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He notes that the word pedicure combines the Latin pedi or podos (of the foot) and cure, (treatment). Moreover, feet are not just about nails but also skin, he says. And each foot contains 33 joints, 26 bones, and more than 100 muscles, tendons, and ligaments.

Helping with dryness, calluses and other skin problems – and, most important for him, a foot and leg massage – should be part of a pedicure.

Our feet do more than enable us to walk, Gonzalez says. “The feet are the foundation of the body but they are also the pump for blood circulation, which is why high heels are not good for the legs.”

While a medical student Gonzalez was a competitive skier, representing the central region of France. While working as a ski instructor he suffered a serious foot injury, and met a podiatrist.

It was this that set him on the path to becoming, first, a successful podiatrist and then starting his “pedicurology” business.

He not only made a full recovery, he came back a stronger skier, placing in the top three in competitions after learning from his podiatrist how to balance his ski boots.

Fascinated by the insight, he switched his studies from medicine to podiatry.

Prince Harry’s ‘hobbit feet’, and how to take better care of yours

After graduating, he opened a clinic in Paris’ upmarket Place des Vosges.

By 1999, aged 25, Gonzalez was running a successful business – but could not see himself doing the same thing for the rest of his life.

He sold the business to start a new venture. Gonzalez began providing a holistic podiatry service at a spa in the luxury Hotel Costes in Paris.

During Paris Fashion Week he struck up a conversation with a supermodel (who remains nameless) who was lying by the hotel pool. He observed her legs and knew she must have been in pain.

“I noticed her toes were retracted. When you’re a model, you have long legs and also long toes. They are on high heels all day and they are suffering,” says Gonzalez.

The models’ toe retractions were a result of wearing pointed high heels, he says.

Because humans have evolved from tetrapod (four-legged) vertebrates, the muscles on the backs of our legs are more powerful than those on the front. When you wear heels, your weight is concentrated at the front, the tendons in your legs become tight and pull on the toes.

Pointy shoes create friction, causing corns and calluses. This, in combination with the tension from wearing heels, puts all the wearer’s weight on the metatarsal heads [equivalent to the bones between the first and second knuckles on the hand].

“Because these girls have no fat on their bodies there is no fat on their feet either, and you need the baby fat under your skin,” says Gonzalez.

Asked what the solution to such feet woes is, Gonzalez says it’s simple. “[Foot health] is about education. You eat and you brush your teeth as part of your daily routine. You do it instantly, so why not [take care of] your feet?” he asks.

There is a lack of attention to foot care in our daily routine and beauty care that can easily be fixed, he adds.

“All it takes is massaging or movement every night before you go to bed. You spend a maximum of 20 seconds on each foot, where you do specific movements that I teach.”

Reflexology, or foot therapy, is an accepted wellness practice in Hong Kong and elsewhere in Asia. Asked if this helps or hinders his mission to get people to include feet in their daily health and beauty routine, Gonzalez says it is a double-edged sword.

“I’m not a big fan, because I think we can do much more when we do foot massages. To me, what reflexology does well is the fluffing of the fatty cushions in the front and back [of the] heels and the top of each toe, which are the three main contact points of the feet. Like your pillows, it’s good to fluff them before bed.”

Gonzalez says that, like brushing your teeth every day, paying daily attention to your feet is paramount.

“By massaging, you recreate volume and break these little crystals which are the result of fat compression. If you take care of your feet every night, you are on your way to having baby feet for the rest of your life.”

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