Pedicure at Home

The history of pedicures dates back to the ancient Egypt. A carving of a pharaoh's official was noted as representing manicures and pedicures. A pedicure is a way to improve the appearance of the feet and the nails. It is basically a manicure for the feet. The word pedicure is derived from the Latin words pes, which means foot, and cura, which means care. It also means the care of the feet and its toenails. A pedicure can be very helpful because it can prevent nail diseases and nail disorders. Pedicure is basically the care of the feet, legs and toenails. Its basic purpose is to keep the feet in good condition and to make the skin soft and smooth. It helps improve blood circulation, nourishes the skin and the leg and foot muscles and it discourages foot ailments. Like all the nails on your hand the nails on your feet too need to be taken care of. You can yourself give a pedicure at home. Given below are the steps to follow for a pedicure at home.

Remove all the old nail polish completely. Using cotton balls leaves traces of cotton on your nails, therefore try using cotton bands instead. Then soak the cotton band with acetone remover and remove the old polish. If the color is not coming off then press the cotton on to the nail and let it soak for a while.

It is always better to use high quality clippers to cut your toenails. You should cut your nails straight across, leaving about 1/8" of length. You should not let your nail extend over the tip of your toe. For a soft square shape, file the nail around the corners in only one direction. Use emery boards and not metal files because metal files rip nails. The smoother surface is for smoothing of the nail edge while the coarser surface is for shortening and shaping nails. Fill a big flat-bottom bowl with some warm water. Add bath salts, aromatherapy oils or Epsom salts and let your feet soak for few minutes. The more calloused your feet are the longer they require to stay soaked. You should add about quarter cup of milk to the warm water, lactic acid in the milk loosens all the dead skin.

Apply cuticle remover to the base of each nail and rub in. Wait for a minute and then using an orange wood stick push the skin back slowly to where it meets the nail.

Use cuticle nippers in order to trim the loose skin. You should not cut your toe flesh.

Always use an exfoliating body or foot scrub and a foot file or a wet pumice stone and remove the dead skin on the balls and heels of your feet. The idea is to smooth and not to remove. If your foot is turning bright red then you should stop.