Go hard on bright colours and easy on exfoliating: how to do a summer pedicure at home
Share:
Podiatrists and nail technicians share their tips and techniques for fresh summer feet – on a budget. Summer means sandals, which means sloughing away layers of hard skin built up through months of wearing sneakers and boots, and painting exposed toenails.
![[Clinical pedicurist Erin Margrethe says ‘the best products are the non-sexy ones’ found at the chemist.]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/44418333b463e35361b4c62ff452f1789a855ba0/0_0_8192_5464/master/8192.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
Experts including nail technicians, a pharmaceutical scientist and a podiatrist recommend moisturising and gently exfoliating at home, plus pedicure steps such as filing, trimming and painting, but warn against abrasive scrapers and strong acidic treatments.
![[At $10 a bottle, nail technician Maria Vlezko says Mavala nail polish is better than many high-end brands]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/28e7a6d4f76bf7aa34674a85c4ad1be090a46501/0_0_1000_1000/master/1000.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
Podiatrist Charbel Dagher from Clear Step Podiatry warns against using off-the-shelf fixes to prep your feet, like corn pads – which burn the skin with acid, so have “the potential to do damage to your healthy skin” – and cheese grater-like heel scrapers.
![[It may be controversial but Maria Vlezko says applying toenail polish is easier if you put your feet on the table.]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/96481ca1fcc1395776d018226f2659e4ada71121/0_0_7360_4912/master/7360.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
“One false move and you’ve gone a bit too deep, and you might cut yourself, or you might go too raw, and suddenly you can’t walk on your feet for the next few days because you’ve tried to clear out too much callus,” Dagher says. Erin Margrethe, a nail technician who offers clinical pedicures, says over-exfoliating with foot files “is the worst”.
![[The experts agree: moisturiser and sunscreen both help keep feet healthy and hydrated.]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2610cf6036abefdc472491580faa945569fbd332/0_0_8688_5792/master/8688.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
“Often, you are just exacerbating the problem. When you traumatise the skin of the feet by removing too much callus or causing micro-injuries from ‘cheese graters’, your body goes into overdrive to heal and replace that skin, thus creating more hard skin.”.
Dagher doesn’t rate treatments like the well-known Milky Foot, a foot peel which intentionally causes skin to flake off over the course of days. If you have irritable or sensitive skin, an open wound, or an infection, the treatment can “definitely progress it”.
Share:
More for You
Top Followed
Trending
You Might Also Like
