nails pedicure

Step 1

Clean

The first step is to wash your feet with soap to remove any accumulated dirt or fluff. You may want to use a soft nail brush to increase the flow of blood to the nails.

Step 2

Foot Soak, Cut & File

Once you have washed your feet prepare a large bowl with warm water and 2 drops of an essential oil (refer to Oil Aromatherapy page for ideas). Soak the feet for 2 to 10 minutes.

Once the feet are soft from the soaking it is time to use a foot scrub to exfoliate and remove any dead skin. For any hardened areas of the feet it is best to first use the scrub and then use a pumice stone to remove stubborn skin.

Once your feet are clean it is time to cut the nails to the length you want. Make sure you leave a little extra length to each nail so that you can still shape and file.

You should only file in one direction, it is best to start at the side of the nail and file towards the middle of the nail. Repeat on the other side to ensure the nail is even.

Step 3

Cuticle Treatment

Apply a good quality cuticle cream or oil to the base of each nail and massage gently but firmly into each of the cuticles. To get the full benefits you should aim to spend at least 30 seconds massaging each nail.

Once you have massaged the cuticles you can then gently push each cuticle back with a cuticle stick (also called an orange stick). For a more gentle treatment wrap the end of the cuticle stick in cotton wool.

Treating your cuticles is very important and will help healthy nail growth in the future.

Step 4

Moisturise & Massage

Moisturiser is essential to keep your nails strong and flexible to ensure that they do not become dry, flaky or break easily.

Apply a good quality foot or body moisturiser to both feet and massage all areas . You should aim to spend at least 5 minutes massaging all the areas on each foot.

Make sure you get in between each toe, massage the ball of the foot, the top of the foot, the heel and all the way up to the ankles.

Our feet carry our entire weight every day and they can become very sore and tense and everyone knows how blissful a massage can feel on tired feet.

Overnight tip: If your feet are particularly dry you can apply a night moisturiser before bed and put on loose cotton socks and leave them on overnight. When you wake up your feet will feel great.

Step 5

Buff & Base

Now that your feet and nails are treated it is time to buff the nails so that they are smooth.

It is easier if you use a toe separator at this point until you have finished step 7. If you do not have a toe separator cotton buds can work. Use your buffer on each nail and buff the whole of the nail making sure you don't miss the edges.

Important tip: If you skip this step you may not get a smooth finish to your pedicure.

Now you need to apply a good quality base coat to each nail. You should allow the base coat to dry completely before you go onto the next step.

Step 6

Paint & Decorate

Your nails are now ready to apply the coloured polish.

Most nail polishes need at least two coats and you should allow each coat to dry properly before adding the next coat. If you start to polish again before the first coat is dry and the colour becomes uneven you should remove the polish and go back to Step 5 and re-buff each nail and then re-apply your base coat.

Nail Stickers and Transfers

There are numerous nail stickers and nail transfers designs available today. You can have a lot of fun with the designs but in order to get the professional finish you should follow the following steps:

After you have followed steps 1 to 6 above you can apply the designs to your nails.

Using tweezers lift the transfer or sticker from the backing paper and immediately place the transfer onto your nail and smooth it out using the tweezers or the cuticle stick. Ensure that the sticker/transfer is flat and dry and then add your top coat.

Step 7

Top Coat

This is the last step to great nails. You have spent all of the effort to get great nails so protecting them to ensure the polish lasts all week by applying a top coat will be worth your while.

With everything we put our feet through each week a protective top coat is extremely important so make sure you get a good quality top coat to get the most out of your treatment.