toe pads

[claarra]

what toe pads do most professionals wear? i started out with lambs wool and changed to the pink thick jelly ones but they are took thick. which toe pads do most ballerinas wear??

[Mel Johnson]

Hello, claarra, and welcome to Ballet Talk for Dancers.

 

The answer is rather obscure, as we don't talk to all ballerinas, but our experience leads me to believe that they use as little as possible, and that usually lamb's wool. Some even use nothing at all! But, as you can understand, padding choice is an individual matter, hence there will be great variety.

[claarra]

why do they not use alot?? is it so they can feel the floor better?

[Mel Johnson]

I'd have to say that that is the basic answer. By the time a dancer is a professional, she knows just how to manage the interplay of shoes and feet to give the best results. But remember, there is no Red Badge of Courage for pointework. You are still a student, so you should experiment around with whatever padding so that you can find your comfort level. As time goes by, the padding generally decreases in volume.

[balletrx]

I don't know if I'm allowed to say this, but I generally use the ouch pouches. They are pretty thin so you can feel the floor, but they offer more cushoning that lambswool, in my opinion.

[ballerine177]

I use ouch pouches as well. They work really well, until they go dead. Then they are very thin. But they're nice because it's a thin layer of gel on the inside, and fabric on the outside.

[purpletutu]

Yeah, I use ouch pouches too, because I don't get blisters from wearing them like I do with lamb's wool. I also use Bunheads gel toe spacers.

 

-Purpletutu-

[tinydancer31]

ok i didnt want to start a new thread so I am going to put this here. I havent been so happy with my toepads lately, gellows. I need something with a little less padding, but something that still covers my bunoins. Would freed toepads be a good choice? im sorry if i posted in the wrong place!

[OperaDeParis]

I use ouch pouches but there are also people I know who prefer paper towels because it is very thin and you can't really feel it when your on pointe.

Edited June 10, 2007 by OperaDeParis

[dance4life56]

Though this might be consitered to excessive, I often use paper towel wrapped around some lambs wool. I like the wool becuase I can position it where I need it, but paper towel absorbes sweat very easily, and you can throw it away after a class.

[Gilly]

How do you know when an ouch pouch is dead? I have had one pair since September, and I can REALLY feel the bottom of my shoes/the floor. But I dont know if that is just the style of the shoe or the ouch pouches.

[Mel Johnson]

Ouch pouches are basically made out of Sorbothane, which is a microporous, microencapsulated-gel sheet. It's dead when it's flat and about as thin as a paper towel.

[TuTuPrincess]

I know mine are dead when they get a hole in them

[Mel Johnson]

Then, too!

[tinydanzer]

I use Bunhead Pro Pads, there thinner than ouch pouch and little bit thinner than Lamb's Wool. I love them!