Written by: Natasha Lee, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Atlanta-based medical and holistic nail technician, Letisha Royster, focuses on healthy, cosmetic foot care and maintenance 365 days a year and believes this should be an available service open to all, especially women and men suffering from high-risk health conditions that need it most. As the owner of Waterless MediPedi Spa and Owner of Pedi-cured, Royer is providing those specific services. Pedicure is a product line for the client, which allows them to maintain healthy foot care at home between visits.
Royster is a certified advanced Nail Technician, Master Pedicurist, and Holistic Health Educator, Letisha is the owner of Atlanta’s own Waterless Medi-Pedi & Nail Spa, an exclusive oasis for women and men seeking the ultimate relaxation experience.
Hi Letisha, at Brainz Magazine we love interviewing self-care experts like yourself. As the owner of Waterless MediPedi Spa and Owner of Pedi-cured, what are some summer tips you would have for our readers in regards to cosmetic foot care and maintenance?
Letisha: Follow the foot care regimen at home to wash your feet every day, exfoliate 2x-3x a week to remove dead skin, and moisturize your feet in the morning and at night with a good cream vs lotion. Schedule your cosmetic foot care appointment at the salon, at least every 4–6 weeks. If you’re on a budget schedule every 6 weeks along with a diligent and consistent foot care regimen at home every week. As you’re on vacation going to beaches and pools, you want to make sure you’re drying off your feet thoroughly, especially in between your toes to prevent fungus on the feet and/or toenails. Minimize bacteria in your shoes with foot spray to kill bacteria in your shoes. You can apply this to kids’ shoes as well. Switch out your shoes every other day. Change out your socks every day or twice a day, if you’re a person who sweats a lot in their shoes.
When did you know this was a career that you wanted to specialize and educate in?
Letisha: I knew this was a career for me to specialize in and educate in, halfway through school. I was learning a lot about cosmetic foot care and had the opportunity to become a certified advanced nail technician which trained me to work on clients with compromised immune systems. Once seeing there was a demand for these clients to have a place to call home, I wanted to provide that space and also educate everyone about the awareness of foot care in general and the necessity to care for our feet whether a person is chronically ill (high-risk)or not. We use our feet daily but there are not many that are making it a priority to talk about foot care outside the medical office.
What sets you apart from other professionals in your industry?
Letisha: I’m different than the typical professional in my industry, I’ve done internships with a podiatrist(s) to identify abnormalities during a service that should be managed by a physician. I have a referral relationship with local podiatrists who trust me with their patients for cosmetic foot care. I also educate physicians on new hygienic services such as waterless manicures and pedicures, along with new cosmetic products that create an extension to their practice to include new cosmetic services for ingrown toenails that are pain-free and FDA-approved.
You don’t find many in my beauty profession concern themselves with advocating wellness for their clients and practicing a high standard of sanitation to keep clients safe during a service. I look at the holistic experience of what are the needs of a client’s self-care cosmetically and medically. Along with those aspects, I created an oasis for clients to calm their minds and body from anxiety while being cared for during their services. Lastly, I provide an eco-friendly environment to reserve water with waterless nail services and use vegan skin care products and polishes to help minimize the use of chemicals on all clients that are carcinogens.
Why is proper hand and foot care important, especially to people with high-risk health conditions?
Letisha: Proper hand and foot care are important because it’s essential to have good hygiene. Many would consider these things are just to give beautification to the hand or feet. However, proper care is a necessity as we use our hands and feet every day on anything and everything. We shed many dead skin cells on our body each day, we need to have this removed on a consistent basis to not collect bacteria on the skin. Our nails grow out, which dirt or bacteria can get underneath, our nails can chip to lead in ripping the nails, or the skin is so dry hangnails began to occur. Proper care is very important to people with high-risk health conditions as a simple cut or lack of hygiene can easily turn from a small issue to a big issue as the body is weak to compact bacterial, fungal, or viral infections.
Therefore, proper care for the parts of the hands and feet, including the skin and nails should be don’t with knowledge of the high-risk health conditions when a nail technician performs a service. These are some examples that we don’t think about until it affects us personally, especially when a person incurs a fungus or a trip to the hospital from a bacterial infection from their self-care trip to the salon.
What makes waterless care better than traditional Manicures and Pedicures?
Letisha: Many may not understand waterless care or can imagine it. However, waterless care is the most hygienic care you can receive with a manicure and a pedicure, which makes it better than traditional services. It helps with minimizing cross-contamination from not soaking in water. By not soaking for a period of time, your skin is able to retain the moisture that it needs without drying out all the moisture. Our skin and nails need the proper moisture to stay healthy. You will get longer-lasting polish wear. Most importantly, it’s safe for people with high-risk health conditions. Imagine getting a facial for your hands and feet with steam towels, along with polish. In a waterless care service, nothing is removed, only the soaking water. The care for the hands and feet remains the same; the first step of it all is cleaning with an antiseptic or even a natural cleaner for the skin and nails.
How often do you think people should get a Manicure and Pedicure and why?
Letisha: A person’s first responsibility is to take care of themselves at home. So I prefer to set the regimens this way, what’s daily, weekly, and monthly.
Daily: Washing and moisturizing.
Weekly: Exfoliation
Monthly: Self-care assistance appointments for Manicure and Pedicure
Once a week, preferably on your self-care Sunday take a moment to really access what’s going on with your hands and feet, check to see if you need a nice trim or file, exfoliate, and moisture cream. Once a month, choose a day that works for you and make this your monthly day for a manicure and pedicure at the salon. The main reason why you should go once a month is that you’re already doing your self-care at home and the salons’ products and skills set should last a minimum of 3–4 weeks. Quality care from the salon should last beyond 2–3 weeks, especially while you’re doing your self-care at home.
In your professional option, how important is it for anyone that is an athlete to maintain proper foot care, and are they considered at higher risk of foot problems?
Letisha: OMG! As an athlete, you should maintain the proper foot care as you do your dietary and/or physical health care. It’s very important to number one out of anything, wear the proper footwear. Your feet are receiving tremendous impact to or trauma to it while you’re active. It needs love and protection like the rest of your body. It’s very essential to have consistency at home for foot care of exfoliation as callus can soon become your unexpected BFF. As I mentioned early for summer tips, this should be year-round for athletes to make sure they’re killing the bacteria in their shoes, switching out their shoes and socks, in the showers wear shower shoes, and dry off their feet when you’re done. Let’s not forget to moisture at night. I wouldn’t recommend it throughout the day as your sweating too much moisture can build up bacteria in the shoe, causing athlete’s foot.
What do you value most about the industry you work in and being a medical and holistic nail cosmologist?
Letisha: What I value the most about the industry is that it’s slowly changing or giving opportunities for people who want to focus on foot care. I value being a medical and holistic nail technician as there are not many of us that are focused on health and/or certified as medical nail technicians in our industry to take advanced education for foot care. I value being holistic because wellness is the most important thing that everyone wants to feel and obtain as long as they can. I value playing a role in assisting people in doing that for their self-care.
Can you tell us about your product line Pedi.Cured?
Letisha: PEDI.CURED is a natural foot care product for women who are on the go and want to increase self-care for dry and achy feet. It’s motivating women to take care of themselves and making it easy for them to do so in their foot care regimen.
What are the benefits of using Pedi.Cured and how often should it be used?
Letisha: The benefits of using PEDI.CURED are the ingredients are natural and some also include plant-based products made to moisture and protect the skin. Our jars are made for you to reuse for sustainability. Our foot files can be sanitized to have multiple uses. PEDI.CURED is friendly for people with high-risk health conditions.
If there was one main thing you would like our viewers to gain from this interview, what would that be?
Letisha: Examine and take care of your feet daily. Cosmetic foot care as known as pedicures, should be year-round. Our feet don’t stop functioning the same just because the season has changed to a colder temperature. Therefore, care needs to be 365 days.
How can our viewers follow you and schedule an appointment?
Letisha: Your viewers are able to follow Instagram and Facebook. An appointment can be booked on Letisha Royster or Waterless MediPedi Spa
Instagram @ellethepedicurist
Instagram| Facebook @waterlessmedipedispa
Instagram| Facebook @shoppedicured
Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info!
Natasha Lee, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Natasha Lee, a Business Enthusiast, Thought Leader, Speaker, Influencer, Philanthropist, Editor, Educator, and serial entrepreneur, is the proud Founder & CEO of Make Your Dreams Come True (MYDCT) & Being That Girl (That Girl). Make Your Dreams Come True (mydct.net) is an internationally known outsourcing firm. Professionals, Aspiring Entrepreneurs, Innovators, and Fortune 50 and 500 companies outsource their business needs to the firm, and Natasha makes sure that it gets done! There is no project too small or too big for the firm. Now in regards to Being That Girl, the agency encourages, supports, and celebrates the success of women. The collaborative partnerships stretch from the USA to the UK. It's been a tremendous experience for Natasha to serve countless business owners and organizations over the last 15 years. Wearing many hats when servicing her clients and community, she's identified as a consultant, a mentor, coach, and cheerleader, and described as a Shero by many. Natasha and her team assist individuals and organizations daily, offering services that promote self-esteem and creating companies daily from idea to conception. When executing dreams, she is the missing antidote to business success. Services include call center, procurement and fulfillment, marketing, strategy, business development, sales, technical support, design, seo, training, programming, recruitment, pr/media, and new processes and services implementation. Natasha is always on the call; though complex, it keeps her busy doing good things. Natasha Lee continues to mentor individuals of all ages, helping them build self-esteem, chance their dreams, celebrate one another and create together.
