Healthy Home Pedicures

The single most important thing you can do to maintain comfortable, odor free, and properly functioning skin is to keep your feet clean. When you wash your feet, you get rid of old layers of dead skin, dirt, and dried sweat that accummulates after a full day of walking around. If you take a shower in the morning and not at night, you should make “”feet washing”" a part of your nightly routine before bed time. Lather up with soap and warm water, not hot, and gently wash the feet. Wipe the feet dry with a towel afterward. Washing feet before bed time is not only a mark of good hygiene, but it prevents you from bringing dirt and germs into your bed.

Soak your feet. Fill a basin with a gallon of warm water. Adding soaking tablets, liquids, or granules, like Dr. Smith’s Mineral Foot Soak to the water will help to moisturize, deodorize, and soften the skin. You can make a good foot soak at home by adding to the water, 1 tablespoon epsom salt or a tablespoon of baking soda, and 1 or 2 tablespoons of bath oil or mineral oil. Soak 10 to 15 minutes.  Soaking relaxes the feet and softens the skin.

Exfoliate your feet. Use a foot scrub or pumice paste, like Kerasal Exfoliating Pumice Paste, to slough off dry and dead skin. Massage the paste in circular motions, and rinse off afterward. A pumice sponge can be used to exfoliate the hardened skin on the heels and bottom the feet. The FootBufferPro safely removes dry, thick, and callused skin without sharp blades or chemicals.

Treat your cuticles. Most pedicurists apply cuticle oil to the toenails to soften and moisturize the hardened edges, and they push the cuticles back with an orangewood stick,. If you include this step in your pedicure, make sure that you do not push too hard, or you might risk tearing the cuticles and

Moisturize and massage. Drench your soles with a moisturizing product made especially for your feet. Using a circular motion, massage a quarter-size dollop of cream all over your feet and lower legs. Then, with the knuckle of your index finger, press down gently into the arch of one foot and knead; repeat on the other foot. The mini massage will relax your feet while boosting circulation, which reduces swelling.

Applying the polish: Hold the flat side of the brush parallel to the nail plate. Begin by applying the polish down the center of the nail, from the cuticle to end, in one stroke. Avoid getting polish on the cuticle. Lift the brush and apply polish to one side of the nail, then the other, so the nail is completely and evenly covered with polish. If color has touched the cuticle or skin, wait until the polish has dried and remove with a Q-tip dipped in nail polish remover.