Most people book one or the other without a clear picture of what is included, and then wonder whether the deluxe version is worth the extra hundred rand. Here is what each treatment actually consists of, step by step, and what the upgrades change.

What a manicure includes

A manicure is care of the hands and fingernails, and it follows a fairly consistent sequence.

The free edge of each nail is filed and shaped. The cuticles are softened, pushed back, and any non-living tissue — the cuticle itself and hangnails — is trimmed with nippers. Various treatment liquids are applied along the way. There is a hand massage. Then nail polish is applied, if you want it.

That sequence matters more than it looks. The shaping decides how the nail wears over the following fortnight; the cuticle work is what makes the difference between "painted nails" and "a manicure"; and the massage is the part most people would happily pay for on its own.

Manicure prices

  • Basic — R240
  • Deluxe mani-polish, mask — R250
  • Deluxe mani-gel, mask — R300
  • Deluxe mani-polish, paraffin — R270
  • Deluxe mani-gel, paraffin — R350
  • Mini mani with nail polish, 12 and under — R130

What a pedicure includes

A pedicure is the same idea applied to the feet, with an extra step at the start and a great deal more relevance to how you feel walking around.

The feet are soaked. Hard skin is worked down with a pumice stone or a foot file. The toenails are clipped and shaped. Then, as with the hands, cuticle work, massage and polish.

The soak is not decorative. It softens hard skin so that it can be reduced properly rather than scraped at, and it is why a pedicure takes longer than a manicure.

Pedicure prices

  • Basic — R260
  • Deluxe pedi-polish, mask — R280
  • Deluxe pedi-gel, mask — R350
  • Deluxe pedi-polish, paraffin — R340
  • Deluxe pedi-gel, paraffin — R400
  • Mini pedi with nail polish, 12 and under — R130

Basic against deluxe

The basic treatment covers everything described above. The deluxe adds a treatment step — either a mask or a paraffin wrap — and that is the whole difference.

Whether it is worth it depends entirely on the state of your skin. If your hands and feet are in decent condition, the basic does the job. If your heels crack in winter, or your hands are dry and tight, the deluxe step is doing something a basic treatment does not, and the extra R30 to R100 is well spent.

The second variable is polish or gel. Ordinary polish is cheaper and comes off easily at home. Gel lasts far longer and needs a proper soak-off. For toes especially, gel is often the better buy simply because toenails grow slowly and a gel pedicure can look good for six weeks or more.

Mask or paraffin?

A mask is applied, left to work, and removed — hydrating and cooling. Paraffin is warm wax, applied in layers and wrapped, which holds heat against the skin and joints for several minutes.

Choose the mask if your skin is dry but your hands and feet feel fine otherwise, or in hot weather. Choose paraffin if your joints are stiff or your hands are always cold — the sustained warmth is the point, and it is genuinely welcome in a Highveld winter.

How long each takes

A basic manicure is the quickest thing on the list. A basic pedicure takes longer because of the soak. Deluxe versions add time for the mask or wax to work, and gel adds curing time on top.

If you are booking both together — which many people do, and which is a genuinely pleasant hour and a half — say so when you call so the time is set aside properly.

Which to book if you can only have one

Pedicure, most of the time. Your hands are visible and easy to maintain yourself; your feet do more work, are far harder to reach, and are where hard skin and neglected nails actually cause discomfort.

The exception is if you are about to be photographed, meeting people, or getting married — in which case hands win, because that is what people will see.

What to bring, and afterwards

For a pedicure, bring or wear open shoes for going home. Pushing a fresh polish into a closed shoe is a reliable way to ruin it. Gel is cured hard before you leave and does not have this problem, which is another argument for it in winter.

Between appointments, cuticle oil and a decent foot cream do most of the work. Keeping it up means each visit starts from a better place.

Booking

Call the nail bar on 073 590 3317. Tell us if there is hard skin, cracking or anything sore, so we can allow the right amount of time.

Hygiene, and what to look for anywhere

Foot treatments in particular deserve a word about hygiene, because it is the one thing worth being fussy about wherever you go.

Metal tools should be properly sterilised between clients, and disposable items — files, buffers, pumice — should be genuinely disposable or kept for you alone. Foot bowls should be disinfected between clients. You are entitled to ask how tools are cleaned, and any decent salon will answer without taking offence.

Nail technicians are not permitted to treat anything medical. Ingrown toenails that are red, swollen or painful, suspected fungal infections, warts and verrucas all belong with a doctor or podiatrist rather than a nail bar. We will say so if we see something, and that is us doing our job rather than turning work away.

If you are diabetic

Please tell us before a pedicure. Reduced sensation in the feet means you may not feel water that is too warm or pressure that is too firm, and small injuries take longer to heal and matter more. We adjust accordingly — gentler hard-skin work, careful water temperature, no aggressive cuticle trimming.

Many people with diabetes are advised to have foot care done professionally rather than at home for exactly these reasons. If you are under active care, check with your doctor or podiatrist about what is appropriate for you.