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Aug

Put your Best Foot Forward – Pedicure Tips

As far as beauty treatments go most of us neglect our feet. You don’t have to book a visit to a spa to keep your feet in good condition. There are simple things you can do at home to keep you feet in top shape. Ladies read on and give your feet a good homemade workout…

Things you need:

• Nail files or Emery boards

• Nail clippers or scissors

• A foot bath/basin – to soak your feet

• Your favourite nail polish

• Base coat and top coat or a product that does both

• Cotton balls

• Nail polish remover

• Pumice stone

• Towel

• An orangewood stick. This is a small wooden stick used to clean under fingernails and toenails. An orangewood stick comes with many nail kits.

• Foot cream. If you don’t have a foot cream then a moisturizer will do.

Foot Soaks:

Salt based

There are lots of different recipes for a foot soak. These are two of my favourite ones:

• ½ cup Epsom salt (If you don’t have Epsom salt then just use sea salt or rock salt). You will find Epsom salts in the laundry and pharmacy sections of most stores.

• 3 slices of lime

• 5 to 10 mint leaves

• 5 drops of essential lime oil – you can also peppermint essential oil (great for aching feet) or clove essential oil. Essential oils also remove foot odor.

Combine all these and add to a basin filled with warm water.

Tea Bags Based

Boil 4 tea bags in one quart of water for 10 minutes.

Put the boiling water to the basin

Add enough cold water to make the tea solution comfortable for your skin.

Why tea bags: The tannin in tea is a drying agent that will remove odor. It also tightens the skin. And of course as we all know tea contains strong antioxidants that revitalize your skin and reduce swelling with anti-inflammatory properties

Steps:

Grab some of your favourite magazines. (and maybe a cup of tea)

Light a scented candle

Get the foot soak ready

Grab all your tools and keep them handy (hyperlink)

Soak you feet in the foot soak for 15 minutes.

Using a pumice stone rub the heels and balls of your feet to remove dead skin. If you have a soft brush, you can use that as well.

Use the towel and dry your feet properly.

Cut your nails.

Shape your nails with a nail file or emery board. Toenails should be straight across the top with slightly rounded edges.

Using an orangewood stick, gently push back cuticles.

Use a foot cream or a moisturizer to massage your feet. I prefer foot cream to moisturizer. Cream designed especially for feet is richer and thicker than regular body cream. It penetrates the harder skin on our feet giving a luxurious softness.

One foot at a time apply base coat. Allow to dry.

Apply two coats of your favourite nail polish. The first coat has to be dry before you put on the second coat. Allow to dry.

Apply a top coat of nail hardener. This prevents chipping.

Add cotton balls in between toes until nails are dry.

And that’s it…AT the end of this exercise you will have beautiful shiny feet. Here are a few other tips about feet care:

• For optimum skin and nail health, make sure your diet includes plenty of vitamin A, E and B complex, and the minerals calcium, Zinc, magnesium and iodine. If there is a necessity then take some vitamin supplements. There are supplements specifically targeting the hair, nail and skin care.

• Wash your feet regularly.

• Apply medicated foot powders and refreshing foot sprays.

• Wear cotton socks to absorb moisture from your feet.

• If polish has separated, roll the bottle to mix it -- shaking can cause air bubbles on nails.

• Store your polish in the fridge to preserve consistency.

• And finally wear comfortable and correct fitting shoes.