marytara's Full Review: As Seen On TV PEDEGGMC12 Ped Egg Pedicure Foot Fil...
Summertime means sandals, flip flops or barefeet. Except, if you are like me your feet aren't pretty but instead they are dry, cracked and calloused. There is nothing nastier than ugly feet in flip flops so I embark on my mission against ugly feet pretty seriously. Spa Pedicures, Home Pedicures, Lotions, Scrubs, Files.. you name it, and I've done it. But then a new little gadget started being toted as a miracle for feet, and of course I was curious about it.
..Enter the Ped Egg
Buying the Ped Egg
You've probably seen the commercials on TV and watched with amazement and horror as a lady who has feet that should never see the light of day turns her dinosaur feet into 'pretty as a pedicure' perfect with the help of this miracle gadget. You may have even been tempted to call the number to order it or go online and make a purchase. I was curious about it but the high shipping charges that they zap you with when you order these 'as seen on TV' items held me back. Then, like most of these miracle 'only available on TV' products I started seeing them on store shelves - Target, Wal-Mart, Bed Bath & Beyond and then even my local Rite-Aid. The price? Just $9.99 - and the Ped Egg was mine to try. The 'kit' included the original (white) Ped Egg and 3 emory pads for it.
I suggest you do the same and avoid purchasing from the TV infomercial or the Ped Egg website where they will stack on shipping charges and tell you that you are getting things for free. Case in point the Ped Egg bundle that you get from www.pedegg.com is $10 and includes the same kit that I got shipped for the 'low charge' of $6.99 (it weighs just ounces and shouldn't cost more than a couple of dollars.. not seven to send it!). They also will 'throw in' a tube of foot cream and another free ped egg for an additional shipping charge ($6.99). There you can also purchase a Platinum Ped Egg (the black one) that costs a few dollars more is marketed for Men because it is slightly larger. A word of warning, the Platinum Ped Egg takes different cartridges also. And speaking of cartridges, they will want to try to get you to stock up on replacement blades and pads for even more money - and you haven't even tried the Ped Egg yet to see if the darn thing works! They even have "Ped Egg Club" that is $19.95 every 60 days (plus Shipping and Handling) that they will want you to sign up for.
Which brings me to replacement blades and pads for the Ped Egg. You'll find if you like and use the Ped Egg that you will indeed need to get replacement blades for it. The Emory Pads are just oval emory boards with adhesive backing that you can stick to the cover of the Ped Egg, so you don't necessarly have to stick to buying their replacements - any Emory board will do. The same with the "miracle foot repair" cream - there are lots of great foot creams out there (I swear by The Body Shop's Peppermint lotion) in a wide range of prices. But, to give you an idea of the prices for replacements straight from Ped Egg at www.pedeggblades.com:
Original Ped Egg Accessories:
Set of 3 Replacement blades for $9.99 & $2.99 S/H charge
Set of 10 Emory Pads $7.49 & $2.99 S/H charge
Miracle Foot Repair Cream $9.99 & $2.99 S/H charge
Ped Egg 60 Day Supply $19.95 every 60 days and an auto-ship of 3 blades, 10 pads and tube of cream) with shipping of $5.99
Platinum Ped Egg Accessories:
Set of 3 Replacement blades for $12.99 & $2.99 S/H charge
Deluxe Ped Egg Convenience Kit Auto-Ship Program $19.99 with shipping of $5.99
If you do opt to order online or over the phone my suggestion is to just get the Ped Egg starter set and decline the rest. If you really love it and must have the extras you can always go back and order them at a later date (or pick them up at a store near you ... like Bed, Bath & Beyond) and save on shipping.
Using the Ped Egg
The Ped Egg gets its name because it is shaped like an egg that fits into the palm of your hand. Before use you will need to snap the blade cartridge in place and affix the emory board sticker onto the case, then you are ready to begin. The Ped Egg fits nicely into the palm of your hand and using it is as simple of rubbing it back and forth on the bottom of your foot to remove callous and dry skin. Unlike many foot pedicure tools, this one is meant to be used on dry (clean) feet. The ped egg 'blade' looks like pretty much like a cheese grater. Rubbed repeatedly over the problem areas it shaves away the dead and dry skin to unearth the pink, healthy soft skin that hasn't seen daylight in who knows how long. The Ped Egg collects all the dry shavings into the center of the hollow egg as you use it. The shavings are downright nasty and sort of look like sand. Most of the shavings will stay inside of the Ped Egg if you keep the ped egg horizontal so that the shavings fall into the center of the egg though the tiny holes in the 'micro precision blade'.
An important note - Because the ped egg has a blade on it, this is considered a 'personal care' item like a razor - and it should not be shared. Just like how the spas and pedicure places in most states are no longer allowed to use the Credo Blade Planer (for health code reasons) you shouldn't share this either. If your hubby has dry feet, he can go and get one of his own - they are cheap enough. Also, for medical reasons persons who are diabetic or who have circulation trouble should not use the ped egg (see the official warnings for the tool on the ped egg website if you have questions).
My Experience with the Ped Egg
Or, more importantly.. Does the darn thing work?
Well... kind of. First things first I was slightly disappointed after getting my Ped Egg home and out of the plastic packaging (a feat in itself) to find how lightweight and cheap the tool is. For $10, I expected it to be a bit more substantial and not just hollow cheap plastic with a small metal grater on it. The grater looks just like a callous removal files that I've used in the past and purchased at the drug store or even the dollar store. The Ped Egg is also pretty cheaply made so I immediately felt ripped off a bit. To use it you have to snap the blade cartridge in place onto the Ped Egg and mine doesn't even seem to be all that good of a fit. The cartridge needs to be snapped on 'just so' or it doesn't stay completely on. Also, once it is snapped on it is very difficult to remove to open it up and empty it out. I learned this the hard way and had all the nasty foot filings go everywhere, so now I open it always over the trash before washing it out and letting it dry so as to avoid a big mess. Clean-up is very simple - washing it in soap and water and allowing it to dry.
Despite my disappointment that it seems to be a bit on the cheap-o side, the true test would be how it works. It does indeed work pretty darn well at removing all the dry skin and callous. If you aren't easily grossed out you can find all sorts of testimonial videos for this product online (including this NBC News inside look found here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzsQV6-02Yw). I was initially amazed at how much this took off of my heels - ridding them of the bulk of the callous and ugly cracks after about 10 minutes on each heel. I found it easiest to use the Ped Egg on my heels versus the ball of my foot and the bottom of my toes - where the emory pad was really all that I needed.
Your initial impulse will be to really go to town to try to get rid of everything on the first shot, which is really not a great idea. Even though the Ped Egg can't cut you (it doesn't even cut a balloon in the commercial!) the skin underneath is very sensitive so it is best to do a little bit at a time. Also, as I understand it - when you remove all of that callous and dry skin in a single shot your skin's natural defense is to try to repair itself. The same reason why the Credo Planer isn't necessarily a good idea (aside from sharing germs) also goes for the Ped Egg.. once you start using this you will have to keep using it because the callous will keep returning. It is suggested that following up with a good lotion and a pair of socks and minimizing going barefoot will help keep the callous at bay. Because I love going barefoot I know that the callous coming back is pretty much inevitable for me!
After my first initial round of Ped Egg where I found that I really did have nice feet under there I've been using the Ped Egg every couple of days. I'm finding that it isn't working as well which leads me to believe that the blades are dulling (dull) allready in a very short period of time. I imagine that initial use where I really had to slice all the callous off did a number on the blade cartridge and future cartridges will last me longer than a week. I'm thinking that the Ped Egg should come with an extra cartridge or the cartridges could stand to be made to withstand more of what will be thrown their way for the $10 that it is. The truth is that the discount store metal file did do just as good of a job on my feet as the Ped Egg it just isn't in the same nifty egg shape that makes it easier to hold on to and was definitely messier. As far as mess goes, the Ped Egg will contain the 'mess' of the dead skin when it is used so that blade is horizontal to the floor. The minute that the blade is turned so that the egg isn't cupped in your hand but at an angle or vertical than the filings will go everywhere and call for vacuuming.
Overall, I give the Ped Egg a mixed review. I really wanted to love this thing and rave about how great it is. But, the reality is - its just OK and while $10 seems cheap enough (certainly way cheaper than getting a professional pedicure), it won't be the last $10 you spend.
Ultimately, I'll give this thing 3 stars. If your feet are in rough shape and you need a fast fix the Ped Egg will do the trick for you.
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