The countdown to bring out your most beautiful summer shoes has begun! The temperatures are warming up and with it, the opportunity to show off your pretty toes! Here is everything you need to get a homemade pedicure and be ready for this summer!

Who has never buried their feet in the sand to hide their toes? Or chose to wear a pair of sneakers instead of a nice pair of sandals because his pedicure was not at the top?

If you don’t have time to go to the beautician but you still want to have beautiful feet, here are some tips for getting a professional pedicure at home!

For this, you will need some accessories and some decisions: what kind of pedicure do you want? Classic or semi-permanent varnish? Yellow flo, nude, essential red, or daring nail art?

Taking care of your feet is an essential gesture to do at least once a month. By following these few tips, you could avoid certain inconveniences such as ingrown toenails and cracked skin.

Home pedicure: the necessary equipment

For a complete home pedicure, you will need:

• a basin ;
• a nail file;
• a polishing block;
• a stick pushes back cuticles;
• a nail clipper;
• coarse salt;
• vegetable oil (olive, sweet almond, jojoba, coconut…);
• a base;
• a quality varnish;
• a topcoat.

A foot bath with essential oils

For your home pedicure, start by preparing a foot bath. To do this, simply fill a basin with warm water and add a few drops of essential oil, such as lemon essential oil if you want to whiten your nails or lavender if you have a few small wounds to heal. The result? A softened and lightly scented skin to be able to perform a quality pedicure!

Pumice stone: an ally against dead skin

Once the skin of the feet has softened, the use of a pumice stone is recommended to gently remove the dead skin using circular gestures. Very effective in reducing calluses on your feet, it will make your skin very soft! 

Be careful, if your pumice stone is new and very rough, be careful not to press too hard so as not to attack your skin. After several uses, the stone will become smoother and you can use it on other more sensitive areas of the body such as the elbows or even the legs.

Exfoliation: an essential step in your home pedicure

Like the face and the body, the feet also need exfoliation! To gently complete the action of your pumice stone, massage your feet with the scrub of your choice to remove all dead cells and impurities from your feet.

As a scrub for the feet, we recommend Yves Rocher Smooth Feet Scrub. For the exfoliating action, it contains apricot kernel powder, very effective in smoothing the roughness of the feet.

Also present in its formulation, the organic lavender extract has antibacterial and healing properties, and peppermint brings a very pleasant fresh effect during use.

Nail care

It’s time to take care of your toenails! Whether you are a fan of nail polish or not, it is very important to take care of your nails to avoid having painful ingrown nails. To get rid of the cuticles, it is better to use a wooden tool and not a metal one, which is too aggressive for the skin. 

Using a beveled wooden pick, simply push back the cuticles without cutting or tearing them. The goal is simply to clear the nail.

Then, it is advisable to use nail clippers and trim your nails into a square shape to avoid getting hurt. The nail should never be shorter than the toe. To avoid nails that cling to clothing, it is then useful to file your nails, always in the same direction so as not to split them.

Choose between classic varnish and semi-permanent varnish

With the return of sunny days, we often want color! There’s nothing like flamboyant nail polish to add an extra glamorous touch to your look, so don’t hesitate! 

We recommend, for example, Yves Rocher’s Couleur Végétale varnishes: available in more than 50 shades, they are opaque from the first pass and are easy to apply. 

To protect your nail from pigments, don’t forget to first apply a protective base, then a topcoat for better hold and a glossy effect. If you like changing colors every week, classic nail polish is perfect for you. But if you want to keep your pedicure a little longer, we advise you to opt for semi-permanent!

Today, everyone can use semi-permanent at home, thanks to the many kits available on the market. The advantage is to save service with a beautician and to be able to share it with your friends! 

In front of your series, you can calmly perform your pedicure as well as a professional, thanks to a UV&LED lamp that dries your nails in 90 seconds! The advantage of feet is that you can do both with your best hand to handle the brush.

Ending in style: hydration

Finally, once your pedicure is finished and your nails are dry, remember to nourish your feet! A last gesture of hydration is always beneficial to keep skin soft and comfortable, especially after exfoliation.

To moisturize your feet, we recommend Le Rêve de Miel de Nuxe Ultra-Comfortable Foot Cream. For dry or damaged skin, this treatment deeply soothes and repairs the epidermis, all with a delicious smell of honey.

Don’t forget the topcoat

Your two coats of varnish are now completely dry, all you have to do is apply a coat of topcoat for a shiny and long-lasting pedicure. Indeed, the topcoat allows your varnish to resist much longer!

So, do you prefer service from the beautician or are you used to doing your home pedicure?

Photo: Pexels/Marcus Aurelius

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