Pamper Thy Feet! - A Perfect Pedicure at Home!

Our feet are the part of our body we neglect the most. We stand, we walk, jump, dance...feet are the most important part of our body and hence contribute a lot to our bodily movements. The fatigue and strain, wear and tear..we sometimes ignore everything. We should take some time out to pamper our feet as well. Pedicure is the best way to give your feet the relief they deserve.
You don't have time or you feel too lazy to take a trip to the salon or a pedicure spa for the pedicure to be done...don't worry, we can do it at home! So today I'm sharing pedicure ideas, to get soft and nice looking feet. And after this you will definitely feel relaxed and rejuvenated. Also well groomed feet indicate that you take good care of yourself.
What we need?
There are pedicure tool kits available in the market, that consist of nail clipper, nail file, nail scissors, pumice stone, foot wash, foot scrub, foot creams, etc. So you will need these basic things.
Apart from that you will need a pedicure bowl. Or a tub too will do. You need any fragrant oil like almond/lavender oil or any oil of your choice, it will help you relax. Alternately you can use a few slices of lemon and oranges, and rose petals.
Epsom salt helps in exfoliation, i.e. removing dead skin, we need about 4-5 tbsp of it. If you don't have it, you can use the bath salt you may have.
A towel to dry the feet. Some cotton balls, a nail enamel of your choice.
How to do it?
1. Remove the traces of nail color on your toenails, if any, with a nail color remover. Cut your toenails in a desired shape. Make sure you do not cut the corners of the nails too much, or it will hurt. File them using a nail filer to smoothen the edges. Swipe in one direction only, don't file back and fro. Some people prefer it doing after the soaking when the nails are soft. You may do it before of after soaking depending upon your nails, whether hard of soft.
2. Fill in some warm water in the pedicure bowl or a tub, enough to cover up your ankles. Add in your favorite fragrant oil or rose petals and slices of oranges and lemons. Add Epsom salt and foot wash. Soak your feet for 15-20 minutes. This will give relief to your feet. Also it will help soften the dead skin, calluses and corns.
3. Now take your feet out of water, dry them with a towel and apply cuticle cream on the base of the toenails. Leave it for 5-10 minutes. In the meanwhile, rub the sole of your feet with the pumice stone, especially the heels and the underside of your toes. You may apply some body wash gel on the pumice stone. This process will help reduces calluses.
4. Then, wipe off the cuticle cream and gently push back the cuticles using a cuticle pusher. Apply scrub to your feet, top side and sole. Scrub nicely, especially near the toenails, the heels and ankles. Be gentle, we need to remove only the top layer of the skin, that is the dead skin. Scrub gently each foot for 5 minutes. Wash your feet clean and dry them.
5. Now apply a foot cream, or a moisturizer to your feet and massage gently for a few minutes. This will help the skin from drying up. You may then wear cotton socks overnight. If you do not have so much of time you may skip wearing the socks and follow the next step.
6. Applying nail color! Place small cotton balls between your toes to maintain some distance. First apply the base coat, let it dry. Then apply a coat of nail color of your choice. Let it dry before you apply the second coat. This will give a smooth finish to the nail color.
That's it! Done in just an hour!
You may follow these steps of pedicure once every week, along with regular cleansing and moisturizing. Your feet will look amazingly gorgeous! Have a happy feet!
Note: Even men can follow these tips for pedicure...Just that skip the last step! :D