How To Do a Pedicure
If you are accustomed to wearing nail polish, remove this first.
If your remover is alcohol or acetone free, it may not be as
effective on darker colors. Also, some people prefer to use
gauze pads as opposed to cotton balls to avoid any fuzz leftover
on the nails. But if your ball is wet enough and wiped well,
this shouldn't be a problem.
Next, cut your nails, using a proper toenail cutter and not a
fingernail clipper. The toe clippers are made specifically for
the nature and shape of foot nails. Cut straight across, leaving
one-eighth to one-quarter of an inch, depending on the shape of
your toe. Nails can then be filed down with the rough side of an
emery board, the corners shaped, and the smooth side of the
board used to buff the edges.
Use a bowl, or dishpan from the Dollar Store as a footbath. Soak
your feet in warm water for 15 minutes. For a more relaxing
session, add some aromatherapy oils or crystals to the water.
The soaking will help soften skin that you will be working with
next.
Use a cuticle softener around the edges of each nail, and then
an orangewood stick to gently push back any skin extending over
the nail. Go only to the edge of the nail and no further. If you
have a piece of loose skin, there are cuticle clippers that will
remove it. The ball and heels of your feet is where the toughest
and roughest skin is. Use a scrub meant for removing dry skin,
and put it on a pumice stone or foot scrubber. Rub firmly in
order to get the softened dead skin off, but don't go so far
that you irritate the foot.
Now indulge yourself by moisturizing while you massage your
feet. There are creams made specifically for foot skin, which
will condition it better. Rub and massage it into all areas of
the foot, especially the thicker skin portions, and then
continue up the ankle to the lower calf. You might also like to
use a drop of cuticle oil, massaged in to keep them soft and
pliable.
Allow your feet to dry thoroughly before putting on any kind of
footwear, or re-painting the nails with polish.