How To Do a Pedicure At Home

Well-groomed feet contribute greatly to our overall beauty. It is also an indicator as to how well you look after yourself. They carry our body weight all through the day and they do deserve to be indulged time and again. Point being, foot care shouldn’t take a back seat when it comes to grooming and beauty treatments.

What you will need:

Nail Clippers, cotton pads, nail polish remover, cuticle Cream , cuticle pusher, emery board or nail file
Basin for soaking and towels for drying your feet. (Foot wash ingredients are listed below)
Foot file, pumice stone or a loofah
A good foot scrub
Foot moisturizer

Instructions

1. Trimming and Shaping

Remove your old nail polish with some cotton dipped in nail polish remover. Trim your nails. Make sure you cut straight across and don’t cut the corners too much as this can lead to painful ingrown nails. Use an emery board or nail file to give them the desired shape. Some people may prefer to cut nails after soaking as they will be softer and easy to shape.

2. Foot Soak

In a basin fill warm water enough to cover up to your ankles and add:

Epsom salt ½ cup. This is an emollient and will soothe inflammations, reduce roughness and reduce muscle pain. Also helps with exfoliation.
Juice of 1 lemon

A few drops of a Foot Wash of your choice. You can substitute this with liquid hand wash or shampoo if you like.
Essential oils of your choice. (10-12 drops). I use lavender and eucalyptus. Lavender soothes and rejuvenates the skin and helps calm the nerves while eucalyptus provides excellent relief to aching feet. It is also a very good antiseptic and disinfectant.
Add a few smooth pebbles to the water. These will provide a gentle massage as you place your feet on them.
Sit in a comfortable position, soak your feet and relax for 15-20 minutes. Dry them with a towel.

3. ExfoliateOnce you towel your feet, rub in some cuticle cream on the base of each toe nail and leave it on for a few minutes. In the meantime, use a good foot file or pumice stone to remove the dry and rough and dead skin cells. If this skin is not removed it will become hard and thick and will be infected or cracked. Be sure to scrub the heel and balls of the feet, sides of your heels and around your toes, basically anywhere there is rough, hard skin. Do not scrape too hard. Be firm but gentle.

4. Moisturize

Once you are done scrubbing, wash your feet clean and moisturize them. This helps to soften, hydrate and protect your feet from cracking.

Almond oil and olive oil (1 tsp each) with 10-12 drops of your favorite essential oil also makes a good home made massage oil for feet.Rub a generous portion into your feet and massage well. Regular foot massages help keep nerve endings stimulated, improve blood circulation, nourish the skin and foot muscles.

5. Polish

Paint your toe nails with a color of your choice. Always apply a base coat. Wait for it to dry and then apply a coat of nail polish. Let it dry completely before you apply the next coat. This will make your nail polish last longer.

5 Steps For A Spa Pedicure At Home was originally published on blackdoctor.org