Blisters. The bain of every ballerina, from the kids in their first pointe shoes to the pros (well, apparently except for Skylar Brandt, who, according to Pointe Shop video I recently watched on YouTube never gets them), and certainly including old farts like me. Last night, during a piroutte combination that I went into blister free, I experienced that unfortunate self-awareness that on turn one, something in my shoe shifted, meaning that now my tender little-toe metatarsal joint was uncomfortably situated, and on turn two, this discomfort started to feel like a hot spot. By turn three, there was definitely a blister forming. I won't bore you with turns four, five, and six, but suffice to say, after finishing the combination (because... ballet class?), I took off my shoe to investigate and sure enough, not only did I have a blister, but I had torn the top right off it, so I had one of those nasty, if shallow, weeping wounds. Naturally, I just tugged my toe pad back into place, slapped my tights over it to hold it more firmly in place, and put that shoe back on to finish class (we are working on the Kitri variation from Act I, and I really wanted to do that in my shoes).
My current shoes, a pair of Capezio Kylees (8W if you care to know) that are nearing the end of their life, are pretty comfortable, for pointe shoes. They're nicely broken in and really move with my foot, but they're not so soft that I'm falling off them. As with every pair of shoes, except maybe for the Gaynor Mindens I sometimes buy, this pair has opened up in the box as I've worn them, meaning that when I start with a new pair, there isn't really room for much more than some toe tape and a jelly sleeve or just some Spenco second skin for my big toe, but by this point, I'm wearing a very thin gel toe pad (namely, a Skinny Dip by Danz Tech, size small -- I hate these when they're new because they're too juicy, but once they're seasoned (meaning beat to heck) they're awesome). Normally, the transition to the toe pad brings a cessation of all threat of blisters, but when the pad (being old and kind of worn out) slips, sometimes the edge lands right on that key point (little toe bunion spot) and rustles up a new blister.
When I was a kid (paper towel over bare toes in a Freed Classic), the inevitable blisters were dealt with harshly: pour hydrogen peroxide over them, do the silent scream dance, let air dry before taping with some of that really harsh white athletic tape. These days I'm a little kinder to myself. I trim away the torn skin, clean the boo boo, and then paint it with New Skin, which is some kind of finger-nail polish like stinky, stingy stuff (actually, it's a salt, Benzethonium Chloride 0.2%).
Once it dries, I find that it really protects the owwie and helps it heal more quickly, and it doesn't get gross and sweaty the way a sticky bandage would.
Once, when I was about fifteen, I got a really bad blood blister on my big toe, and it being summer at the time, I went around barefoot with a small bandage on it. Naturally, it got infected. I mean, really infected, like blood poisoning infected, and my dad took me to the ER where they gave me a giant needle full of penecillin in my butt. So, I am extra uptight about keeping wounds clean. And when I need to tape up, I use a kinder tape, namely the Russian Pointe brand. But don't get the purple color, pretty as it is, or you will have magenta stains in your shoes and/or on your tights and feet.
In the service of grownup bunheads everywhere, I am here compiling top tips for avoiding getting blisters and treating them from a variety of sources:
GET FITTED
Allison Debona, Ballet West first soloist, co-founder/artistic director of artEmotion, and newly-minted Principal of the Ballet West Academy Park City tells me she just doesn't get blisters. She posits that this is probably because her shoes fit really well. A professional ballerina like Allison has the advantage of years of experience knowing what works on her foot, access to custom shoes if needed, and loads of communal wisdom from peers and mentors to help her dial it in. I do remember her introducing a bunch of us amateurs at one summer workshop to her technique for a glove-like fit: it involved taping some second skin over the big toe nail and putting a box liner in the shoe to really prevent any slipping and sliding. Ultimately, that snugness of fit translates to fewer blisters. I find I only get blisters when my shoes are really on the verge of dying, that opened up box... time for a box liner?
TAPE IT UP
"Usually duct tape, otherwise athletic tape," says Vivian Taylor, my primary ballet teacher, friend, and a former principal ballerina with Cache Valley Civic Ballet. Just a note, however, on the dangers of duct tape -- it's great because it's super tough and sticky, but if you leave it on too long or remove it carelessly, it can damage your skin, especially if you have a callus from previous blisters which has softened up under the tape and just pulls off when you rip the tape off your foot (trust me, a former duct-taper, on this one). One bonus of duct tape is that it comes in fun colors and patterns and tears easily by hand! I think duct tape with kittens on it might lure me back into the cult of duct-taping one's feet.
KEEP IT CLEAN
Also in the tape camp, but perhaps in a slightly more medically-inclined way is Isabelle Bateson Brown, French teacher, archivist, and New York State certified dance teacher, who writes, "Cloth tape for prevention. Opening blisters with a sterile needle every time! Comfrey lotion and a bandaid on open skin." She also recommends washing your toe pads frequently. The built-up salts from sweat can actually increase skin irritation and cause micro-abrasions.
DEAL WITH IT
Kelsey Wickman, @artemotionusa veteran and ambassador, company member of @syncopationdanceproject, and media relations manager for @radpowerbikes is equally at home in ballet, contemporary, and jazz. She says, "Frankly, I kinda prefer to just get them out of the way... like if I know I'm going to get a blister no matter what tape, bandaid, padding combo, I just let it happen so that the callus can start to build." Honestly, this won't work for everyone, but Kelsey is seriously fierce and feisty, and I've seen her grit her teeth through some pretty gnarly stuff, so I can believe that she powers through blisters too!
BABY IT
Terrel Lefferts, a Pacific Northwest Ballet trustee and author of some great books about dance and movement for younger readers (check out Once Upon a Dance), recommends protecting the blister spot with "something with a hole in it" (like a corn pad) covered by a sterile bandage.
Karyn Hansen, another former CVSB prinicpal and my ballet mentor extraordinaire, has a typically (for her) sensible and detailed routine. Note that she worked in a GP's office as a medical assistant for a long time, so she has a fair amount of clinical knowledge. She says, "If I get a blister is make sure to drain it before it pops or goes too deep to get all bloody. Then do an Epsom salt foot bath to dry it out. Once the outermost layer is skin is dead I like to trim it off so that it doesn’t continue to rub and create another blister. To cushion after a blister I use a small bandaid and wrap the paper tape around to keep it in place so it doesn’t rub. You can also do a small piece or gauze between the paper tape and blister (so the tape isn’t sticking to the sore area)." If I had followed this advice at age 15, I could have saved myself a big pain in the butt!
And finally, for a classic take on the intrinsic grossness of ballet feet
