How to give yourself a salon-like pedicure at home

Do you miss your baby-soft feet? Do you, each morning, wake up to see them flakier and rougher than yesterday? Chipping polish unable to keep up with overgrown toenails? You’re not alone. Monthly pedicure appointments may seem like a thing of the past (at the moment) but your toes don’t need to suffer. Let’s take quarantine time to bring back happy feet. We spoke to the founder of The White Door India, Sana Dhanani, for her hacks for the ultimate at-home pedicure that you can give yourself.

The tools you'll need to do an at-home pedicure

While you may not be able to set up the perfect pedi-kit with 57 tools to clean, cut and care, you can do with everything that’s easily accessible around the house. Dhanani’s advice: “It’s most important to sterilise every tool before using them.” She suggests boiling them in water for a few minutes and soaking them in rubbing alcohol for half an hour. Pat dry and use.

If you have these on hand, gather the following materials: sanitiser, a box of tissues, a fresh pair of silicone gloves, foot soak or bath salt, a fresh hand towel, foot scrub, nail brush to clean the toenails, a bucket to soak your feet in, nail polish remover, cotton pads, buffer, nail file, foot file or pumice stone, cuticle oil, foot cream, and nail polish essentials like base coat, colour and top coat.

Don't have products with you? You can DIY some at home. 

Foot soak: Collect your favourite teas and use the three that you prefer. Dhanani likes to go with a bag of green tea and two bags of chamomile. Toss them in your warm water bucket along with round slices of lemon and three tablespoons of honey to create a refreshing, rejuvenating foot soak.

Foot scrub: The three ingredient scrub will rid your feet of flakes—mix honey, sugar and olive oil and slough off any dead skin and calluses.

Cuticle oil: Use any vegetable oil from your pantry—olive, apricot, avocado.

Step to follow for a DIY pedicure routine 

1. 1

   Before doing a pedicure, please ensure you do not have any open wounds, bleeding or infection. Then, remove the polish, if you have any.

2. 2

   Cut your nails to the desired length, ensuring that you do not damage the nail bed. Since the big toe is broader and thicker, use a larger clipper or make small cuts to avoid splintering the nail.

3. 3

   File your nails and smoothen the edges to avoid snagging. Dry toenails are less likely to bend or tear, making the cutting and filing easier at this stage.

4. 4

   Exfoliate the thick dry skin off your heels with a foot file (if you don't have a foot file you can use the emery board on the nail file).

5. 5

   Soak your feet in a bucket of lukewarm water with two tablespoons of a foot soak. Now’s the perfect time to unwind for the next 15 minutes.

6. 6

   After the soak, apply the cuticle remover or hair conditioner and soak your feet again for a minute. After one minute, gently push the cuticles back.

7. 7

   Scrub your feet thoroughly, ensuring that you pay attention to the delicate knuckles and toe web space. You can wear silicone gloves for this step.

8. 8

   Wash your feet and scrub your toenails with a nail brush in fresh water, and pat them dry using a fresh hand towel.

9. 9

   Massage your feet by kneading the sole and using your thumb to press your feet in a circular motion.

10. 10

    Buff your nails to give a bit of shine and smoothen the ridges. For the final touch and a long-lasting pedicure, use a polish remover to clean the toenails to get rid of any creamy residue.

The right way to apply polish on your toenails  

1. 1

   Twist a tissue to fashion it into a toe separator.

2. 2

   Apply the base coat to your toenails to prevent any stains from the nail polish and wait for it to dry.

3. 3

   Apply two coats of polish and let it dry completely. Use the three-stroke method (one on each side and one centre stroke).

4. 4

   Finish with a topcoat, sealing the tip of the nail. This will prevent chipping.

5. 5

   Well-applied polish takes 24 hours to completely dry off. Avoid wearing socks or closed shoes to reduce the chance of any smudges forming.

6. 6

   Finally, brush some cuticle oil on your toenails.

Also read:

6 things your manicurist wants you to stop doing to your nails

3 professional hand models reveal their secret to perfect nails

How to give yourself a professional-looking manicure at home