Before deciding which one to buy, I did a lot of research. I had heard, and read, that the PedEgg could cause some serious skin damage if used improperly. Of course it could – it has sharp tiny razors used to literally cut away dead skin. It wouldn’t take much pressure to take off too much skin and cause some cuts that could result in some serious infections.
However, I had one tiny very stubborn callous that was driving me crazy. I had tried just about everything else including a professional foot doctor who did nothing but sell me an expensive (and useless) cream and charge me $150 for a visit.
I decided to do my own research by buying the PedEgg at CVS (knowing that I could return it if I didn’t like it for any reason). When I got to CVS I was surprised to find that CVS actually had their own competing product. I picked up their own package, and I picked up the PedEgg.
This particular week, CVS had a sale on their product for $6.99 vs. the PedEgg for $9.99. I saw that the PedEgg only came with the “blade” which is the silver cover with the holes and raised areas that provide the shaving functionality.
CVS offered what looked like an identical hand held product with the silver blade along with two types of buffing pads. These pads are used in place of the silver facing and can be inter-changed. One is rough, the other is fine textured and meant for finish work.
I bought both and brought them home. I know from experience that there are pros and cons for using this type of instrument on wet skin. One wrong move on wet skin and your skin will tear, not turn into a dry dust as it would when be buffed and sanded down. I therefore elected to try them both on dry skin.
I first used the PedEgg. I knew not to press down too hard, but it’s difficult not to since a light touch does nothing other than rough up the skin a bit. After a few minutes I checked the holding reservoir (the entire head is meant to trap all the dead skin, and it can be emptied later on) to find nothing that could be seen with the naked eye.
I then opened the CVS item. I tried it with the blade / silver head first. With this product I could see and feel better results immediately. Even though the blades didn’t actually take off much rough skin, they didn’t leave the ragged edges behind like the PedEgg.
After a few minutes I checked that reservoir, and there were visible remnants of dry skin inside.
I then switched heads and tried the rough callous file attachment and was very impressed with how it immediately smoothed down the area. I then tried the same attachment on less problematic areas like my heels – not bad enough to tackle with blades but certainly in need of some TLC. Again, impressive results.
For comparison, I changed to the very fine sanding head and used it on an area on my husband’s foot. Beyond our wildest dreams, there was almost incredible improvement right away.
All in all, I’d recommend the CVS brand over the PegEgg for a few reasons:
• The blades are shallower and easier to use
• Because of this, they don’t rip the skin, they do what they are supposed to: shave
• It comes with two callous files, something the PedEgg charges extra for
• The handle is actually easier to grip than the PedEgg, although both advertise an ergonomically correct grip
