Notes

/me takes off your old nail polish is an important first step to giving yourself a pedicure. It’ll be hard to add a new color over the top of an old one! Use an acetone remover, making sure to get the bits along your cuticles as well.
/me Fill a tub or basin with hot water, and if you’d like, a bit of bath salts or oils. Now it’s time to sit back and relax! Let your feet soak for 2 minutes; the hot water will soften tough calluses and remove the dirt and grime that might have built up. It will also help to soften your nails and cuticles, which is critical when you’re prepping to paint your toes.

/me Starts by trimming your nails down to size; use a pair of nail clippers to cut your toenails to be just short enough to see a bit of white at the tips. The shape of the nail should be slightly squared, following the natural topline of your toes. Use your nail file to buff down the sharp edges of nail the clippers might have left, and to do any further shaping you would like.

/me Now it’s time to move onto your actual feet. Use your pumice stone to scrub down the calluses on the heel and ball of your foot. You shouldn't scrub too roughly in these areas because too much irritation causes the skin to respond by thickening to protect the delicate tissue underneath, and that becomes an endless cycle so gentle buffing on the surface with little or no pressure is best. When you’ve removed any dried skin or calluses, you can use a scrubbing brush to clean up your entire foot. Use the brush between your toes and all over the bridge of your foot, adding soap if you’d like a bit of an extra clean.

/me Remove your feet from the soaking tub completely and empty it out. Dry your feet off, and if you’d like, massage on a layer of lotion into your skin. If you choose to do this, use a bit of nail polish remover to clean up your nails again, Use a clear nail polish as a protective base coat on all your toenails. This will prevent your nail polish from yellowing your toenails, as well as give your lacquer a solid base to stick to.