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How to do a pedicure.
Feb 19, 2009

A pedicure is a way to improve the appearance of the feet and their nails. It also helps keep your feet healthy and is therapeutic. But there's no need to pay someone at a spa to do it when you can do it at home.

To perform a pedicure you will need all of the same  implements and tools required to perform a manicure except you will want to replace the finger bowl with the foot bath.

Pretty Feet


The first step is to remove the old polish from your nails. Instead of cotton balls (which will leave fuzzies), use a paper towel or a lint free cotton pad. Saturate the cotton pad with acetone remover & rub off the old polish. If the color isn't coming off easily, press the saturated cotton on the nail & let it soak in first. A tip for removing stains from nails: try rubbing whitening toothpaste on your nails. You can also rub a drop of lemon or lavender oil on each toe & rub a buffer back & forth over the nail. This will remove the yellowed outer layer.

Step Two. It's best to use high quality clippers made for clipping toenails. To avoid ingrown nails, cut nail straight across to just above the skin. Make sure your nail doesn't extend over the tip of your toe. To get a soft square shape, file nails in one direction until they are even & slightly rounded at the corners. (Hint: Don't use metal files, they'll rip your nails; use an emory board). Don't clip the sides of nails, that can cause ingrowns.

Step Three. Fill a large flat-bottom bowl with ice water. I recommend ice water instead of warm water because it helps reduce swelling in the feet, however if you like you can use warm water. Throw in bath salts, hydrogen peroxide (this helps disinfect as well as help with any discoloring you may have on your nails), your favorite aromatherapy oils and Epsom salt & let your feet soak 10 minutes. The more cracked & calloused your feet, the longer they need to stay in.

Step Four. Apply cuticle remover  to the base of each nail & rub it in. Leave on for a minute, then use an orangewood stick (Tweezerman works great) to gently push with a circular motion everywhere where skin meets the nail (including the sides). Be careful to remove skin only on top of the nail, don't touch the toe flesh. Never 'dig' into the flesh as breaking the seal between the nail plate and the nail bed will allow bacterial organisms to enter and an infection could occur.

Step Five. Apply an exfoliating body or foot scrub to a foot file or wet pumice stone to slough away the dead skin on the balls & heels of your feet. You'll want to scrub the balls, bottoms & sides of your heels & around the toes.

Step Six. Dry feet thoroughly including between the toes & rub in a thick foot cream.

Step Seven. Use acetone remover to get rid of any excess oils on the nails. Apply a thin base coat using 3 strokes, one down the middle, then one on each side. Don't paint the cuticle. Wait a minute before adding two coats of your favorite polish, then finish with a thin top coat. Clean up any errors with an orangewood stick wrapped in cotton & dipped in acetone remover. Let nails dry for at least 40 minutes. Tip: It's good to paint any polish remaining on the brush over the front nail edge. This prevents chipping.

Step Eight. After nails have dried, spritz with a moisturizing oil. This sets your polish & moisturizes your cuticles. Then voila! You're done!
Visibility: Everyone
Posted: Thursday February 19, 2009, 12:36 pm
Tags: beauty feet health tricks tips pedicure [add/edit tags]

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