The Essentials of Summertime Footcare

Our feet take us many places, so it’s only fair that we take good care of them. With summer in full swing, you may have noticed that sandal season is starting to take its toll. Daily exposure to the elements can leave your feet feeling dry, calloused, discoloured, or even cracked. If you want take back your soft, supple soles and continue wearing your favourite open-toed shoes with confidence, then it’s going to take some upkeep in between pedicures. Here’s a guide you can use when occasionally using the nail clippers and slathering on lotion just isn’t cutting it.

Soak
Before you reach for that pumice stone, make sure you soak your feet first. Softening your feet in a warm foot bath will make working around the nail bed and exfoliating much more comfortable. For soothing sore, cracked feet, create a solution that includes vinegar and Epsom salt. Epsom salt is high in magnesium, which not only soothes sore muscles, but reduce inflammation as well. Vinegar will help with any fungal issues, such as athlete’s foot that often occurs in warm, humid environments.

If you want to reduce foot odor, add a tablespoon of baking soda. You can also include essential oils of peppermint, lavender, or whatever your preferred fragrance. You’ll find that a long foot soak isn’t only relaxing, but will make it much easier to schluff off dead skin.

Exfoliate
You can moisturize till you’re blue in the face, but you can’t get rid of a callous through moisturization alone. What you’ll need to get those callouses down is some serious exfoliation. While working on calluses, you won’t employ the same gentle techniques you use when exfoliating your face. Working on feet requires some kind of pumice stone, file, or foot buffer to effectively polish tough areas. This process shouldn’t hurt, so use less force or move to a different area if it does. To make exfoliating go easier, try doing a little bit every time you bathe to keep callouses from becoming too thick.

Moisturize
Though callouses will never completely disappear (if they did, it would make walking pretty uncomfortable) you can keep your feet from looking cracked and parched with liberally applying moisturizer in the morning, as well as overnight. Generously applying a thick cream before putting socks on at night will yield noticeable results in the quickest amount of time. If you find that sleeping with socks on during the heat is too much to tolerate, try using some thin, “no-show” socks. When choosing a moisturizer, look for something rich that will penetrate your skin, such as shea butter or cocoa butter. Oil such as macadamia, coconut, or jojoba work well too, but creams will last longer for overnight moisturizing.

Groom
The best complement to a new pair of sandals are nicely groomed feet, and the small details can make a big difference in their appearance. Pedicures are great for taking care of the nitty-gritty details Keeping nails straight and trimmed, cuticles pushed back, or stray hairs tweezed are all details that would be a mistake to overlook.

Keeping nails from getting discoloured between coats of paint is another challenge, especially for those who like to use darker colours or reds. Fungal infections can also cause yellowing of the nail bed, and in that case getting treated would be your first priority. But, if your nails have a yellowish stain from polish, you can lift them by scrubbing with baking soda, water, and some lemon juice. To prevent future stains, try doubling up on a base coat before your polish is applied.

They say you can tell how well a woman takes care of herself by looking at her feet, but they’re easy to neglect with a full schedule. We’re pros at doing the hard work for you, and now’s the perfect time give your feet some extra attention with our latest promotion: get 10% off your next pedicure of manicure. This promotion will be running through the month of August only, so schedule your appointment with us soon!