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.
What you will need:
- Nail Clippers, Cotton pads, Nail Polish Remover, Cuticle Cream , Cuticle pusher, emery board or nail file
- Basin for soaking and towels for drying your feet. (Foot wash ingredients are listed below)
- Foot file, pumice stone or a loofah
- A good foot scrub
- 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:
- 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.
- Juice of 1 lemon
- A few drops of a Foot Wash of your choice. You can substitute this with liquid hand wash or shampoo if you like.
- 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.
- 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!)
- Sit in a comfortable position, soak your feet and relax for 15-20 minutes. Dry them with a towel.
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.
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. 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!
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!
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