If you are looking for a heavenly treatment for your feet, Fernanda Langhammer headed to The Ritz-Carlton Spa to try their latest novelty: Pedi:Mani:Cure Studio by Bastien Gonzalez. Read all about this unique experience below.
The Ritz-Carlton Spa have a new, exciting addition to their wide selection of services, the Pedi:Mani:Cure Studio by Bastien Gonzalez. It’s a pedi, mani ‘cure’ studio where everything you thought you knew about caring for your nails will take on a new meaning.
I don’t know about you, but I had never given much thought to the health of my feet. They are there, they take me places and that’s basically it. However, when introduced to Bastien Gonzalez, a pioneer and guru in the field of bespoke hand and foot beauty, at The Ritz-Carlton, Bahrain, my perspective changed. He has a very particular way of treating this body part, focusing on ‘cure’ in the word pedicure – a very interesting and unique approach.
Bastien is well known as a pedicurist and podiatrist to celebrities and royals, and I had the opportunity to have him care for my feet. He came for a visit during the opening of the space, but his international team will be based in Bahrain to best attend to guests and use the techniques created by him.
The studio is located in a private room and decorated with an array of products developed by the brand. It caters to both female and male guests. Before we started the treatment, he expertly analysed my feet to detect the key issues. Because of his medical background, his comments went beyond calluses and bunions and covered the formation of my bones and how they affect how I place my feet on the floor. According to him, we use three contact points and, if they are not balanced, we end up putting pressure on specific areas and calluses can occur – which is my case. Plus, high heels and lack of proper care. However, my skin has good elasticity, which was a nice thing to hear.
According to Bastien, there are three elements to be taken into consideration when treating hands and feet: nails, skin and massage. One of the things that caught my attention and I am sure something unexpected, is that the entire process is done with dry skin, forget soaking the feet in warm water. “Dry skin is the best way to know exactly what needs to be taken off without causing any unnecessary damage to the skin,” he explained.
Bastien started by clipping my nails and filing them with a glass file from his Révérence de Bastien product line, which can easily be sterilised. He then used a dentist’s drill to clean the top layer of the nails to transform them into diamonds – skilled precision is required to use this tool. He took a very sharp curved blade to pull out the dead skin in the cuticles. It was time for buffing and, in this step, he mentioned his grandmother and the many times he saw her smoothing her nails and how beautiful they were. Next came the brand’s nail buffer made with non-synthetic chamois leather, an ergometric and beautiful piece. Because of its natural origin, it is a much softer option than regular buffers, and you can use it as long as you wish. The buffing act helps to accelerate blood circulation and gives nails a shiny and pinkish tone. It was then time for moisturising.
The approach to treating my feet felt very much like a facial, with many steps and high-quality products with unique ingredients. Even though the skin on the feet is 70% thicker than that on the face, Bastien believes that skin is skin, it doesn’t matter on which part of the body, and needs to be treated well. And that led to the massage part of the treatment, which was quite mind-blowing.
To start, the massage is not only applied to the feet; it goes all the way to the knee, and he worked on the muscles, stretching and vibrating them, improving circulation and pinching and rolling the skin to restore elasticity. It is definitely the most comprehensive foot ritual I have ever had (I actually do feel that feet are usually neglected when going for a full-body massage). “Stretching gives freedom to the feet,” he added, and I absolutely loved this concept.
When asked what causes most foot problems, he said: “Many years of neglect, filing and bad pedicure,” and I can totally relate to that. He also mentioned how, in some cultures, going for a pedicure and manicure is almost like butchering as they remove a lot more than necessary. Also, popular techniques in the field end up making some foot problems worse. Another question I had was why the same problems keep coming back.
He believes that the skin has a memory, and if you don’t reprogramme it and keep applying the same stress, the issues will come back. Bastien is definitely an authority when it comes to the beauty of hands and feet, but he is not afraid to share his knowledge and even gave me some personalised tips on things I could do at home to improve the health of my feet. I, of course, promised to keep up with the routine. Something that he, of course, didn’t believe and said: “Many women have promised the same thing, but I have been working with them for more than 20 years and, as I don’t believe [it] anymore, I created a series of tools to help keep up easy-to-follow home care”. He couldn’t be more spot on, and I really felt like I should have left with the Happy Feet silicon ring that can be placed between your toes while watching television to relieve and soothe tired and abused feet by helping the muscles relax.
If you want to feel like your feet went on an amazing spa journey, don’t miss the opportunity to book your treatment at The Ritz-Carlton Spa.
For more information or to make a booking,
please call The Ritz-Carlton Spa at The Ritz-Carlton, Bahrain on 1758 6808
or email rc.bahrz.spa@ritzcarlton.com
@theritzcarltonbahrain