How to Give Yourself a Pedicure

The feet are very often a neglected part of our bodies, but think about the work that they do, they carry our weight all day. We need to take good care of them, they need to be kept in good condition.

They are covered up all winter and when it comes to summer, we realise the terrible condition that they are in.

Very few people have ever actually had a pedicure or even given themselves one, but below is a step by step guide to getting beautiful looking healthy feet at home.

You will need:

A large bowl

A foot file

A nail file

Moisturiser

Cuticle cream or olive oil

Q tips or cotton buds

Nail polish remover

Cotton wool or an old towel

Nail scissors

Exfoliator

Nail brush

Base coat

Nail polish

Toe separators

Step 1:

Moisten a cotton wool ball or an old towel with acetone free nail polish remover, and stroke it over the toe nails to remove any traces of old nail polish.

Step 2:

Cut your nails with the nail scissors, cut straight across and do not cut downwards, this can lead to ingrowing toenails.

File them straight across with the nails file, you can use a metal file on your toe nails as they are much thicker and stronger than your finger nails. Also, since they are so thick, most standard emery boards would not be able to cope with the task.

Step 3:

Soak your feet in a large bowl of warm water, you can add oils to it such as peppermint or olive oil to help revive and soften the feet. Exfoliate your feet using small gentle circular movements, scrub the toes and nails with the nail brush, rinse.

Step 4: Remove your feet from the water and apply a liberal amount of moisturiser wrap them in the towel and leave for about 10 minutes.

Step 5: File away any rough skin from the feet using the foot file, pay particular attention to the heels.

Apply another coat of moisturiser.

Step 6: Apply warm olive oil or cuticle cream to the cuticles and massage in, gently push the cuticles back with a cotton bud/q tip.

Step 7: Put your toe separators/dividers in; apply your base coat (if using polish)Allow it to dry and add a coat of colour.