We’ve been in lockdown for almost two months, and our toes are looking a little worse for wear (along with our fingernails, general body hair, and don’t even mention our eyebrows).
But our feet, there’s an easy fix for that.
A home-pedicure is a really simple way to give yourself some much-needed self-care, and get your feet looking sandal-ready for the next mini-heatwave that is likely to come our way pretty soon.
It’s also pretty therapeutic. Pumicing, massaging and polishing can feel incredibly soothing and be a great way to shake off any lockdown tension from the week just gone.
So, where do you start? Qualified beauty therapist Joyce Connor has offered her top tips for pampered toes.
Remove the dead and dry skin from your feet when you first wake up in the morning. Use a scraping tool or a course nail file and start at your heel and work your way around the sole of your foot.
When you wake up your feet will be their driest so this will prevent the tool or file shredding the skin and making the cracks in your heel worse.
Remove your old nail varnish. If you don’t have an exfoliating foot scrub available you can make your own using granulated sugar or coarse sea salt mixed with olive oil. The mixture should have quite a thick, non runny consistency.
Rub the mixture over your feet and cuticles to soften them. Do this step over the bath, it can be messy. Rinse and dry off your feet.
Trim your toenails with nail clippers and file them across them in one direction from side to side. Avoid sawing across your nails to prevent splitting the top of your nails.
Push back your cuticles gently with a hoofed orange stick or a rounded spatula.
Add a thick layer of foot cream or body butter onto your feet.
Wrap your feet in cling film and put a pair of cotton socks over the top. Leave the cream to soak in for half an hour.
Avoid walking around during this step, cling film is slippery. Remove the cling film and massage the remaining product into your feet.
Have your chosen colour ready along with a base coat and top coat to seal the nail colour. Top coat gives a lasting finish to the pedicure.
Paint the base coat on from the cuticles to the edge of the nail, wait a few minutes for it to dry.
Apply two coats of your chosen nail colour waiting a few minutes between layers.
Lastly apply the top coat. Nail polish takes approximately an hour to be fully dry on toes.
The experts at SpaSeekers also recommend giving yourself a foot massage, and they have provided a handy step-by-step guide for total relaxation:
- Bend one of your legs and rest your foot on the opposite thigh.
- Rotate the ankle several times in circular motions in each direction to loosen the foot.
- Hold your toes and pull gently towards your ankle to give them a good stretch.
- Now it’s time to massage. Place a small amount of your favourite moisturiser in the palm of your hand, why not add in a drop of essential oil – lavender or rose is perfect for relieving stress and anxiety. Rub your hands together to distribute the moisturiser.
- Wrap your hands around your foot, ensuring your thumbs meet in the arch.
- Apply gentle pressure whilst moving your thumbs outwards in a T motion towards your toes, circling back around and repeating.
- Move towards your toes, gently squeezing each toe pad, one by one.
- Turn your foot back over, and use the same T motion as before to work the tops of your foot, starting at the ankle moving towards your toes.
- Swap feet and give your other foot the pampering it deserves.
Do you have any tips or tricks for beauty care at home? We want to hear from you.
Get in touch: metrolifestyleteam@metro.co.uk.
What's the deal with Feet Week?
Feet Week is a week dedicated entirely to feet... as the name probably gives away.
We figured we could all do with something to occupy our minds during the pandemic - and what better topic than feet?
From 4 May to 10 May you can find articles on everything feet, from what it actually takes to be a foot model to what it's like to be a pro toe wrestler.
MORE: Feet Week: A foot model shares how she prepares for a photoshoot
MORE: Feet Week: What it’s like to live with extremely long toenails
MORE: Feet Week: Are clicking toes normal and can they lead to other problems?
source https://metro.co.uk/2020/05/10/feet-week-how-really-easy-home-pedicure-12675043/
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