Emma Harrison gets her feet in shape to wear her sandals with confidence...

The nail technicians at York's NailBarOne are branching out and are now offering pedicures as well as manicures at the trendy express salon in Swinegate. New to the menu of treatments on offer are the 'toetingler' and 'footfizz'.

Salon co-owner Jackie Kilpatrick said the new foot treatments were an extension of NailBarOne's range of pampering treatments and said they were proving popular.

She said: "Customers can come in looking really tired after a hard week at work and they leave feeling rejuvenated and with a spring in their step."

These latest treatments aim to refresh tired, sore feet, and will allow you to wear sandals without the fear of showing dead skin and unmanicured, unpolished nails.

Trained staff at the specialist nail salon use the Spa pedicure products from Creative to resuscitate tried tootsies.

My feet have been in hibernation throughout winter and spring, so I was only too happy to try out one of the pedicure treatments at the salon.

I opted for the 'footfizz'. This begins by getting your feet very wet. They are cleansed in a 'Sea Rocks Soak'. The warm water is lovely and relaxing - and guaranteed to remove the stresses and strains of a hard day. Next, a grainy 'Sea Scrub' is rubbed into the feet for a thorough exfoliation - if your feet weren't clean before, they will be now.

This is then rinsed off and a moisturising serum oil is massaged into the feet - this is the really relaxing bit. Even those with ticklish toes should be able to cope with a strong massage to soothe and rejuvenate.

Then the bizarre part - what looks like a face mask is applied and then your feet are wrapped in plastic bags and put in heated slippers. It sounds strange - but this treatment is definitely one I'd recommend (I almost fell asleep at this point) and you feel like you are in feet heaven, where stilettos with pointy toes are banned.

After about ten minutes your feet are unwrapped and they now start to resemble pretty model-like feet as opposed to ones that have been crushed into boots all winter.

Then it's time for the grooming - cuticles are removed and the toenails are filed into shape.

Finally, the nail polish is applied, with at least three coats and a glossy top coat. And you can be out the salon door within minutes thanks to its fast-drying products - although staff advise you to wear sandals, weather permitting, to give the polish extra time to harden.

Strenuous activity is not recommended after this treatment.

A toetingler costs £17 and is a shorter version of the footfizz, which lasts an hour and costs £30. A toetingler is ideal for a lunch time treat.