How do I Choose the Best Pedicure File?

I live in the Midwest where the cold winters are really rough on my feet. In the summer I love to wear sandals, but don't like to have rough feet all the time.

I went online and bought an OPI pedicure foot file that I really love. I know some spas and salons use this same brand, so I knew it would work good.

The best thing I have found is to do this when my feet are soft right after a shower. When I am done with the file, I follow up with a nice lotion and my feet feel so soft.

I never used a pedicure file on my feet until I had a pedicure at a salon. When I realized how much softer and smoother my feet felt, I decided to buy one for myself.

Being a thrifty person, the first one I bought was from a dollar store. Even though it is only a dollar, I wouldn't waste your money on one. It did absolutely nothing and I ended up throwing it away.

Since my feet don't have many callouses on them, I bought a hand held one at a beauty supply store for about $13. This works great as long as I use it on a regular basis.

I don't have worry about replacing batteries or being next to a plug in, and can use it anywhere.

@seag47 – They are made of pure glass, but the glass is etched. This creates a rough surface that can scale away layers of rough skin.

I bought my glass pedicure file online, and the company stated that it was made of extra durable glass that had been tempered to reduce the likelihood that it would break. They also guaranteed that the surface would never wear away.

These kind of files are a little more expensive than drugstore pedicure files, but I think they are worth the money. To me, they are much more decorative and beautiful than an ordinary file.

Has anyone here ever used a glass pedicure file? I admit that I don't understand how this could work.

Glass is so smooth, and unless you glue a rough surface onto it, I don't see how it could buff anything off your feet. Every pedicure file I have ever used has been made of metal or some other rough surface, and they work great.

I am just curious about glass files. Is the glass just for the handle, and is there some other material attached to do the actual pedicure work?

I have diabetes, so I have to be careful with my feet. I can only do gentle pedicures, and I always do them myself, because I know that even well-meaning salon workers can get rough.

I bought a callus stone that is safe for people with diabetes to use. It has a long handle that is easy to grip, and it has two sides. One is coarse and the other is smooth.

I have to soak my feet before I use it. This loosens up the dead skin and makes it easier for me to remove it. After I buff them with the coarse side, I smooth them out with the smooth side, and my feet feel so much better than before.

Some pedicure files look like dangerous tools. They remind me of cheese graters, and they essentially do the same thing.

I have used one of these before, but I did it ever so gently. I only buffed in one direction, and I did it slowly until I had removed the majority of the rough skin.

Then, I took another pedicure file that look like it was covered in sandpaper and smoothed the rough surfaces. I think that by not removing every ounce of roughness, I preserved enough skin to keep from bleeding or being overly sensitive.

@turquoise-- That's why I like electric pedicure files a lot better. You don't have to tire out your arm trying to remove dead skin. I even had chronic heel pain at one point because of the forward-backward action I was doing with my pedicure file on my heels. The pain went away when I stopped using it.

I've not had this problem with an electric pedicure file at all. I actually think it's the most gentle of all pedicure files. The one I have also comes with different type file attachments. Some are more gentle and soft, some rougher for hard to remove calluses.

Of course, it costs considerably more than regular pedicure files, but it's worth it. Plus it will last me forever!

@ddljohn-- I like soft pedicure files too.

I do a home pedicure all the time and I've spent a lot of money on many different kind of pedicure files. But my favorite pedicure file is a really cheap one from the pharmacy. It has a soft file on one side (it looks like a paper like file) and a pumice stone on the other. It's gentle but removes dead skin really well.

The other great part about it is the handle. It's plastic but sturdy and it fits into my hand really well. If the handle is not easy to use, it can be hard to file heels. It takes a lot more energy that way.

The reason I say this is because I had a bad experience with a metal pedicure file before. Metal files slough off a lot more skin than other files do and it can be easy to overdo it. That's what I did and I ended up removing so much skin that my feet actually bled.

If this were to happen at a salon or if I shared the pedicure file with someone else, it could have easily gotten infected. I had it treated at the hospital because I was really worried about infection.

Only the dead skin is supposed to be removed during a pedicure. Professional pedicurists know how to use these files properly. And I think metal pedicure files are more suitable for those with really thick skin and rough calluses to get rid of.