h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Hello fellow dancer!

Can I ask for your advice or opinion? My daughter has just got her first pointe shoes - now, back in my day we stuffed lambswool into the toes, but I see an awful lot of new devices such as gel pads on the market.

What's worth looking at?

And where does one get lambs wool these days anyway?

Hi Beatrice!

Thanks for stopping by.
You must've seen some of my postings on the What Are You Wearing Today thread... and I just noticed that I never mentioned the bewildering array of toe spacers, tufts of lambs wool, Eurotard Pointe Comfort Feather Lites orthotics, Toe Savers Mini Gel Pads, junior Ouch Pouches... that I wear in my pointe shoes.

That's wonderful to hear that your daughter is starting out en pointe. Seeing as she's already set for shoes, she'll probably need to experiment with toe padding that won't deleteriously affect the fit. And lambs wool is perfect for that. It's still widely used and available wherever shoes like Freed's, Capezio, Bloch and Grishko are sold. I used to even find it at chemist's like Boots ten years ago - but I expect that's quite rare these days.

At the studio where I attend, the majority of dancers in my class wear as little padding as possible, preferring more floor feel. Mostly foot powder, tape, toe spacers, Toe Savers Mini Gel Pads(worn only on the tip area), lambswool or ()papertowels and Eurotard Feather Lites anti-stress, shock absorbing inserts. I sometimes wear junior Ouch Pouches(that can be cut to size) if my toes are sore from overtraining or if I've gained a pound or two in weight....

The beginning pointe students that I've talked to tend to wear more padding to protect their toenails from being bruised and for perceived comfort's sake.
It's all a matter of individual choice as to what feels right with one's shoe of choice. Some pointe fledglings even buy pointe shoes a size larger to accomodate their choice of toe padding.The overwhelming toe pad of choice in this part of California is the Ouch Pouch. It comes in the Original version that covers the toe and ball of foot areas. The Junior version(regular and large)covers the toes. I've also seen students wearing Prima Soft Pointe Perfect Toe Pads and Lee's Soft Pointe Gel Toe Pads(can be trimmed to size). Gellow makes a good reversible toe pad without seams. Capezio makes lambs wool pads and sells packets of loose lambs wool readily available through ballet shops and internet. And I 've tried Pillows for Pointes which is a lambs wool pad with a tip that's gel lined- but it's been difficult to find a reliable supply.

So, lots of options are available to suit your daughter's needs as she learns along the way.

I hope that she'll soon find the perfect system that personally w*rks for her and that a ballet lifestyle will be a fulfilling experience for many years to come!

Many thanks for such a comprehensive answer *deep curtsey to the floor*

The nearby dance wear shop had a range of doo-dahs, so I bought the tried and tested animal wool, as well as a pair of ouch pouches, so she can try and see what works best for her.

Happy dancing