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Get Your Feet Summer Ready with this Easy DIY Pedicure

Learning how to do a DIY pedicure is essential for maintaining clean, healthy and attractive feet throughout the sticky, sweaty summer season. You don’t need to pay a small fortune to get a professional looking pedicure. To do a pedicure yourself at home, all you need is:

During summer, aim to bathe your feet once a week. Regularly soaking your feet will keep the skin clean and soft while also helping to prevent verrucas and infections. Just pop your feet in a basin of lukewarm for about ten minutes. If you like, you can add a drop or two of tea tree oil to act as an antiseptic. Once done, dry your feet thoroughly. Pay special attention to the areas between your toes, as any dampness can encourage bacteria to grow.

The best time to cut your toenails is after a bath, as it’s much easier to clip them when damp. For healthy nails, keep the following in mind:

• Your toenails should be no longer than the edge of your toe.
• When clipping your nails, go straight across and don’t clip them too short.
• Don’t cut into the corners of your nails, gently file them instead.
• Never cut your cuticles as they help keep germs away from your skin and nails.

Did you know that the skin on our feet is up to ten times thicker than the rest of our skin? As such, it’s important that you occasionally exfoliate your feet to soften rough patches and to remove the extra dry skin. You can use a pumice stone, scrub or a foot file to do this. Just remember not to scrub too hard as this could damage healthy skin.

Daily moisturising helps to prevent cracks, which can lead to infections and other problems. Try to apply lotion to your feet after every shower or before you go to bed. Rub it along the top and bottom of your feet, but never between the toes as this is the perfect place for bacteria to grow.

When you’re ready for polish, apply a clear base coat to prevent the nail from yellowing. You may find that using a toe separator helps to ensure a neat and tidy application. Keep your polish looking good by swiping over with a clear top coat after showers.

Our Top 5 Tips for Choosing Summer Footwear

1. Open-toed sandals help to prevent Athlete’s Foot by allowing air to circulate freely around the toes and letting your feet breathe.
2. Many people find that their feet tend to swell in the summer heat. If you are affected by this then you may want to consider going for summer footwear with adjustable straps that is a size bigger than you usually wear, as this can help lessen uncomfortable pinching and rubbing.
3. For extra comfort, wear sandals that have a strap around the back of your foot.
4. Choose shoes made from natural materials that will encourage your feet to breathe properly, stay cool and minimize swelling.
5. Did you know that you lose up to half a pint of sweat each day through your feet? Try to switch up your shoes every day to give them a chance to dry out.

Looking After Your Feet During the Summer

After months and months of being confined in heavy winter boots, one of the great pleasures of summer is being able to kick off your shoes as you stroll on the beach or dip your feet in the pool. However, before going barefoot it’s important to take some simple health and safety precautions:

• Always apply sunscreen to the top and the soles of your feet. Not only will this help prevent burning, but it will also reduce risk factors like melanoma and other forms of skin cancer as the skin on your feet is particularly susceptible to these.
• When at the pool, avoid going barefoot as this will expose you to greater risk of injury, warts or bacterial infections.
• Wear protective, waterproof sandals at the beach to protect your feet from sharp shells, litter or sea creatures.