Pedicure consent form: the foot check, diabetes and safe callus care
A pedicure looks like the most relaxing service on your menu, and for most clients it is. It is also the service where the health questions matter most. Feet hide things: a bug bite, a fresh shave, a sore toenail. A pedicure consent form exists to bring those up while she is still in the waiting chair, not with her feet in the water.
This exact form is built into SlickChart: send it to your client's phone to sign before her pedicure, and the foot aftercare goes home with her.
What the pedicure includes
My form describes the service as a warm soak, nail shaping, gentle cuticle and callus care, massage, then polish or gel. It takes about 45 to 75 minutes, and it tells her that the foot spa is cleaned and disinfected before she sits down.
Polish lasts about 1 to 2 weeks, gel toes about 3 to 4 weeks, and the form suggests booking every 4 to 6 weeks. She checks today's service: spa pedicure, gel toes, gel removal, nail art or other.
Diabetes, neuropathy and circulation come first
Before the general checklist, my form asks one direct question:
Diabetes, neuropathy or poor circulation? Please bring your physician's OK. I'll use lukewarm water, skip all cutting and smooth calluses gently with a file only.
She answers "Doesn't apply to me" or "Physician OK on file." Spelling out the adjusted service tells her what will change, without making her feel turned away.
The foot health check
Fifteen items, each with a reason to pause: diabetes, blood thinners, cuts, scratches or bug bites, an ingrown or infected toenail, legs shaved or waxed in the last 48 hours, neuropathy or numb feet, chemo or immune suppression, open sores or warts, eczema or psoriasis on the feet, an allergy to gel or acrylates, poor circulation, pregnancy, athlete's foot or nail fungus, swollen feet or ankles, and recent foot surgery or injury.
A text box lets her explain. A check means a conversation, an adjusted service or a new date. It is never a diagnosis; anything medical belongs with her doctor.
The risks, foot by foot
My list names minor nicks or tenderness around the nail folds, redness or irritation from soaks, scrubs or lotion, tender soles if callus is reduced too far, thinned toenails if gel is peeled off at home, infection if skin is broken, cut or not yet healed, an allergic reaction to polish, gel or another product, soreness at an ingrown or curved nail edge, and one that clients rarely expect: slipping on lotioned feet or a wet floor.
The acknowledgements
These lines make the safety rules hers, not just yours:
- She has shared her full health history, including diabetes, circulation and medications.
- She has not shaved, waxed or used hair removal cream on her legs in the last 24 to 48 hours.
- She will reschedule for cuts, bites, sores, fungus or any infection on her feet or legs.
- Calluses are smoothed gently with a file. No blades are used on her skin.
- She will speak up if the water feels too hot, or anything stings, pinches or hurts.
- She will walk carefully afterward, since lotion and oil make feet and floors slippery.
Photos for her private record are OK, social media only with her separate OK, and deposits and fees follow your policy. One more line closes it: gel toes are soaked off, never peeled.
Aftercare for feet
My foot guide starts on the way out the door:
- Today: regular polish stays soft under the surface for hours. Open-toe shoes home, careful steps, no tight shoes, hot tubs or long hot baths tonight.
- Days 1 to 7: cuticle oil on toenails daily, lotion on heels and soles but not between the toes. No pools, hot tubs or lakes until any nick has healed.
- Weeks 2 to 4: a gentle foot file on dry skin weekly, clip nails straight across, breathable shoes. No cutting cuticles or razor tools on calluses.
- 4 to 6 weeks: book the next pedicure and mention any health or medication changes.
The good-to-know list has practical habits: flip-flops in gym showers, drying between the toes, rotating shoes, and sunscreen on the tops of the feet in summer. The call-me list covers redness, swelling or warmth around a nail, red streaks up the foot or leg, pus or worsening pain, and an itchy rash where product touched. For a client with diabetes or poor circulation, any cut, blister or sore on the foot means seeing her doctor the same day.
Questions to decide for your own practice
- Will you require the physician's OK on file before every diabetic client's first pedicure, or every visit?
- Where will you record what you did differently, such as lukewarm water and no cutting? (Here is what to record in a client chart.)
- What does your state board require? Foot spa cleaning rules, consent rules and scope of practice vary by state, so check with yours. This post is not legal or medical advice.
For hands, see my manicure and e-file consent form post.
Use this form with your clients
SlickChart has this exact pedicure consent and aftercare built in for subscribers. The form goes to the client's phone to sign before the visit, or she signs on your device at the chair, and any contraindication she checks is flagged for you. The aftercare lands in the client's own app, styled with your logo, and it all works alongside the Square account you already have. If that would save you paperwork, try SlickChart.
Prefer paper? The printable pedicure set, with the consent form, protocol and aftercare, is in my Etsy shop, ready to print or edit in free Canva.