Pedicure Lunar Calendar
The traditional best days for a pedicure by the Moon: when to cut toenails so they grow back strong, when to take off hard skin, and the days tradition says to leave your feet alone.
How to time a pedicure by the Moon
Lunar tradition treats toenails like fingernails, with one difference. The sign the Moon is in sets how strong the nails grow back, the phase sets what kind of foot care suits the day, and one sign, Pisces, is set aside because it is the sign of the feet.
Waxing vs. waning Moon
- Waning Moon (shrinking): The traditional time to remove hard skin, calluses and corns, which are said to come back more slowly. Nails cut now grow back slower and harder.
- Waxing Moon (growing): Better for soaking, moisturising and nourishing treatments. Nails cut now grow back faster.
An old rule in this tradition is to leave alone the part of the body governed by the sign the Moon is in. Pisces governs the feet, so Pisces days are skipped for pedicures. The New Moon is a sensitive reset, and better to wait.
The Moon's sign: the deciding factor
The sign the Moon is in decides how strong the toenails grow back:
Tips for a pedicure that lasts
- Best of all: the Moon in Capricorn, on a waning Moon, for the hardest nails and the slowest return of hard skin.
- For ingrown-prone nails, tradition prefers a waning Moon and a straight cut, never a Pisces day.
- Avoid Gemini, Cancer and Pisces, when nails are said to grow soft and to split.
More lunar beauty calendars
These are traditional lunar-beauty associations compiled and reviewed by our editorial team: offered for interest and fun, not as medical, dermatological or professional advice. Moon sign, phase and lunar day are computed from real astronomical positions. Explore more in our lunar beauty calendars.