Whipping your feet into shape – smooth skin, trimmed nails and neat polish – literally takes half an hour not half a year. You don’t need to go to a spa to have immaculate feet you just need to know how to look after them. Follow these 4 easy steps
Step 1: Soak and smooth
Soak your feet in warm water for 10 minutes to soften dead skin. You can add such an essential oil such as lavender to soothe and disinfect the feet. Dry your feet thoroughly and using a pumice stone or foot loofah, work in circular motions, exfoliating the heels, toes and balls of the feet. Using a damp towel, wipe away any excess and moisturize with shea butter, jojoba oil and avocado oil. If your heels are particularly cracked apply a natural foot cream and wear socks the night before the pedicure.
Step 2: Shape
Cut the nails directly across the tops, using nail clippers. Leave a couple of millimeters of nail at the tips; just enough to give your nails a trim edge of white. Shape with a course e mery board, positioned slightly under the nails – the result should be square – shaped nails with softly rounded corners. Using a fine-grain file, smooth the edges. If the nail surfaces are ridged, gently buff them with a buffer.
Step 3: Push back cuticles
Most people find it difficult to cut their own cuticles as cutting too deeply can cause an infection. The safest way to neaten the cuticles is to use the flat end of an orange stick; using small, backwards and forwards motions, gently push them back. Try using a product such Mukti Body Butter. This cream contains honey, shea butter and olive oil to soften your cuticle so that it easily slides away from the nail. Alternatively you can try a cotton bud dipped in Botani Body Oil.
Step 4: Polish
Clean any excess lotion from the nails with an organic non acetone nail polish remover. Separate toes with a folded tissue weaving under and over each toe, the apply a base coat to protect the nail yet still allow it to breath. To apply polish, hold the brush like a pen, resting your hand on your foot, and paint the nails making an arc from the base across the top of each nail. Once you’ve drawn the first arc you should only need a few strokes to fill in the rest of the colour (less for the smaller toenails). Wait about five minutes then apply another coat. Finish with a top coat to protect the polish and prolong the pedicure.
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