Put Your Best Foot Forward With an At-Home Pedicure

Put Your Best Foot Forward With an At-Home Pedicure

They're your most dependable form of transportation and the perfect excuse for buying a closet full of cute nonleather shoes. Don't your feet deserve a special treat? A pedicure is the perfect way to show them some love and put more pep in your step. So put your feet up (literally) and give your toes some TLC with a spa-quality, at-home, cruelty-free pedicure.

What You Will Need
*All products available online at time of writing. Please check your local stores for similar products.

You'll need to gather the following supplies:

Pillows
A stool or chair
A clean towel
A hair dryer (optional)
A CD player and a relaxing CD (optional)
Cotton balls
Q-tips
A basin or tub

• Inflatable Foot Bath

Foot soak

• Epsom salts
• Bonicca Spa Botanical Mineral Salts
• Masada Natural Mineral Foot Soak

Nail polish remover

• Revlon Nail Enamel Remover

Clippers

• The Body Shop Manicure Set
• Crabtree & Evelyn Pedicure Set

A nail file

• The Body Shop Big Nail Filer
• The Body Shop Big Nail Shiner

A small brush

• The Body Shop Round Body Brush
• The Body Shop Nail Brush

Cuticle treatment

• V'Tae Cuticle Cream 
• Aveda Cuticle Control

Foot scrub

• V'Tae Lavender Exfoliating Buff 
• Freeman Beauty Peppermint & Plum Creamy Pumice Foot Scrub
• Masada Dead Sea Mineral Foot Cream With Peppermint and Tea Tree
• The Body Shop Pumice Foot Scrub

A pumice footstone

• The Body Shop Pumice With Bamboo Handle
• H2O Plus Pedi-Perfector

Lotion

• Garden Botanika High Intensity Foot Treatment
• Freeman Beauty Peppermint & Plum Softening Foot Lotion
• Naturopathica Peppermint Tea Tree Foot Balm
• Aveda Foot Relief

Base-coat nail polish

• The Body Shop Nail Color
• Revlon Firma Nail Base Coat & Top

Nail polish

• The Body Shop Nail Color
• Revlon Color Stay Nail Enamel
• OPI Nail Lacquer

Top-coat nail polish

• The Body Shop Nail Color
• OPI RapiDry Top Coat

Procedure
Set aside approximately 45 minutes for your pedicure. Before you begin, set up a comfortable, well-lit area and gather down-free, nonshedding pillows (fluff will stick to polish) and a chair or stool to prop your feet on. Consider playing soothing music for a relaxing ambiance. Then follow the steps below:

• Fill a basin or tub with warm water. Add Epsom salts or cruelty-free commercial salts and soak your feet for 10 to 15 minutes.
• Gently pat your feet dry with a clean towel.
• Thoroughly remove any old nail polish.
• Clip your toenails straight across with clippers.
• File the toenails to smooth any rough edges.
• Gently buff and smooth your feet with a small brush. Make sure to pay special attention to your heels, the balls of your feet, and the outsides of your pinkie toes.
• Push your cuticles back with the edge of the nail file. Use a cuticle treatment if the cuticles do not push back easily.
• Exfoliate any dry skin with a foot scrub. Use a pumice stone on rough patches.
• Apply a generous amount of lotion to your feet. Gently massage it into your feet and calves.
• Wash away any excess moisturizer from your nails and then separate your toes by placing cotton between them.                                          
• Apply one layer of base coat. Allow time for it to dry, or use a hair dryer set on low heat.
• Apply two coats of color. Use a Q-tip moistened with nail polish remover to remove any mistakes. Again, let your toes dry.  
• Apply a clear top coat to add shine and to protect the color from chipping.
• Apply foot spray in order to cool and soothe fatigued, overworked feet (optional).

Tips for Happy Feet
Here are some ways to keep your feet happy:

• Don't toast your toes! Protect them from the sun with a cruelty-free sunscreen. 
• Trim your toenails straight across at least once a month.
• To give dry feet some extra lovin', lather them up with lotion, cover them with clean cotton socks, and let them moisturize overnight.
• Now that your feet are happy and your toes are pretty from your pedicure, show them off with a pair of sexy summer sandals from Moo Shoes or Vegetarian Shoes and Bags.