Pedicure Course

Add Pedicure To Your Treatment Menu

A pedicure is a full appointment rather than an add-on. Nail shaping, cuticle work, hard skin removal, a foot and lower-leg massage and polish take the best part of an hour, and clients pay accordingly — which is why a pedicure usually sits above a manicure on a price list despite using much the same kit. It also travels well: anyone already doing nails or facials can add feet without a second room or a second set of furniture.

What makes feet different is the skin and what can go wrong with it. Callus, cracked heels, fungal infection, ingrown nails and verrucae all turn up on a pedicure couch, and some of them mean you should not treat that client at all. This course gives Foot Diseases & Disorders a unit of its own alongside the general nail and skin healthcare module, because knowing when to stop and refer is the part that protects both the client and you.

The course covers standard, luxury and express pedicures across 4 modules and 25 units — the largest treatment module of any single nail or foot course we run. Victoria, our tutor, demonstrates every stage on video, every unit is assessed, and you can resubmit as many times as you need. Study at your own pace with lifetime access; students typically take a few weeks to a few months. Business training is included with every course, and you get access to our private student groups while you study.

What You’ll Be Able To Do

• Set up, consult and carry out a standard, a luxury and an express pedicure, and know when each one suits the client in front of you
• Shape and file toenails correctly, and work safely around a nail that is already growing in at the side
• Treat cuticles on the toe, which behaves differently from the finger
• Remove hard skin and callus from the heel and ball of the foot without over-reducing it
• Give a foot and lower-leg massage, informed by the foot anatomy and physiology unit
• Apply polish to a toenail cleanly, including the shorter nail plate and the little toe
• Recognise foot diseases and disorders, and know which ones are a contraindication and what to say to the client
• Handle contra-actions and give aftercare that keeps the result looking right
• Price the treatment, take payments and promote it — all covered in the Foundation module

What To Learn Alongside Pedicure

Feet and hands are usually booked together, so the obvious pairings are close by:

• Manicure Course — the same treatment on the hand. Offering both means one therapist can take the whole appointment, which is what most clients would rather book.
• Gel Polish Course — gel polish on toes lasts far longer than lacquer and is the single easiest way to raise what a pedicure earns.
• eFile Nail Course — electric file work, useful on thickened toenails and hard skin.
• Ultimate Nail Course — the package that includes this course along with manicure, gel polish, acrylic, gel extensions, nail art and more.

What You’ll Need To Practise

You need a foot bath or bowl, toenail clippers and a nail file, a cuticle tool, a hard skin file or foot rasp, exfoliant, massage lotion or oil, and base coat, colour and top coat. A towel and somewhere the client can sit with their foot supported matters more than it sounds — most of the mistakes in early practice come from working at an awkward angle rather than from the technique itself.

Our Pedicure Kit brings the consumables together in one box if you would rather not source them individually. Products you already own are fine — nothing in the course is tied to a brand.

Pedicure Course FAQs

Do I need to have done a manicure course first?

No. There is no prerequisite. The Foundation, Anatomy and Physiology and Nail and Skin Healthcare modules cover the groundwork from scratch, and the pedicure module assumes no previous foot work. Many students do take Manicure alongside it, but that is for the price list rather than because one needs the other.

How long will the 25 units take me?

Entirely up to you — there is no deadline. The pedicure module is six units, the largest treatment module we run on a single-treatment nail course, and the foot anatomy and disorders units need reading rather than practising. Allow more hands-on time than you would for a polish course, since a full pedicure is a sequence you have to get smooth. Students usually take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months.

Can I practise on my own feet?

You can work through the sequence on yourself to learn the order, but you will not learn the angles that way — almost nothing about reaching your own heel resembles reaching someone else’s. Practise on friends and family before you charge anyone.

How is my work assessed?

All 25 units are assessed, and if something is not right you resubmit. There is no limit on resubmissions and no extra charge. Victoria Arpels, BA (Hons), Cert Ed, demonstrates every stage on video and marks the assessed work herself.

Is the Pedicure Course accredited?

Yes — by ABT, IPHM and IGCT.

Will I be able to get insurance?

Our courses are recognised by insurers including Towergate, Radius, Insync and Balens. Each insurer sets its own requirements, so check with the one you intend to use before you start taking bookings.

Does the course cover medical foot care or verrucae removal?

No, and it should not. Pedicure is a cosmetic treatment. The Foot Diseases & Disorders unit teaches you to recognise conditions such as fungal infection, verrucae and ingrown nails so you know when to decline the treatment and refer the client to a podiatrist or GP — not how to treat them yourself.

Can I spread the cost?

Yes. Pay in 3 is available with Klarna or Clearpay at checkout.

What support do I get while I study?

You can ask questions as you work through the units, and you get access to our private student groups. Hard skin removal is the thing new students ask about most — how much is enough — and it is a far easier conversation with people who have just worked through the same unit.