POST UPDATE!

Hi, I wrote a post on my ChattyBlonde blog called 'Healthy Nails: My Own Small Things I do to Keep Nails Healthier when Painting Them' and thought that it would be worth a look at. If you haven't had a look on my other blog, click the link and have a read. Please check it out, you may find it interesting ;)


 Byyyeeee!!!

Check out my Halloweeniness (is that even a word??)

Check out my Halloweeniness (is that even a word??)

Hey,

I just posted up a Halloween post and have left the link here for you to check it out if you want to on my other blog Caris' Blog :)

Thank you,
Caris

Key Things to Make Pointe Work more Comfortable | A Little more to Remember

Key Things to Make Pointe Work more Comfortable | A Little more to Remember

Hey,

I previously posted a post on key things that you can do and use to make pointe work more comfortable and I realised that I forgot some other key things that are small but should defiantly be remembered when doing pointe work. This is just a mini post this time as it's only a few things that I forgot to mention in the first post. Again this post is aimed at those beginning pointe work but you can still read this if you want. As I always say, I am not a professional dancer but an average person who's hobby is dance (Ballet) and who wants to share information with those just like me.

First off, manicure needed. When doing pointe work, obviously you are pretty much using the strength of your feet etc and pointe shoes to enable you to stay on your toes. By standing on your toes, your feet and ankles will receive pressure as your weight pushes down onto your feet, and of course your toes. Having toe nails that are long can cause issues when doing pointe work. For example, pressure is applied on your feet and of course your toes when standing on pointe (standing on your toes) as your weight is also pushing down, this makes your toe nails push into your toe and can be extremely painful. I have ingrown toe nails from Ballet but got this before starting pointe, I didn't take good enough care of my toes and soft ballet shoes can be quite tight, and so this resulted in ingrown toe nails. Another thing that didn't help for me, was the fact that my toe nails grown quite quickly, making it hard to keep up with them. However, my Ouch Pouches (mentioned in previous post) are very helpful as I hardly feel the pressure applied on my ingrown toe nails. Be sure that your toe nails are cut nicely as to avoid pain when on pointe, and avoid ingrown toe nails. If you feel like your nail and skin are starting to get caught, you can also tape around your toe (where the nail is) and do in a way so that you hold the skin with the tape, by the nail and gently wrap it around your toe. This separates the skin and the nail so that the nail doesn't get caught into the skin. After removing the toe tape from your toe, allow your nail time to heal.

Be sure to remove any foot protection
things (such as Ouch Pouches)
from your shoes to allow them
to dry out/air off as well.

Let them dry! After using your pointe shoes, be sure to remove any padding or protection that you use for your feet inside the shoe (like Ouch pouches) and leave your pointe shoes to 'air off'. Pointe shoes need to stay strong, and moisture won't help them as it breaks down the glue used to keep them strong. Following this, don't attempt to break your shoes in even more by not leaving them to air off, as this will just damage them.

Following the need to let your pointe shoes 'air off', purchase a mesh drawstring bag (also known as a breathable mesh drawstring bag) to put your pointes in after they have been used. This will allow air to flow into the holes in the bag and enable your shoes to dry out/air off. I have a mesh drawstring bag that I purchased from a dance website and it's definately an essential for ballet. Plus allowing cool air to reach your shoes will stop most of the bacteria left in your shoes from your feet (yep nice thought there) from breeding as they like warm, moist conditions and therefore your shoes won't smell like a dead, slowly decaying rat (good similie there haha) If you're not sure what I am talking about, are interested in or are in need of buying a bag like this heres a link to a site called http://www.dancewear.co.uk/  where they have a mesh drawstring pointe shoe bag for sale -https://dancewear.co.uk/products&subcat=4 You can also find one on many other dance websites and shops but this is just a suggestion.

 I hope you found this useful and if you would like me to do anything, please suggest to me in the comment box below.

Thank you for reading,

Yours Truly,
Caris

Key Things to Make Pointe Work More Comfortable | For Beginners

Key Things to Make Pointe Shoes and Work more Comfortable | For Beginners

Diagram of parts to a
pointe shoe

Hey,

So today I thought I would share with you some keep things to have for making your pointe shoes and pointe work more comfortable and which options you can get, and one thing that is definitely true when doing pointe work, the more comfortable you are, the better you will be able to dance. Some of these tips or tricks are obvious but this is mainly for beginners starting pointe work, but you are free to read it if you want to. I am not a professional and this is just my views, experience, opinions and suggestions.

Here you can see my pointe shoes with
my Ouch Pouches inside them
and how they fit smugly

Firstly, a bit of an obvious one here, protection for your toes. Pointe work is not completely comfortable and never will be, but nowadays there are other alternatives to making your shoes more comfortable to wear than just lambs wool for example (which in my opinion isn't the best as it pushes against my toes when I go on pointe) I use Bunheads Ouch Pouch toe pads (or Ouch Pouches for short) and they are so comfortable. For anyone who doesn't know what ouch pouches are, these are fabric covered gel pads that cover all of the toes and you simply slip them onto your toes before putting on your pointe shoes. Ouch Pouch toe pads are great, they offer coverage for bunion areas, a deep cut vamp to match the line of the pointe shoes and have a sleek shape to them which hugs the foot and keeps them from sliding and bunching when worn, so they won't interfere when dancing or doing barre work. Another useful thing about the Ouch pouch toe pads is that their gel formula helps to prevent 'wear spots' or 'bottoming out' on your pointe shoes. Plus Ouch Pouch toe pads can be cut to size and can be hand washed. However there are other types of gel toe pads as well, such as just gel toe pads with no fabric covering them such as simple gel toe pads that you can purchase from your nearest dance store or  Happy Toes gel toe pads, all depending on which you may prefer or how much you want to spend. You can buy these from www.dancedirect.com like I do, as my local dance store doesn't sell any pointe shoe accessories. I also buy most of my stuff from this website but there are other websites as well such and it's your choice entirely if you prefer to use a different site :)

Bunheads Jelly Toes

Following gel products, you can purchase fabric covered gel toe socks such as Bunheads Jelly Toes to help make your pointe shoes more comfortable to wear and protect your toes. These gel toe socks are made of a soft flexible fabric with a cushioning gel lining. They can be cut to the right size for the best protection

Here is a picture of how you would use toe tape

Toe tape can also help. If you want to you can purchase toe tape from your nearest store or a dance website and you just wrap the toe tape around each of your toes before putting on your pointe shoes and this helps to prevent blisters and chaffing. I don't use toe tape as I use Ouch Pouch toe pads instead to protect my toes, but it's your choice entirely.


Warm up. Yes this is pretty obvious but if you don't completely warm up your ankles, feet ect then you will not only possibly hurt yourself, but you will most likely experience pain or cramping in your feet when doing pointe work. I once hadn't fully warmed up my feet and so when I went on to my toes I had cramping in my foot which was not just very painful, but I ended up hurting myself and had to massage my feet to make them better. Warm up exercises that you can use are rising up and down slowly with your feet in first or second position. Another is sitting on the floor with your feet next to each other and relaxing one foot whilst pointing the other slowly, holding it for five seconds and repeating with the other foot. This also works the muscles in your legs as well. Be sure that your heels are not touching the ground when relaxed or pointing your feet in order to fully work you legs as well. I'm sure however that you already do these or other warming up exercises in class but these are just suggestions.

Types of foot

Pointe shoes. Again another obvious one here, make sure your pointe shoes fit perfectly and are the right size etc. Also find the right brand that suits you. Different brands come with different features, that will suit you best. For example I have what you call a Greek tapered toe and so need tapered pointe shoes with a slightly higher vamp (like my Grisko Triumphs). If you have square toes then you would have a square pointe shoe with a shorter vamp, like shown in the picture at the top of the page. Also because I have a high arch I need a harder shank as well as a higher vamp. Of course when you are taken to have your feet fitted to pointe shoes they will take all of this into account and will find the right shoe for you.  Another thing, make sure your ribbons are securely tied otherwise your shoe will loosen up and you could hurt yourself. You may also use elastic designed for pointe shoes which will hug the shoe to your foot and will keep the heel of your shoes from falling off your foot as well as creating more support.


There you have it, just a few things that I think are key for making your pointe shoes and pointe work more comfortable to do. Hope you found this useful if you are new to pointe work or just wanted to know more about it 😃


Thank you for reading,

Yours truly,
Caris

Link to my other page xchattyblondex :My ideal dance kit: clothes make up and more

This post was posted before I set up this account but I would like to include it on my dance blog so please click the link below that leads directly to my other blog page and have a look at it thank you :)
http://xchattyblondex.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/my-ideal-dance-kit-clothes-make-up-and.html?spref=bl

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