Sandal season is here! At The Center for Natural Breast Reconstruction(opens in a new tab), we keep seeing strut-worthy pedicures all around. So what are you waiting for? Grab your favorite polish and arm yourself with these pro-tips for the perfect pedicure. Your piggies will thank you! Trim and File After you’ve removed your nail polish, cut the nails straight across just above your skin (only a sliver of nail-white should remain). Afterward, take an emery board and file the edges into a nice curve. As for choosing an emery file, the fine-grain boards are for smoothing, and the coarser ones are for shaping the nail. Soak ‘Em Fill a large bowl or partially fill your bathtub with warm water(opens in a new tab). Add a few drops of your favorite aromatherapy oil and rest your feet in the water for 10 minutes. No aromatherapy oil, you say? Follow this simple recipe for your footbath. It softens those puppies and removes dead skin: 1 C. Buttermilk (slightly warmed) ½ C. Sugar 6-7 C. Hot water ClipAfter you’ve dried your feet, apply a basic cuticle remover to the base of each nail and rub in the solution. Wipe the excess away, and then use an orangewood stick to gently push back where skin meets the nail (including the sides). If you have a light hand and won't nick yourself, you can use cuticle nippers to trim any loose skin. Exfoliate Introduce your feet to the magic of a wet pumice stone. You can buy these pretty much anywhere and they work brilliantly to slough away dead skin on your heels and the balls of your feet. Remember the objective is to smooth out the skin, so scrub gently. Moisturize Moisturizing is the key to healthy skin(opens in a new tab)and pretty feet. Take any thick, creamy lotion and rub it into your feet thoroughly. (Expert tip: lotion with shea butter is excellent for dry skin). Take your time with this step—you’ve worked diligently to get here, and the massage goes a long way to relieving tension. Paint and Appreciate Apply a thin base coat using three strokes, one down the middle and one on each side. Don't paint the cuticle. Wait a minute before adding two coats of your favorite polish, then finish with a thin top coat. For a summery color choice, opt for anything in the blue-green family—teal is the it-color this season. Now all that’s left is to decide where you’re going to show off your pretty peds!
What is your favorite place to show off a new pedicure?
