Steps To The DIY Pedicure
A Tub Of Warm Water Bath Salt/Shampoo A Good Foot Scrub Nail clippers Cuticle Pusher Nail File Pumice Stone/Foot File Nail Scrubber Nail Polish Remover Cuticle Cream A Clean Towel Moisturizer Cotton Pads
How To Do A Pedicure At Home
1. Prep Your Nails
Using a nail paint remover, remove the old nail polish with a cotton ball/pad.
Then, clip your nails using a nail cutter, but make sure you cut across straight. Don’t cut corners too deep, or you will end up with painful ingrown nails.
Decide the shape of your nails (square, oval, pointed, or squoval) so that you can file them accordingly. Use a nail filer to shape the nail to the desired shape. Do the filing with enough force to reshape the nail, but be gentle enough not to weaken them. Resist doing the back and forth motion across the tip of the nail, as it will weaken them. Instead, file in a single direction to get the desired shape. Before soaking your feet, massage the base of your toenails with cuticle cream.
2. Soak Your Feet
Add half a cup of Epsom salt to the water. This will soften and soothe inflammation, reduce any kind of pain, and reduce roughness. It also acts as an exfoliator.
Add the juice of an entire lemon, and a drop or two of shampoo as well.
You can also add a few drops of essential oil if you have any at home. These usually calm the nerves and give your feet the spa treatment they deserve.
To turn your home pedicure into a spa-like experience, you can also add smooth pebbles to give your feet a gentle massage.
3. Scrub Your Feet
Once your feet are dry, scrub any hard skin areas using a pumice stone. You can also use a foot file instead of a pumice stone. This will remove the rough, dry, and dead skin. If you do not remove this from time to time, the skin will harden, causing cracks and infection. Be firm, yet gentle – you want to remove all the skin, but you don’t want to hurt yourself.
Once this is done, remove the cuticle cream, and push your cuticles with an angled cuticle pusher. Cuticles are the soft skin at the bottom of your nail where the nailbed and skin meet. With the help of the cuticle remover cream, remove the cuticles. Never cut your cuticles. This removal of the cuticle helps your nail grow and promotes healthy nails. Make sure you are gentle. Scrub your nails using a nail scrubber. Quickly wipe your feet with a towel.
Now, use a scrub to exfoliate your feet. You could use a foot scrub or a face scrub for this. Scrub your heels, soles, and don’t forget the areas between your toes, and the sides of your feet. Scrub your ankles too.
If you don’t have a cuticle cream at home, here is a quick recipe to make one.
3 tbsp olive oil/almond oil 1 tbsp coconut oil 1 tbsp glycerin/essential oil (of your choice)
If stored well, this could last for a long time. You can also make a scrub at home. Here is how –
2 tbsp brown sugar 1 tbsp honey 2 tbsp oatmeal powder 1 tbsp lemon juice 1 tsp olive oil
4. Moisturize Your Feet
Your feet are now fresh and clean, but you need to moisturize them for that ultimate feeling of rejuvenation. Any heavy moisturizer should do. You can massage your feet, ankles, and calf muscles for about 10 minutes. Once you are happy, you can apply a fresh coat of nail polish on your feet. You can also use a mixture of almond oil and olive oil to massage your feet post the cleaning process. A teaspoon of each mixed with a few drops of your favorite essential oil serves as a great foot massager. Be generous as you apply it, and massage your feet. Regular massages stimulate your nerve endings and enhance blood circulation, therefore nourishing the skin and invigorating the foot muscles. If you have cracks on your feet, mix some cocoa butter or shea butter with lime juice and apply it on your heels. Wrap your feet with plastic and wear loose cotton socks. Leave this on overnight to find happy feet the next morning. Do this twice a week, making sure you clean and moisturize your feet every day, and you will soon have gorgeous feet that look like a million bucks.
5. Glam Up Your Nails
Once you are done with all the above steps, you can polish your nails with a nail color of your favorite shade. You may or may not follow this step as it’s optional. You can either apply a normal nail polish or even wear French tips.
For Normal Nail Polish
Start by wiping your nails with a cotton pad soaked in polish remover. This will ensure the toenails are free from oils that will cause your polish to chip.
Apply a base coat on your nails first. You can also apply a transparent nail polish as the base coat.
Then, apply the shade of your choice and let it dry for some time.
Apply another coat over it and once the second coat also dries out, seal it with a top coat. This will enhance the appearance of your nails.
For French Tips
Apply a transparent base coat on your nails and let it dry for some time.
Apply a white nail polish on the tips of your nails.
Allow it to dry for a couple of minutes.
Now it’s time for the second coat. This will make the white color appear less splotchy and more attractive.
Let the white coat dry for some time.
Then, apply a single coat of clear nail polish on your nails. Try to keep your stroke as smooth and even as possible. And voila! Your nails are as fresh as dew.
More Tips
Now that you know how to do a pedicure at home, what are you waiting for? When you meet someone new, one of the first things they do is to look at your shoes. Ever wondered what if you are not wearing shoes? First impressions are always lasting ones, so you want your feet to look pretty always.
Make sure you don’t indulge yourself into those fish pedicures as the reports have come out that they are not safe and could possibly increase the risk of Hepatitis C and HIV. Is baking soda good for a pedicure? Yes, baking soda is beneficial for pedicures. This ingredient can be used in a foot soak to exfoliate the skin, relieve irritation, and cleanse the feet. What is the blue tablet used in pedicure water? The blue tablet is called Sani-Tablet. It is used to disinfect spa water, preventing cross-contamination from germs and fungus. It also softens the skin to ensure a comfortable and safe pedicure. What is a chocolate pedicure? A chocolate pedicure usually begins with a warm molten chocolate foot soak, followed by a cocoa scrub to exfoliate the feet. These steps are followed by a foot massage with chocolate cream to keep your feet feeling smooth and revitalized.
