How To Do Pedicure At Home in 5 Easy Steps

Reading has been a hobby since childhood and I have always wanted to try my hand at writing. So when the opportunity to write a post on Rati’s post presented itself, I knew this was the time to start. Thank you Rati :). As I dashed off a mail to Rati expressing my interest, I knew that my first post had to be foot care…..

Pedicure

I believe well groomed feet contribute greatly to our overall beauty and personality and are the best indicator to how well we look after ourselves. They carry our body weight all through the day and they do deserve to be indulged time and again. Alas! Foot care always takes a back seat when it comes to grooming and beauty treatments. Most of you will agree that although we spend a lot of our precious time and money pampering our face and body, feet get little of our attention.

I have very dry feet, which tend to crack easily. Combine that with two little kids to run after all day long and the result was that my feet had so many cracks I could barely walk. However, ever since I started to take good care of them I realized that treating your feet makes you feel wonderfully relaxed and pampered. If you too are guilty of neglecting your feet as I was, despair not:). A little pampering on a regular basis and you will have your feet looking pretty in no time.
Here’s what I’ve been doing two nights a week…

What you will need:

  1. Nail Clippers, Cotton pads, Nail Polish Remover, Cuticle Cream , Cuticle pusher, emery board or nail file
  2. Basin for soaking and towels for drying your feet. (Foot wash ingredients are listed below)
  3. Foot file, pumice stone or a loofah
  4. A good foot scrub
  5. Foot moisturizer

How to proceed…

1. TRIMMING AND SHAPING:
Remove your old nail polish with some cotton dipped in nail polish remover. Trim your nails. Make sure you cut straight across and don’t cut the corners too much as this can lead to painful ingrown nails. Use an emery board or nail file to give them the desired shape. Some people may prefer to cut nails after soaking as they will be softer and easy to shape. I do this first as my nails get too soft for shaping once they are soaked.

2. FOOT SOAK

A good foot soak goes a long way in beating the stress after a long day. In a basin fill warm water enough to cover up to your ankles and add:

  1. Epsom salt ½ cup. This is an emollient and will soothe inflammations, reduce roughness and reduce muscle pain. Also helps with exfoliation. (Available in most medical shops). However if you do not have this you can use any other bath salts you may have on hand.
  2. Juice of 1 lemon
  3. A few drops of a Foot Wash of your choice. You can substitute this with liquid hand wash or shampoo if you like.
  4. Essential oils of your choice. (10-12 drops). I use lavender and eucalyptus. Lavender soothes and rejuvenates the skin and helps calm the nerves while eucalyptus provides excellent relief to aching feet. It is also a very good antiseptic and disinfectant.
  5. Add a few smooth pebbles to the water. These will provide a gentle massage as you place your feet on them. Feels heavenly!! (Read this tip somewhere and totally love it!)
  6. Sit in a comfortable position, soak your feet and relax for 15-20 minutes. Dry them with a towel.

Pedicure

3. EXFOLIATE

Once you towel your feet, rub in some cuticle cream on the base of each toe nail and leave it on for a few minutes. In the meantime, use a good foot file or pumice stone to remove the dry and rough and dead skin cells. If this skin is not removed it will become hard and thick and will be infected or cracked. Be sure to scrub the heel and balls of the feet, sides of your heels and around your toes, basically anywhere there is rough, hard skin. Do not scrape too hard. Be firm but gentle.

If you do not have too much dry, rough skin just use a loofah for some gentle scrubbing. Next, wipe off the cuticle cream and push back cuticles gently with a cuticle pusher. Use an old toothbrush to scrub your toes and underneath the nails. Wipe your feet dry.
Use a good foot scrub and gently massage your feet. Scrub your soles, paying special attention to your heels, in between your toes and the tops and sides of your feet. Scrub your ankles as well.

I use Scholl Rough Skin Remover. This is by far the best foot scrub I have come across (believe me I have tried many!).. Just make sure your feet are dry before you use this. It contains a highly effective combination of natural pumice and fruit AHA’s for an intensive exfoliating action and leaves your feet soft, smooth and conditioned. It claims to instantly removes rough hard skin and it does. You can actually see the dead skin falling off! I so love this product-my Holy Grail when it comes to foot care! Rs.125 for 75 ml. You could also use any leftover face or body scrub you found too abrasives. It hould work well for the feet.

4. MOISTURIZE:

Once you are done scrubbing, wash your feet clean and moisturize them. For this I love Scholl Foot Mousse. This works wonders for dry feet. Softens, hydrates and protects from cracking. Moreover it is instantly absorbed, so u can wear socks immediately after. It is prices at Rs.200 for 125 ml. A little goes a long way and will last ages.

Pedicure

Again, if you do not have this, use any other moisturizer of your choice. A face cream you found to be too heavy for the face can do the trick!! I always use products that don’t work out for the face on the feet. This way I don’t feel guilty about my impulsive purchases!!

Almond oil and olive oil (1tsp each) with 10-12 drops of your favorite essential oil also makes a good home made massage oil for feet.

Rub a generous portion into your feet and massage well, better still if you can get someone else to do the massage for you. Ask your hubby or a friend! Sit back and relax! Regular foot massages help keep nerve endings stimulated, improve blood circulation, nourish the skin and foot muscles.

If you have cracks, follow up with a cream formulated especially for that. You can also use Vaseline mixed with lime juice, wrap with plastic for 15 minutes. Wear loose cotton socks and tuck yourself in. Voila!! Happy Gorgeous Feet! 🙂

Do this religiously twice a week and follow up with once a week along with daily cleansing and moisturizing and your feet will be feeling like a million bucks!

5. DRESS THEM UP!

Pedicure

Paint your toe nails with a color of your choice. Always apply a base coat. Wait for it to dry and then apply a coat of nail polish. Let it dry completely before you apply the next coat. This will make your nail polish last longer. Showcase your feet in stylish footwear, a beautiful anklet, pretty toe ring or even tattoos…whatever you fancy!

By : Smita

Image Source : 1, 2, 3, 4

I am guilty for ignoring my feet. Thanks Smita. :)- Rati

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59 thoughts on “How To Do Pedicure At Home in 5 Easy Steps

  1. Hey Smita,

    Nice Post…Have dry feet as well and was thinking of trying products from scholl…Shall definately try Them…

    Rati,
    Great Concept…So many different and interesting post…Congratulations..

  2. Wah!!!

    Felt like I was in my favorite spa 🙂 Thank you Smita. I have been ignoring my feet for a while. Time to pamper them now. Btw, I am also a Dr Scholl fan. Their products are awesome esp the rough skin remover scrub.

  3. I agree what you said about the scholl products. I presented my mom the Scholl Rough Skin Remover and other foot care products. She always complains about having cracked feet so I bought her a couple of stuff from scholl. I even gave her a pedicure and it was incredible to see how effective the product it right from the first use. Even I use the foot cream mousse. And lately because of climate change, it developed some crack on my heels and I got the scholl cream. Though I don’t get time to apply it, but I did on a sunday evening and it’s very good.

  4. Thanks Poornima :)…This is the very first time I wrote something and the appreciation means a lot to me.

    Shweta…thank you…do try Scholl..you will not be disappointed

    Rati..thanks so much for this platform… gives me a chance to interact with all these lovely people 🙂

  5. Hey, gr8 post Smita! I too am guilty of neglecting my feet. Luckily I have good looking feet (don’t ask me what that means – but a lot of people have given me this compliment – I take it for what it is worth).. so i do get away with a lot of neglect.. At times i slather on my cold cream on my feet, wear hubby’s old cotton socks and go to sleep. In the morning my feet are all soft and i exfoliate my feet almost 2 times a week with my TBS bath gloves.

    But I liked yr tips as well. Will try out this routine soon. Maybe will couple it with Divs – home spa thingie 😀

  6. Hey Smita, Great post…
    What i really liked abt it thaqt you don’t list exotic products or ingredients..
    You have given options that are readily available evrywhere..
    Really great.. 😀

  7. Abha…..my mom too has cracked feet and extremely sensitive skin. Products from Scholl are the only ones she is not allergic to. And so sweet of you to give her a pedicure!

    Ruby …we are all guilty of ignoring our feet at some point. Do enjoy your date! 😛

    Tanveer.. Am so glad you liked my post. I read your blog as regularly as Rati’s and feels great to have a positive comment from you guys 🙂 Lucky you! My feet need regular care to look anywhere close to decent 😀 . Must try the TBS bath gloves now … I am trying Divija’s home spa this weekend!

    Mrunmayee.. Thanks so much 🙂 I have found many a times that simple remedies work better than exotic recipes especially is you have sensitive skin like mine.

  8. That’s a nice post Smitha…my mom’s feets are a lot cracked….this will be a treat for her….thanks for the info on Scholl’s products.

  9. congratulations smita!
    i maintain my feet pretty well, but there seems to be a problem. my feet are at least three shades darker than the rest of my body! this makes wearing bright slippers and sandals a task. waaanh! 🙁
    rati, keep it up girl! you’re truly great!

  10. Jomol thank you:)… my mum has cracked feet too. Scholl has helped her a lot. I am sure your mom will bebefit from it too. do give it a try…Also your post on Polycystic Ovarian Disease was an eye opener for me. am more aware of what I eat now and am avoiding ajinomoto…Thank you for that great post…:)

    Thank you Rima..you are one of the few who maintain their feet well…do keep it up…also have you tried using sunscreen on your feet as well?? might help

  11. I try to take care of my feet every week but sometimes I don’t have time.
    I will look for those Schol products, sounds good.
    My feet always hurt. I can’t walk on high heels,
    I don’t know why my feet are just not made for it.
    But I keep forcing so the pain is getting worse and worse.
    If I want to continue like this (I don’t feel feminine when I’m not wearing high heels)
    I have to nourish me feet very well. This article will be my guide, thank you.

  12. Sunaina…I know how bad foot pain can be…have gone thru it myself….if your feet hurt all the time maybe you should consult a doctor…there maybe an underlying cause.

    Most of us love high heels…..But do try and get off them atleast temporarily until you feel better. Or at the very least use them occassionaly….:)

  13. Followed these steps exactly as it is… my feet and I loved it 😀 Hope to do it every week! Lets see how long I can keep it up.

  14. Thnx for the lovely post Smitha! 🙂 Wil definitely try 2 get Scholl products n Pamper my feet!
    Hope my feet end up being ‘ Happy Feet’! LOL! 🙂 🙂 😀

  15. Hey Smita,

    Thanks a lot for these really simple steps.
    It the most cost effective treatment and at Home.

    The tip about putting eucalyptus oil was amazing. Totally eased me out.

    need an advice from you.
    Recently my feet have become a bit tanned due to strapped footwear.

    If I were to bleach them, where can i out this step while pedicure?

    Any tips on which bleach or homemade remedies could work.
    I need to wear my skirt next week and my tan on the feet will be distinctly seen on really fair leg.. (thats something i can be proud of)

    1. In order to remove tan from your skin specially feet you can first try on saoking your feet in nice pedicure water soak them for around 15 min is the tan is harsh then around 30 min after soaking your feet gently towel dry it and then rub pumice stone to exfoliate the dead skin or tanning 5 min on each leg will do ( in case of harsh tanning) . Then prepare a paste of besan 1/4th spoon of turmeric and tomato juice of your skin tone in dark u can use 2/4 th of turmeric prepare a smooth paste and apply on your feet let it stay for a minute or two when it is in a not so dry condition scrub it on your feet do wear gloves to protect your nails from yellowing . Keep scrubbing till it dries of n starts coming off on its own wash your feet with luke warm filtered water and apply little rose water to smoothen your feet ! And voila you can see results yourself ! If the tanning is strong it might take time to go off you may repeat the process twice or thrice to see btr results! It did work on my skin hopefully will work on yours too 🙂

  16. This is absolutely amazing, I am trying to start my own pedicure service from home and all your instructions are just great!

    I cannot wait to start!!!

  17. hey smita.. such a lovely post nd awesome pics… :yes: :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: :dance: :dance: sorry for late reading though …
    😛
    truly yaar our feet get ignored the most… i do this activity though not twice a week. i use foot creams of oriflame (they suit me well). as soon i finish my tube, i m gonna buy scholls. also your idea of including pebbles is quite innovative. vl definitely tried this next time. hey can u suggest a good cuticle cream?

  18. hie Smita
    liked ur tips alot!
    frm where i cn get this scholls products?
    gve sme tips fr manicure and tanning as well!!! 😀 O:) 😉

  19. my feet become very black after coming from the office i even use socks to avoid this please give me any suggestion to avoid this please

  20. I had no clue v can do so much, I never bother as to how I look but I guess I should change and by the way my feet is super dry and I care for them only wen they start bleeding, I will try doing some thing at least from now on

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