Key to a Great Pedicure at Home and keeping those feet pretty year round!

Do you want your feet to look great this summer?

Well here are some pedicure tips that will help you have beautiful feet all summer long.

 

After reading many how to articles around the Web about how to do a Pedicure at Home and some of them being good advice and some not so good. I thought why not add my version, so here I go...............

I have already mentioned a few important pedicure items in previous post below that I feel are the main tools to help keep your feet looking good year round. (See previous post below)

Pedicure tip no. one
Pedicure tool tip no. two
Pedicure tool tip no. three

So to give yourselves a Great Pedicure at home here are some things you will want to gather up before you start.

• Something to protect your work area ( I use a really thick towel )
• Another towel for drying your feet
• Polish Remover ( I like the ones with acetone )
• Cotton ( 100% blend )
• Pedicure Bath or something large enough to soak your feet
• Pedicure Salts
• Pedi File ( I like the Swedish Clover Foot File )
• Toenail Clippers
• Cuticle Nippers
• Ingrown Toenail File ( Like the Tweezerman one in the post below )
• Orangewood Stick
• Emery Board
• Large Nail File ( I like the 100/180 grit a very good item to pack for a Summer trip)
• Nail Buffer ( I like the three way buffers )
• Nail Brush
• Toe Separators
• Paper Towels ( Just in case )
• Cuticle Oil ( preferably with a dropper instead of a brush )
• Lotion
• Base Coat or Ridge Filler if you have deep ridges in your Nails
• A fast drying Top Coat ( I like Sech Vite Dry Fast )
• Your favorite Nail Polish
• Something to occupy you until you can dry a little ( Book, Movie,Phone ??? )

Now that you have gathered all of your goodies let's get started!

1. The first thing to do is prepare your work area and arrange your supplies in the order you prefer.
2. The second thing is to remove any old nail polish you may still have on.
3. Before you wet your feet use the rougher side of the pedicure file making sure to pay attention to the heels and balls of your feet also smooth any callus areas you may have ( being careful not to take off to much at a time ) Then go back over your feet with the softer side.
4. Now if you really want a smoother feel you can take your large Nail File and use the smoother side to go over them one last time for an even smoother result.
5. If needed Clip your nails ( just above the end of your toe leaving some nail for filling)
6. Take your Emery board and File straight across the top of the nail where you just trimmed and then gently file the sides to round the edges. ( try not to go any shorter than the end of your toe as this will help not to start an ingrown toenail ) And always file from side to center.
7. Now it's time to get your Pedicure Bath ready with your ( hopefully good smelling ) Bath Salts and some nice warm water.
8. Soak your feet for at least 10 or 15 minutes. ( Now while you are soaking it is a good time to take that pretty polish that you are going to use and mix it up a little no need in shaking it just flip the bottle upside down and roll it between the palms of your hands. )
9. Okay if you are in a position to leave one foot in the bath it will be better so the second foot will stay soft while you are working on the first foot.
10. Take one foot out of the bath and dry it off. Apply your cuticle oil to all five toes then use your orangewood stick to gently push back around the cuticle area.( I like to roll a small piece of cotton around the end of the stick and wet it to make it softer.) ( DO NOT CUT YOUR CUTICLES! ) If you have excessive skin growth on your nail from the cuticle area (could be pterygium ) please have it checked by your doctor.
11. Now take the Ingrown Toenail File and use the small end to clean out under the nails. If you have toenails that sometimes try to push into your skin on the sides you can take the file end of this tool and gently put it under the side of the nail and pull it forward. If you have a toenail that is really hurting you please get it checked. It is amazing the relief that a good doctor can give you for an ingrown toenail.
12. Now take your three way buffer and gently buff the top of the nails to smooth them. If you have ridges in your nails ( and a lot of us do ) don't try and buff them totally out as this will make your nails thin. It is better to leave the ridges and use a ridge filler to get a smooth look. Also if you are going to polish I think it works best to only buff with the first two sides of the buffer because if you use the really smooth side of the buffer and you file the nail to smooth the polish may not adhere as well.
13. Put your foot back in the water and use your nail brush to brush away any remaining debris. Take the foot back out of the bath and dry it off.
14. Go back to step 10 thru 13 and do the same with the other foot.
15. At this point you should have both feet out of the water dry and ready for the next part of your Pedicure. ( The Pampering Part of your Pedicure )
16. Go ahead and reapply cuticle oil to all of your toes and rub it in really good.
17. Now pamper yourself with your lotion, massage it in really good, making sure again to pay extra attention to the really dry areas. ( Another little tip is if you have extra stubborn dry patches or callus you can add a little of your cuticle oil to that area to help it even more. )
18. Now take a piece of cotton saturated with remover and wipe off the top of the nail one more time. If cotton fibers drive you nuts you can use a paper towel with remover instead of the cotton. ( Try to avoid removing the moisture on the skin and cuticle area. )
19. Put your toe separators between your toes and the fun begins!
20. Okay you are now ready to apply your base coat and if you have ridges use a ridge filler. It will give you a smoother surface and overall a better result to your finished Pedicure. Start with the little toe on one foot and work your way to the big toe do the same on the other foot. Don't be tempted to skip the base coat because it is important for bonding and will help make all the work you are doing last a lot longer and also pay special attention and try to stay off the cuticle and make sure you apply the base all the way to the edges of your nails. If you do get polish on your skin just dip the orangewood stick in your remover to clean it up. 
21. Now open that favorite color of polish and make them pretty! Use two coats of your polish and do the same as you did with your base coat and try to stay off the cuticle and make sure to go all the way to the edges of the nails.
22. Top it all off with your top coat all the way to the edges and if you like drop a ( very small ) drop of the cuticle oil on top of your top coat. This will help in case you brush up against something and get a small ding, it will make the polished surface slick so you can take your finger and lightly smooth out the ding in your polish before it drys.
23. Now grab that book, movie, phone or what ever will keep you still while you sit pretty and give them some time to dry.
24. This seems like a lot of work and it does take some time but should last you and look pretty for about a month!

Nothing Prettier to me in the Summer than to see a nice pair of sandals sporting a well done Pedicure!

Hope you enjoyed the article and have Beautiful Tootsies all Summer ;-)

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