How To Not Be Annoyed While Giving Yourself A Pedicure
@aleksandra_c
You don’t have to cringe at the thought of doing your own toe nails. We get it - it’s annoying, even with girlfriends at sleepovers post-breakups (despite how fun movies make it look). But spring is here and you can’t hide those toes in mismatched socks much longer. We’re here to tell you that you got this with some patience, confidence and a glass of red. The goal is to keep it simple:
1. Clip + File
First and foremost, you have to shape your toenails to your liking (clip them first, if necessary). File straight across the nail while gliding the nail file at an angle at the edges to soften any sharp points. We like this one-time investment mini nail rescue kit on sale for 20% off.
2. Soak + Scrub
There are two ways you can easily prepare a foot bath at home: grab a large salad bowl (or two medium-sized bowls) or use your bathtub and dangle your feet inside while sitting on the edge. Either way, fill your vessel of choice with warm water and two tablespoons of this sea salt soak or any other salt aid you have lying around. You can soak as long as you like but we prefer 5-7 minutes.
Remove your wet feet and place them on a dry towel. Be sure to dry thoroughly between your toes. Any dry skin around your feet (especially heels and balls of feet) can now easily be buffed away with a foot file or a grainy scrub. TBH don’t drop big bucks on a foot file - you can find one for less than $5 like this one that will last you a while. Next, rinse or wipe off any excess hard skin removed.
3. Moisturize + Prep
Lather your feet in a creamy moisturizer or body oil and give yourself a quick massage by pressing gently into any pressure points (gently pressing the heel will make you purrrr). Once the skin of your feet has softened, you can use a cuticle pusher to push your cuticles back, followed by a cuticle cutter. Next, soak a cotton ball in nail polish remover and wipe each nail to take off any residue from oil or moisturizer so nail polish can bind properly.
4. Patience + Paint
This last step is where you may get aggravated but hang in there – think of enjoying trying to color within the lines as a kid. Start with a base coat, which can also double as a nail hardener, like this one from Beauty Pie. Next, holding the polish, place the brush at cuticle level and lightly brush upwards. Your big toe will need a couple of swipes while your smaller toes will need just one. Repeat this process for two coats (or three coats for very sheer polishes) and follow with a shiny topcoat. Don’t worry about any mistakes – dab a Q-tip in nail polish remover and trace over any outlying polish. Now, you can simply air dry or use your blowdryer on the cool setting!