I'm glad I read this topic. It's yet another thing to watch out for.

Its not just nail fungus (Tinea unguium-Latin for nails) they ignore...

I had quite a few professional, well dressed clients with 'jock rash' or 'scrote rot', which is exactly the same toe nail fungus with a slightly different name (Tinea cruris-Latin for leg) as it likes to live in the juicy, hot, damp, thigh, groin, and ass cheeks. It's red-raw like nappy rash and can bleed. They've had it for years and married...

These clients call it 'summer rash'- their trousers turn into a greenhouse for fungus in the hot months.
I've advised them to see a doc or get help from a chemist and they're totally disinterested-so banned.

Because it's not deadlly they just shrug their shoulders and expect me to put my hands and lips there.
I get out my huge stash of plastic gloves for HJ and tell them it's an infection so I won't touch it directly.
I think they're a bit disengaged from their bodies.

Jesus! It only needs a few applications of clotrimazole cream to get rid of it as well (same active ingredient as in Canesten).

Yeah Kay I tell them that...they're bored with it already. I've even sent them a text link to the cream so they can show it to the chemist.

Hi everyone,

I need your opinion and advice on something that might sound weird for a lot of you but do you think asking clients to keep their socks on actually sounds unreasonable ?

I've been asking clients to keep their socks on for about a couple of months now (I now ask everyone without exception to avoid the awkward moment of feet inspection and where in case the client has bad feet saying "sorry your feet are bad, you need to keep your socks on/you need to go" lol .

For those who are wondering, I made this decision because I've seen too many people in the past who had very bad feet/toe nails with contagious condition such as onychomycosis, pseudonomas, chloronychia, obvious verrucas, athlete foot or this kind (I pay a lot of attention to this). I'm very aware of any kind of health/skin condition as I'm very paranoid and always scared of catching something so I'm ultra careful and anxious.
That's why it seemed sensible for me to ask clients to keep their socks on in order for me to have more peace of mind + avoiding myself to worry to much afterwards.

However, I've noticed that when I've been asking this, some people make a weird face and ask why is that (some of them even get offended sometimes) so I explain them and even if in most of the cases it's not an issue, I've noticed a decline of people coming back to see me another time. I have no idea if it's related to this and that I might sound a bit too "clinical" for some (or it's just the fact that it's a bit quiet at the moment in general for everyone), that's why I wanted your opinion about this thing.

Do you think I should keep doing this in the future ? Or should I approach this case by case ? : I don't say anything about socks but if after looking at their feet I notice something wrong I ask them to keep their socks on ? What do you think ?

Thanks for your help

I normally treat clients on case by case. Have had a few with quite disgusting feet so stayed away from those, but generally I think it reflects badly if you treat everyone based on your worse experience. The same way I had very untidy/not at all groomed clients I've also had some lovely ones. I normally make more of an effort with those lovely ones as a negative experience for them means they might not return.

I understand you might be scared of offending "undesireables", but in my view are those the clients you want to keep coming back?

I take it on a case by case basis, many want to leave thier socks on, especially in winter but I do think a lot of clients would think it odd if I insisted upon it.
Worst case I ever saw was a guy who's nails were like long, black corkscrews. I didn't notice on his first booking but his second visit when doing reverse cowgirl I spotted them and almost heaved!
I can't believe that he had happily taken his socks off knowing what they were like so clearly wasn't embarrassed about them at all.
I said nothing at the time but when he asked for another booking I said I could not accept and told him why and suggested he get them treated.

I can't believe that he had happily taken his socks off knowing what they were like so clearly wasn't embarrassed about them at all.

He probably didn't think he had any reason to be embarassed when he was paying for a professional service - he likely assumed he wasn't also paying to be judged. And he obviously enjoyed himself enough to want to come back

I can't honestly say I ever notice their feet and I don't especially want sock fluff all over my carpet either. I wouldn't dream of telling punters they had to wear X, Y or Z, but like other posters I would think it was very odd and I wouldn't return - if you're extremely concerned about your own feet could you maybe wear those verruca socks and higher denier stockings over them? Or use throw rugs that you can put in the washing machine every day - I have cotton rugs in the hallway and bathroom which are easy to wash

Having overgrown toenails (which could be black for any number of reasons) doesn't affect the booking in the same way as being unclean or smelly or having rotten teeth does though, or at least I can't see how it would - I've not had to deal with any of the above beyond the occasional manly armpit for a long time. I suppose they could get snagged in the bedding.

Either way nobody who is paying any service provider has any reason to feel embarrassed about their bodies and that was the part of the post which sounded judgemental whether or not it was intentional - maybe he has difficulty cutting his toenails and can't afford/access a chiropodist, or maybe he just doesn't give a shit? What has 'self awareness' got to do with anything - I don't give a ratfuck what anyone thinks of the way I look when I go out in public, and if my appearance offends somebody they're more than able to swivel their eyeballs in a different direction and look at something else?

Where are all these people with foot problems? I had the odd verruca when I was school age and athletes foot once when I had to wear shit synthetic shoes at a retail job thirty years or so ago, and that's about it - I honestly can't recall ever seeing any of this on a punter. I know that doesn't mean there hasn't been any, just that it would never occur to me to look. Mostly because I'm not a farmer sizing them up at a cattle market.