends on you.

There are certainly aspects of a pedicure that can get pretty ticklish for almost anyone; one aspect in particular being the mechanical exfoliation process. With mechanical exfoliation, your feet are rubbed or scrubbed with a mechanical tool usually either a loofah sponge, foot file or a pumice stone. It can very well get ticklish when they have to scrub the soles, a normal place for hard, tough skin build up.

Some people think that the harder your soles, the less ticklish you are. Contrary to this belief, I have met people with hard soles who were very ticklish, ticklish to even a foot massage and I’ve met people with relatively soft soles in comparison who actually got pleasure from fingernails being run up and down over the soles of their feet! Others can’t even stand it when their toes are manipulated in any way. It really boils down to the individual.

If you are planning on going to a salon, it may be beneficial to test some of the procedures on yourself at home first to see if you can stand them. Have a look at our pedicure guide for the steps involved. You may get a false sense of your ticklish threshold though, because you’ll likely only do what you can stand.

If this is really eating at you, when you make that trip, just let the person who is doing the pedicure know that you are ticklish before hand and just how ticklish you are. Also don’t be afraid to let the pedicurist know that something is ticklish. You are the client and you should be satisfied. Although your squirming will most likely tip them off that you are having a rather ticklish pedicure experience!

Once you alert them, they will keep this in mind and adjust accordingly. Trust me, you aren’t the only ticklish person to ever walk through their doors and you won’t be the last. They should know how to deal with such situations.

You may get some comfort out of doing the pedicure yourself though, but if there are some steps that you can’t perform due to ticklishness, this may limit the effectiveness of the pedicure. With someone else performing it, they won’t have the same apprehensions as you and will just get the job done. If you're interested, our pedicure guide shows you how.

Some have suggested ways to get over ticklishness like rubbing cinnamon over the ticklish area or concentrating on sad thoughts and ignoring that you are being tickled. Surely, ignoring is a lot easier said than done! Some people have found relief by relaxation but for others relaxation makes the problem worse. You’ll have to experiment to find what works for you.

The hard truth is that if you’re ticklish, some aspects you may just have to be brave about and sit through, especially if your feet are in need of a pedicure. You can either do it yourself, get a sympathetic friend to perform the pedicure or explain to a pedicurist of your situation beforehand and alert them of really uncomfortable situations during. These suggestions should help you to be able to get through a ticklish pedicure without jumping through the roof!

Lisa Rinna's ticklish pedicure (on TV)!

Link back to the What is a pedicure page from the Ticklish pedicure page