Of course, it was only a matter of time before there were holistic treatments for fingernails: Sirene Wellness And Beauty Day Spa (1044 Madison Avenue, near 79th Street; 737-3545) offers a regular manicure ($10) that comes with an acupressure neck-and-shoulder massage to keep you calm while your hands dry. During the salon's reflexology pedicure ($48), a Chinese medical practitioner will grind down your calluses and palpate your chi blockages away in an effort to rebalance your inner organs (tottering around on Manolos has a tendency to throw them into disarray).
It may not be cheap at $90, but the "8 Step" pedicure at the Four Seasons (57 East 57th Street; 350-6420) is the equivalent of a facial for the most sidewalk-weary feet. Pilar, whose fans include Jennifer Lopez and Janet Jackson, herds everybody's little piggies through everything from a mineral-salt soak to a tropical scrub to a clay-and-seaweed-based purifying mask. The wait can be epic, so bring your copy of A Man In Full.
Tyra Banks, Iman, and Gabrielle Reece are clients of Warren-Tricomi Salon (16 West 57th Street; 262-8899), where their legs and feet are massaged and exfoliated into capri-pant condition in a cushion-filled Moroccan-style private pedicure room. Food-deprived models appreciate the salon's "Milk and Honey" pedicure ($65), which includes a milk-and-honey soak (better than Palmolive), an oatmeal exfoliation scrub, and a sour-cream mask. Less caloric pedicures are $55.
Forget the famous facials -- and waiting lists -- at Bliss (568 Broadway, at Prince Street; 219-8970). Your extremities can be seen to a lot faster if you choose a manicure or pedicure instead; feel like Nan Kempner when they break out those diamond-encrusted nail files (even for basic manicures and pedicures at $20 and $35). The spa's "Upper Hand and Foot Patrol" services -- gussied-up manicures and pedicures that are $45 or $85, respectively -- feature a Windex-colored wrap made from collagen, elastin, and paraffin that softens the scaliest skin (at least temporarily).
The "anti-aging" hand-lift at the Paul Labrecque Salon (160 Columbus Avenue, at 67th Street; 595-0099) beats the salon's regular $24 manicures hands down. For just $15 and seven extra minutes, an aesthetician will brush on a 14 percent glycolic-acid peel to smooth lines and fade age spots.