Save Money by Giving Yourself a Pedicure

If you’re like most women, you probably love to be pampered. One of my favorite treats is to go out and get a pedicure, although now I rarely get the opportunity. The cheapest place I’ve found offers a spa pedicure for $15, but even that is more than I can reasonably dish out. So, I’ve learned to overcome this obstacle and do my own pedicures.

To get started, there are a few key items you will need to have on hand. There will be a small initial investment but it will quickly pay for itself. Here are the tools that I recommend:

• Foot basin or foot massager
• Cuticle softener (at any nail/beauty supply store)
• Cuticle stick (preferably metal)
• Pumice stone
• Toe nail clippers
• Nippers (this is the most expensive of them all)
• Emery board
• Nail polish
• Acetone polish remover

Now, the first few times you do this, it may seem difficult. As with anything though, practice makes perfect. In no time you’ll be able to give yourself a pedicure in about 30 minutes and the results will look professional.

Cleaning Up the Cuticles

1. First of all, take off any old polish you have on your toenails. The acetone polish remover works best, but make sure to wear gloves if you’re wearing polish on your fingers.
2. Put your feet into soak for about 5-10 minutes. You can use something that smells nice in the water if you’d like, but it’s not necessary.
3. Take your feet out and put them onto a towel. Save the water for later.
4. Use the cuticle softener sparingly across the base of each toenail and rub it in.
5. Take the flat end of the cuticle stick and gently scrape all the way around the edge of the nail. You will probably see a lot of “gunk” at this point, so make sure to wipe your stick often. Repeat on each toenail.
6. Use the pointed end of the cuticle stick to clean underneath each nail paying special attention to the corners where dirt likes to hide.
7. The nippers can now be used to trim any dead pieces of skin around the toenails. Nip very gently as you don’t want to take out large chunks of skin which will actually look worse in the end.

Shaping the Nails

1. Take the toenail clippers and clip each toenail straight across. The length of your toenail is a personal preference.
2. Use the emery board to straighten and curve each nail as you would like it shaped.
3. At this point you can also use a little buffer (looks like a block with sandpaper on it) to buff the tops of the nails if they look pitted or discolored.

Soften the Calluses

1. Rinse your feet in the water you originally used to soak them.
2. Wet your pumice stone and using an up and down or side to side motion, rub it on your heels. If at any point it hurts, move the pumice to a part of your foot where there is a thicker callus. Common spots are the back part of the heels and the side of the big toe.
3. Again rinse your feet in the water making sure each toenail is clean. Pat dry your feet and nails. You can dump the water at this point.

Time For Painting

1. Start with a clear polish as a base and put a thin coat on. You can do this quickly since the clear polish won’t show up if you make any mistakes.
2. Wait about 1 minute to allow the clear polish to dry and then start with your colored polish. Make sure it is a new bottle that is thin and smooth. If it seems a little clumpy, add a tiny bit of acetone and shake well. Start in the middle and then put a stroke on either side. If you make any mistakes, you can use your thumbnail to wipe it off.
3. Finish each toe and then wait about 10 minutes for them to dry. You can speed up the process by using a speed dry nail polish or a fan pointed at your toes.
4. At this point you can either put a second coat and repeat step 2 or you can skip to the topcoat. It’s a good idea to get a topcoat with UV in it because it helps your toenails keep from turning yellow. They’re easy to spot because they have a purple tint to them and if you’re really lucky, you can find a UV top/base coat (all in one!).
5. Cleanup any messes with a nail corrector pen (I know of a good one if you need one) or a little bit of cotton dipped in acetone on a toothpick. Make sure to clean up your thumbs if you used them earlier!

At this point you should be done. As soon as your nails are safely dry you can put a little lotion on your feet and you’re set. You can even look the next time you’re out shopping and you may be able to find little flower stickers for your nails that really give it that professional look. Nobody will ever know that you did it yourself!