French Pedicure

While planning your beauty routine, don't neglect your feet that carry your around all day long. Well-groomed and healthy feet and nails go a long way in adding to your personal style statement. Are you plagued by cracked heels or dry and tired feet? Give yourself a home pedicure or go in for a salon pedicure. Arm yourself with a pedicure kit and get going. Choose from a range of foot products, be it foot scrubs or creams or alluring nail varnish shades. A spa pedicure is a relaxing experience that will leave your feet smooth and sexy. The classic French pedicure never goes out of style.

Pedicure

You can give your feet some much-deserved pampering at home with a home pedicure. Alternatively you can opt for a salon pedicure where you can sit back and relax and watch your feet get a makeover. What is a pedicure all about? The basic fundamentals for any pedicure are the same - soak, smoothen, pamper and polish.

1. Cut your nails straight across with nail clippers. Use a file to smoothen the edges. Square nails with rounded edges are popular.

2. Soaking the feet in warm soapsuds is the first critical step to a good pedicure. Throw in your favorite bath salts or just a teaspoon of olive oil. You could add a cup of Epsom salt, a natural disinfectant. The warm water works wonders on the tired and hardened skin on the feet. Ensure that old nail varnish is removed prior to soaking the feet in water. Aromatic oils such as chamomile are used to soften the skin while lavender heals cuts and fissures.

3. Smoothen the dead cells off the heels with a foot scrubber or pumice stone. Use a foot file to smoothen the heels and the balls of your feet. Apply an exfoliating scrub or paste to smoothen the skin on the feet.

4. Use cuticle oil and push back cuticle and gently clean them. Use exfoliating scrubs with a nailbrush to clean the area.

5. Slather on rich moisturizing cream on the feet. Let the feet bask in the pampering massage. . Massaging feet increases blood circulation, relaxes muscles and relieves aches and pains. Don't neglect your toes. Rub between toes, using a gentle touch. Finish by rubbing each toe individually. Give both feet equal care. Massage cream is applied to the calves too.

6. Clean up all traces of oil before applying nail varnish. Create space between toes with a foam toe separator. Apply nail polish from the bottom of the nails to the tips. Applying a little polish below your nails is said to help prevent early chapping of the nail polish. Apply base coats and then two coats of color for long-lasting effect. Allow some time between coats of nail polish for better bonding. Let your polish dry for a few hours before putting on close-toed shoes.

French pedicure

If you don't want to go in for bold bright colors on your feet, why not try a French pedicure? The main feature of a French pedicure is the clear or pearl shaded varnish that look classic and ideal for corporate wear as well as the evening out. A French pedicure works much like a regular pedicure except for the French paint on the nails. Your nails are painted with pearl or mauve colored varnish and a hint of white is applied on the top. Tips for a DIY French pedicure:

• Follow all the routine soaking and cleansing of the feet. Soften the heels and clean up the toenails.
  
  
• Apply sheer pink, natural or peach polish on the entire nail.
  
  
• Apply a small strip of white polish on the tips of the toenails.
  
  
• Apply a clear coat to seal in the color.
  

You can pick up a French pedicure kit that will provide you the colors needed for the French polish. You can show off your pearly toenails in delicate slippers or open-toed sandals.

Pedicure spa

At a pedicure spa, you can enjoy the benefits of an exotic foot treatment with a multitude of creams and foot treatments. Soak away your stress by dipping your feet in warm water filled with bath salts or sea salts. Enjoy the benefits of a mineral rich seaweed soak for your tired feet.

Some spas offer marine algae and menthol soak that can heal tired feet. Let the spa professional scrub your heels and feet with a special quartz crystal scrub or a fruit based scrub. A pumice stone or foot brush is used to buff down calluses and slough away the dead skin.

Hot oil paraffin wax treatment can go a long way in smoothening rough skin leaving your feet smooth and silken. The warm paraffin wax application stimulates circulation and softens the skin. It helps relieve arthritic and other painful conditions and promotes healthy growth of nails. Your nails are trimmed and cuticles are cleaned.

Envelop your feet in a masque that will soften your skin and rejuvenate it. At a spa pedicure, enjoy a therapeutic foot massage with aromatherapy oils or botanical extracts. Peppermint foot cream is a favorite on account of its healing and relaxing properties. Detox your feet and get them looking radiant and relaxed at a spa pedicure.

Pedicure kit

Pick up a pedicure kit to give yourself a routine pedicure at home. Pedicure kits contain all the basic equipment required - Toenail clippers, nail file, toenail scissors, toe separators, Nail brush, foot scraper, orange stick and nail filer. You can treat yourself to Dead Sea bath salts that can rejuvenate the tired soles. Medicated bath salts help in reducing stress and relaxing feet muscles. Arm yourself with a foot cream that will reduce the dryness and prevent heels from cracking. Invest in a paraffin wax foot-bath if you are regular in your home pedicures.

You can use it for hands, wrists, feet and elbows and smoothen the skin. Arm yourself with a good foot scrub. You can choose from peppermint and plum or flaxseed or aloe vera scrubs. Stocking up a bottle of cuticle oil can come in very handy during manicures and pedicures.

Foot creams come in a wide range too - peppermint cream for stimulation and scent or tea tree cream to soothe the skin and remove traces of foot odor. Alternatively you can opt for creams with rosemary or eucalyptus. You can keep up the foot care by regularly using the pumice stone to tackle cracked heels. Use moisturizers and foot cream to minimize the effect of wear and tear on the feet.