I'd always wanted to try a medical pedicure, but the idea of spending money on my feet seemed rather indulgent - until I thought about how hard my feet work every day and how little attention they get. We tend to accept the need to spend our hard-earned cash hair cuts or colouring without too much thought, but our feet probably deserve far more care than most of us give them.

I opted for a forty-five minute session with Soft Soles Podiatry who was both charming and very professional. For me, the first surprise was that a medical pedicure doesn't involve any sitting around with your feet soaking in a foot spa as it is carried out on dry feet. The podiatrist, Tamara, began by inspecting my feet and carefully cutting my toe nails. She then got out what looked like a small drill, and proceeded to smooth the nails and get rid of the dead skin around the cuticles. It looked rather alarming, but tickled rather than causing any discomfort. Tamara told me that my main problem is dry skin on my feet, and got to work with an industrial-looking file, releasing clouds of dead skin before moistursning with oil and lotion. Throughout the session she gave me tips on how to look after my feet, advice on shoes and even on nail polish.

By the end of the medical pedicure, my feet looked and felt completely different; soft and smooth, with neat nails and no sign of any hard skin. The medical pedicure can be followed by a nail polish and I had my nails painted a cheery bright red. I kept finding myself looking proudly down at my feet on the way home, but what was most amazing was the way that the medical pedicure has lasted. I was given some 'homework' and told to file the skin and moisturise every day which I did religiously for the first week and then rather neglected - even so a couple of months later my feet look far better than they did before the medical pedicure.