Stumble Upon

del.icio.us

Digg

Facebook

Print

Email

Speak Up

Saturate a lint-free cotton pad with acetone polish remover to remove any old polish. If the colour isn't coming off easily, press the saturated cotton on the nail and let it soak in first.

If your nails are stained, try rubbing whitening toothpaste on them. You can also rub a drop of lemon or lavender oil on each toe and rub a buffer back and forth over the nail. This will remove the yellowed outer nail layer.

Alcohol and acetone-free polish removers are less drying, but don't work as well, especially on dark shades.

Next use high quality clippers made for clipping toenails. To avoid ingrown nails, cut nail straight across to just above the skin. Make sure your nail doesn't extend over the tip of your toe.

To get a soft square shape, file nails in one direction until they are even and slightly rounded at the corners. Don't use metal files because they can rip your nails. Emery boards work great. Don't clip the sides of nails. This can cause ingrown nails.

Emery board tip: The fine-grade surface is for smoothing the nail edge, while the coarser surface is for shortening and shaping nails.

Next it's time to soak your feet. Fill a large, flat-bottom bowl with warm water. Throw in bath salts, your favourite aromatherapy oils or sea salt and let your feet soak for about 15 minutes.

Next apply cuticle remover to the base of each nail and rub it in.

Leave on for a minute, then use an orangewood stick to gently push with a circular motion everywhere where skin meets the nail. Be careful to remove skin only on top of the nail, don't touch the toe flesh. Use cuticle nippers to trim any loose skin. Be careful not to nip your toe flesh.

Then apply an exfoliating body or foot scrub to a foot file or wet pumice stone to slough away the dead skin on the balls and heels of your feet.

You'll want to scrub the bottoms of your feet, the sides of your heels and around the toes. To get the most leverage, sit on the side of a bathtub, facing inward. You'll want to stop if your foot turns bright red (this means you've scrubbed too hard). Remember tough skin is there for a reason.

Dry feet thoroughly, including between the toes and apply a thick foot cream. Rehydrate cuticles by rubbing in a dab of cuticle oil. Use acetone remover to get rid of any excess oils on the nails including the cuticle oil you just applied.

Polish your toes: apply a thin base coat using three strokes, one down the middle, then one on each side. Don't paint the cuticle. Wait a minute before adding two coats of your favourite polish, then finish with a thin top coat. Clean up any errors with an orangewood stick wrapped in cotton and dipped in acetone remover.

Allow your nails to dry well then spritz with a moisturizing oil. This will set your polish and moisturize your cuticles.

Sources: The Majestany Institute, www.ehow.com