[Image: iStockPhotos]Every year, regulars of Spa 9700 in Knoxville, Tennessee, eagerly anticipate strawberry season, when the spa’s Strawberry Smash Pedicure (90 min./$65) hits the menu. The service, which uses FarmHouse Fresh products, kicks off with a warm, blueberry-powder milk bath foot soak, followed by a sweet cream salt scrub, then shaping and cuticle work. Next, a strawberry moisturizer is massaged into the calves. A double coat of polish forms the final “foot”note. But the pièce de résistance? While their tootsies are tended to, clients nibble fresh local strawberries, dusted with powdered sugar and served in a champagne flute. “The fact that this pedicure is only available when strawberries are at their prime, typically May and June, means our guests really look forward to it,” says spa owner Tammy Hodges. “There’s something so indulgent about tasting the first sweet fruit of the season—after all, who doesn’t love strawberries?”
Cranberry pairs with another sweetand-tart red fruit in a spring/summer pedicure at Knick Salon and Spa in Milwaukee. Here, clients swoon over the CranberryPomegranate Pedicure (60 min./$65), featuring SpaRitual’s body products and vegan nail polishes. The service begins with a foot soak boosted with cranberry bath salts, followed by cuticle work, nail shaping and exfoliation. Next, a cranberry sugar scrub is applied to the legs and feet—the natural fruit enzymes helping to gently remove dead skin cells and calluses—after which a cranberry-pomegranate body cream is worked into the legs while the feet are draped with hot towels. A pressure point foot and leg massage is performed, and nails are painted to perfection. “Our clients love this luxurious pedicure because of the aromatherapy benefits of the fragrant oils and creams used, not to mention its relaxing and exfoliating effect,” says Alyssa Mattern, salon coordinator. “It’s such a luxurious treat for the feet!”
The Papaya Revitalizing Spa Pedicure (60 min./$50) at Scruples Boutique & Day Spa in Enfield, Connecticut, offers a tropical twist on the fruit theme. Although it’s a menu mainstay, the pedicure is a particularly popular pick-me-up come spring, when clients dare to bare their feet again. Cuccio Naturalé products are showcased in the service, which begins with a dip in a pedi bowl bubbling with a warm papaya and green tea foot soak, followed by nail shaping and cuticle care. Next, the feet and legs are exfoliated with a mango peel skin polisher and massaged with a papaya and guava butter blend. Last comes the application of a hydrating foot mask, followed by a choice of polish. “Clients love the soothing benefits of the hot, steamed towels,” enthuses owner Crystal Theocles, “but what really sets this pedicure apart is the scent of papaya, which isn’t too strong— it’s subtle but it’s ‘there’!” Talk about sweet feet!
—Lesley McCave
