Lifestyle

How to give yourself a pedicure at home


No salon? No problem (Picture: Metro.co.uk/Getty)

There’s no need to do anything drastic with hair and beauty during lockdown, as most salon treatments can be achieved at home, just by following a few simple steps.

So far, experts have told us how to cut our hair at home (spoiler: this doesn’t involve using a bread knife, like the woman in the viral video), as well as how to wax and do our own manicures.

This week, we’re turning our attention to the humble pedicure.

Usually covered by socks or shoes, we often forget to give our feet some TLC.

But now shoes are out the window for the forseeable, it’s time to give them the attention they deserve.

While a pedicure might seem daunting (with clipping, exfoliating and painting) Elena Khan, an aesthetician at Young LDN, breaks it down.

What you need for a pedicure

Elena says the following items are needed for a salon-worthy pedicure:

  • A basin of warm water
  • Acetone
  • Cotton pads and q-tips
  • Orangewood stick
  • Clean towel
  • Bath salts/ essential oils
  • Correct tools (nail clipper, cuticle pusher, nail nipper, nail file, buffer)
  • Cuticle remover/cream
  • Pumice Stone/Foot File
  • Scrub
  • Foot lotion
  • Cuticle oil
  • Base coat, colour, top coat

Method

Do your feet need some love? (Picture: Ella Byworth for Metro.co.uk)

Soak and dry

The first step of a pedicure is to soak your feet in warm water for around 5-10 minutes. 

Elena tells Metro.co.uk: ‘This is probably the most relaxing part of the pedicure. You can also add a few drops of essential oil if you have any at home, for added luxury. Essential oils calm the nerves and give your feet the spa treatment they deserve.’

Afterwards, take the feet out from the water and pat dry with a towel, but make sure any existing nail polish on the toenails is removed.

Clip and file

The next step is to clip the nails down – but remember to cut across straight. Then file them to the desired shape.

Elena says: ‘Don’t cut corners too deep, or you will end up with painful ingrown nails. Decide the shape of your nails so that you can file them accordingly.

‘Do the filing with enough force to reshape the nail, but be gentle enough not to weaken them.

‘Resist doing the back and forth motion across the tip of the nail, as this will weaken them. Instead, file in a single direction to get the desired shape.’

Elena advises to add some cuticle cream to the base of your toenails and then to scrub the skin on the feet using a pumice stone or foot file.

She says: ‘This will remove the rough, dry and dead skin. If you do not remove this from time to time the skin will harden, leading to cracks and infection. 

‘Be firm, yet gentle – you want to remove all the skin, but you don’t want to hurt yourself. 

‘Once this is done, remove the cuticle cream and push your cuticles with an angled cuticle pusher.

‘Cuticles are the soft skin at the bottom of your nail where the fingernail cartilage and skin meet. The removal of the cuticle helps regrowth and promotes healthy nails.’

Exfoliate

Next up, is the exfoliation stage, so use a foot scrub – a facial scrub will work, too.

Elena says: ‘Scrub your heels, soles, the areas between your toes and the sides of your feet. Don’t forget to scrub your ankles too.’

Moisturise

Elena adds: ‘Your feet are now fresh and clean, but you need to moisturise them for that ultimate feeling of rejuvenation. 

‘Any heavy moisturiser should do. You can massage your feet, ankles and calf muscles.’

Prep and paint

Just like a hand manicure, it’s important to prep the nails on our feet too. This can be done by using tissue to gently wipe off any nail grease with acetone.

Then it’s time to apply the base coat.

Elena says: ‘You can also apply a transparent nail polish as the base coat or a nail hardener. 

‘Then, apply the shade of your choice and let it dry for some time. Apply another coat over it and once the second coat also dries out, seal it with a top coat – this will enhance the appearance of your nails.’

Once the nails have been left for around 15 minutes to dry, then a cuticle oil can be applied.

Et voila!

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