What will they think of next? Scholl have been promoting this neat little gadget that can be used to either file your nails, buff your nails or polish your nails.
I haven’t used it myself, though I must admit I was quite tempted. Although I don’t really have the kind of image that requires highly polished or buffed nails to be taken seriously I quite liked the idea of an automatic nail file. My nails are a lot drier than they used to be when I was younger. This means that they tend to crack a lot more than I’d like. I have an idea that having the edge well filed regularly would reduce the risk of a split developing in the first place. These things often need a nick to start from so by keeping the nail even and not letting them grow too much I think that would reduce the chances of problems.
I think that the big thing with nails is how well moisturised they are.
I remember doing a project on a nail product, and this involved keeping nails hydrated and doing measurements on them. It was very noticeable that the nails were much more flexible and less prone to break when they were fully hydrated. This makes me wonder if there might be a problem using products like this one. I’d be interested to know if buffing and polishing nails has any effect on the speed at which nails dry out. In theory, all other things being equal it must remove some layers from the surface of the nail. But whether it is enough to make any difference to the quality of the nail is hard to say. I have looked, but there doesn’t seem to have ever been an actual study to assess it.
I know that somebody will contradict me on this, but I think this is the first time that such a device has been available widely as a mass market product rather than a specialist one for the professional market.
The other thing about this product that impressed me is just what a good fit it is to the brand. Dr Scholl have become synonymous with foot products over many years and so they are definitely a trusted brand when it comes to this kind of application. If I was looking for this kind of product I’d be very happy to buy it from people who have got a lot of expertise in the area.
The reviews on Amazon are mixed. There are a lot of very positive opinions expressed, but there seem to be quite a few people who are disappointed with its performance as well. But the negatives don’t seem to have any particular common theme. So I’d guess it is just one of those things that don’t work for everyone. Also the price point is a bit of a challenge at the thick end of £40 (about $60 or €50), and that does feel a bit more than I’d be comfortable paying. But this is a sector where discounting is common enough to be predictable, so if you are interested a bit of patience and waiting for a good deal to come along might well pay off.
The same product is also widely available in the US from a maker called Amope. They promote heavily for the Christmas market. It’s called the Pedi Perfect.
Thanks for that Missy.