A few days ago, I was at Salon Melbourne and when I was checking out a pedicure stand, I overheard a couple of beauty therapists who were there for the day talking about corn planes. As the exhibition hall was crowded, it was very noisy and they were speaking quite loudly so, er, can’t really say I was eavesdropping on their conversation now, can I? 😛
Anyway, what piqued my interest about their conversation was when they started to rant about Asian nail salons and their use of corn planes. According to them, it’s apparently illegal for nail salons to use corn planes in Australia but it’s not fully regulated by the TGA because, according to them, “TGA has a lot more to worry about”. I thought it was interesting so I went home and Googled about the use of corn planes in nail salons in Australia.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t find anything on the illegal use of corn planes on TGA nor any other material or publications online that states that nail salons cannot use corn planes on their patrons. On the Department of Health website, this is the only bit that mentions corn planes.
If equipment is used to penetrate the skin, or the equipment has the potential to penetrate the skin, it should be sterilised before it is used and maintained in a sterile clean condition, for example, cuticle cutters, corn planes etc.
I’d say take that bit about the statement on the illegal use of corn planes in nail salons in Australia with a pinch of salt because there’s nothing about the prohibition of corn planes in Australian nail salons mentioned on the TGA website.
Having said that, I highly discourage the use of corn planes. In fact, don’t touch them with a ten foot pole.
I very seldom go for pedicures in Australia because all of the Asian nail salons I’ve been to use corn planes. The first time I had a corn plane used on me was at a nail salon in Bangkok. Even though it wasn’t a high class establishment, it wasn’t a dodgy one either. I’ve never seen a corn plane at that time and wondered what it was that the nail technician was doing with my heels. Usually during a pedicure, the nail technician would use a foot file and file off the hardened dead skin cells off your dry heels. A corn plane has blades that supposedly cuts down filing time and shaves off that dry skin. Anyway, that nail technician in Bangkok sliced off my skin as well causing it to bleed. Thank goodness it was my last day of the holiday because it would have completely ruined my time in Bangkok. I ended up hobbling in pain to the airport.
The first time I went for a pedicure in Australia was at another Asian nail salon near where I used to live. When she took out the corn plane, I immediately stopped her and said “NO CORN PLANE“. She didn’t understand why and insisted to use it on me. I kept saying no, just use the foot file. She wasn’t happy and did a shoddy job of foot filing because it would have taken her less time if she just used the corn plane. That was 5 years ago.
See, I’ve been to plenty of nail salons in Malaysia. I had severely dry and cracked heels yet none of those Malaysian nail salons ever used a corn plane on me. The nail technicians would go to town with the foot file on my feet and my heels would look bloody amazing. Never once did they even need to take out the corn plane.
Since it had been a long time since I’ve had a pedicure in Australia, I decided to try it out again. Shame on me for going to another Asian nail salon (this was at the Chadstone Shopping Centre) because I never learn my lesson, do I? The nail technician who attended to me whipped out the corn plane and used it on my feet. At that time, I was so busy texting on the phone that I didn’t realise she used the corn plane until she was almost done with my feet. Lo and behold, the same thing happened. She nicked my foot with the blade. I didn’t realise it until I went home and saw a spot of blood on my heels. This was 3 days before the Melbourne fashion week.
I don’t want to discriminate all Asian nail salons in Australia because surely there must be some that don’t use corn planes. Whichever nail salon you go to for your pedicures, please stay away from corn planes. Inform the nail technician you don’t want it used on your feet and that the foot file will suffice. The chances of nicking your skin and causing it to bleed with a corn plane is much higher than using a foot file. Plus, now that I think about it, I don’t think the corn plane that was used on me was sterilised. At least, I don’t remember it coming in a separate envelope like the cuticle scissors did.
BUGGER.
I get people coming in all the time asking if we stock them at Myer but I always let people know we have the foot buffers and files and scrubby brushes and that it is safer to use those instead. The corn planes should only be used by doctors in severe circumstances – and definitely sterilised.
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Good one! Just stick to foot buffers and foot files. I don’t recommend corn planes at all especially if you don’t know how to use them. It’s almost like using a razor on your feet. If you don’t really know how to use them, you can really hurt yourself. I agree, corn planes should only be used by health professionals.
I’ve never heard of corn planes, or even seen a corn plane, till today. Thanks so much for the info Tine! With that being said, it’s obvious that I don’t use one, and the salons I go to don’t use them either.
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That’s good! Stick to those salons! 😀
Thanks for the information Tine because I have never heard of corn planes before. Eventhough I rarely go for pedicures, I do not recall any salon in Malaysia using them and they used foot files instead.
I’ve never had corn planes used on me in Malaysia. I’ve seen them in their kit but they’re never used (at least, not on me). The condition of my heels are deplorable yet the nail techs just use foot files. It’s a lot of work but they do such a great job with just foot files. There’s absolutely no need for corn planes.
i have never seen this used as salon before, i had one myself (free gift from can’t remember where), but i threw it out already because i didn’t know how to use it. i seldom go for mani/pedi for the fear of infection even though they sterilize things in front of me. i am not a fan of foot file either, can’t stand the geliness!
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Good! I wouldn’t recommend it even if you do know how to use it. Haha use the foot file yourself, surely that’s not geli? 😛
i have never seen this used in salon before, i had one myself (free gift from can’t remember where), but i threw it out already because i didn’t know how to use it. i seldom go for mani/pedi for the fear of infection even though they sterilize things in front of me. i am not a fan of foot file either, can’t stand the geliness!
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Aha! Now I know what that thing is called. Ok, yes, I’ve had that used on me before and the lady (yes Asian nail salon – aren’t they all??) used that on me. Can’t recall which salon though. Anyway, I was lucky she didn’t end up nicking my heels or sole for that matter. So umm…I bought one. I think at Priceline. Tried to use it at home but…did not manage to get ANYTHING off my feet. Suffice to say, I didn’t use it anymore. I used a foot file instead.
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Thank goodness the nail tech didn’t nick your heels. A foot file is actually much better in smoothing the heels. The corn plane shaves skin off unevenly leaving your skin bumpy and gross.
You have a great blog!! I would love to stay in touch! 🙂
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Thanks Charu! Will definitely check out your blog 🙂 x
Interesting! I never been to nail saloon before and I always wanted to try it out! At Least now I know the first thing to take note when I visit a nail saloon – say no to corn planes!
Let this be a SAY NO TO CORN PLANES movement! 😛
Ugh, I just say no to any type of pedicure. I was at a decent salon and got an infection in my big toe from a pedicure which required me to take time off of work and go to the doctor for an anti-biotic cream. So I’m definitely anti pedicure .. lol.
Monica.
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Ouch that’s bad! No wonder you’re anti-pedicure. After all that, I would be 🙁
GROSS. I hate those things. I just file my feet – they’re cracked and dry and gross but a good filing and cotton socks does the trick! I avoid Asian nail bars because of these practices. Gross.
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I’m definitely avoiding Asian nail salons now. I’m sure not all Asian nail salons are dodgy but to be safe, I’ll just stick to doing my own pedis from now on.
I’m going to be the odd one out here but I’ve never had a bad experience with one used in a salon and I also use one on my own feet from time to time. I appreciate you have had bad experiences and it’s good to let people know they can happen but I think it’s a bit over the top to say no one should allow them to be used on them. I like the results they give, if my feet ever get really manky. I actually use a file every day in the shower for half a minute so mostly at the salon they don’t even need to use a plane. I always find keeping my feet under control with a quick file every day is much, much easier than letting it build up then having to have a huge session to remove it, whether you do it yourself or someone else does.
Just my two cents! (Haha that auto corrected to toe cents. iPad has a sense of humour!)
Good on you, Mardi! Seriously, I’m really glad you’ve not had any negative experiences. To be honest, it’s safer to just stick to foot files and not use corn planes. Many people I know and have talked to about this had no idea what corn planes were, and these are so readily available in pharmacies. If you don’t know how to use it, you can end up cutting yourself.
Hey I welcome all two cents. And toe cents. I prefer the latter. 😉
Hey Tine,
I frequent French Pink in Melbourne’s CBD. The ladies will only use the Swedish Fot Fil (foot file) – it’s a two sided pedi tool used to gently rid your feet of dry skin. They (French Pink) even sell them in-store for a decent price.
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Thanks for the recommendation, Nicole. I’ll Google French Pink now! x
OK, I’m going to go out on a limb here – I’m a beauty therapist and we use them!
I will preface by saying that the use of corn planes is not illegal but it is regulated by local council Environmental Health & Safety bylaws. We have a Skin Penetration Licence from our local council that covers both cosmetic tattooing (which we also offer), electrolysis, and planing (or blading).
We are located in North Queensland and as you can imagine, people wear all manner of flip flops and open shoes a lot because it is so hot. It’s basically unheard of to wear boots or closed-in shoes unless you’re at work. When you’re at home it’s usually bare feet, and when you’re out it’s usually thongs, sandals, or other types of open-backed shoes. SO, heels can get REALLY BAD.
And here’s the thing. We know that the only way to cure dead, rough skin is to exfoliate and moisturise. The same principle applies on the face as well as the body. When the dead skin buildup on feet is particularly bad (as it often is in climates where people go barefoot or wear open shoes a lot) it can take forever and a day to get through that dead skin with a pedi paddle/foot file. And if all that skin isn’t gone, there’s really no point in moisturising because it will not penetrate through to the deeper layers where it can regenerate and repair damage. Sure, you can do a quick pedi paddle and then moisturise and the feet might feel smoother that day, but they won’t feel any better in a weeks’ time. Whereas if you CAREFULLY remove the dead built-up skin (bear in mind, I’m only talking about removing dead cells! Not touching live tissue!) and then smooth it all out with a pedi paddle, you have a beautiful fresh heel which can then fully absorb the lovely foot cream you massage in. And the feet will stay smoother, for longer.
Now, you wouldn’t want to blade/plane the feet very often – once every four weeks, tops. We encourage clients to use a pedi paddle and a foot cream at home. We are also very fussy about our sanitation and sterilisation procedures. All of our equipment is scrubbed, soaked, dried and autoclaved before being hygeinically stored for the next client. I would never use a piece of equipment on a client that I wouldn’t use on myself. We use all new blades of course, and we keep them in their sterile packaging until just before they are used, so the client can see that their blade is brand new. The blades are then disposed of in a sharps container. We are very responsible about fulfilling our health & hygiene responsibilities.
To be honest with you too, our pedis are so very popular BECAUSE we offer blading. People love it! Done by a trained professional it gives a great result. I have worked here for four years and in that time nobody has once been cut or nicked because we do it properly, we aren’t in a rush and we take care to really watch what we’re doing and to monitor the client’s comfort level. But we are often booked out with pedis. I actually have to say no to people because I don’t want to be doing pedis all day every day and I need to leave room in our calendars for other treatments!
But here’s the thing – our pedis start at $75 and range up to $130 (that’s with Shellac and an optional callus peel). We are a boutique salon in a strip of boutiques in a lovely part of the city. We offer a completely different level of service to shopping centre nail bars. I’m sorry, but if you go to a shopping centre nail bar…..of course you’re going to be disappointed! But 9 times out of ten the problem is with the technician not the corn planer!
Thank you for sharing with us the other side of the story! I do agree; most of the time it’s the technician and not the corn plane because the times I’ve been to the salon, the technician was, quite honestly, rubbish at her job. I should have known better, I really should. The only time I’ve had great service and results were from a proper nail boutique salon kinda place. Never shopping center nail bars. But yeah, it’s definitely a lot more expensive. I’ll see if that salon I went offers corn planing. I might give it a go and see if the results are good.
I have corns and I have no idea as to how to treat them!! help! it hurts too!
will pedicure help?
I have corns and I have no idea as to how to treat them!! help! it hurts too!
will pedicure help? or i should go for medication first?
Person must not have been using it properly. I got a corn plane on ebay and used it. Worked wonders and my corn is slowly dis appearing and now gone. I had been batling with them for 10 plus years now. Was easy to use. And i had big ass corns as well. Honestly if you cant use this you must be retard.