Tips for the Most Professional At-Home Pedicure

Everyone loves a good pedicure. Even if you haven't ever gotten your toes professionally done, you know the feeling of having those clean and primped digits on the ends of your feet is practically a requirement for the hot season.

Tips for the best at-home pedicure

So, how do you acquire these perfectly pedicured pretties? Believe it or not, you don't actually need to pay a heavy price to have decent-looking, cared-for feet. Here is the budget-friendly way to achieve a professional-grade treatment from the comfort of your own home.

Everything's Better When Wet

Every good pedicure starts with a good foot soak. Soaking your feet softens the skin and makes exfoliating, trimming and shaping much easier—and often less abrasive as well. Soaking your feet also helps remove dead skin cells, which leaves you with baby-soft, happy feet!

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• Make a foot bath of warm water and add equal parts salt and baking soda. These ingredients will help exfoliate the dead skin cells off the surface of your feet.
• Soak for about 15 minutes, removes from the foot bath and pat dry with a clean towel.
• Exfoliate your feet with a pumice stone or loofah. Or you can use a body scrub like Sukin Body Scrub, then rinse and pat dry again.

Moisturizer is a Must

Once you've soaked, exfoliated and refreshed your feet with a good scrub, it's time to pack that hydration in! This is especially important for those of you with chapped feet!

Cover your feet in a generous amount of body lotion. Bonus points on your pedicure for using a nourishing lotion like Epionce Renewal Enriched Body Lotion that's full of ingredients like shea and olive oil that add to the hydration levels of your skin! Don't skip any surface! Get in between those small spaces in between your toes too!

Trim Those Toenails

You've perfected your skin, now it's time for the nails!

• If your nails are not the length you'd like them, clip them to the desired length with some nail clippers. If you like them short, make sure you leave a little bit of white to prevent from exposing the nail bed and making your fingers sore!
• Trim them to the desired shape using a nail file. When shaping, swipe in one direction on the underside of the nail to prevent breakage and to maintain a smooth edge.

Smooth Out Your Surface

The secret to that smooth, flawless finish is having a smooth base! If you have one, take a nail buffer and smooth out the surface of your nails. A buffer is essentially a very fine piece of sandpaper that gently buffs away the tiny ridges in the surface of your nail. Smooth those out, and your pedicure will be flawless.

Smooth in a back and forth motion across the nail. The shinier your nail gets, the smoother it is!

A Foundation for a Flawless Finish

Every professional-grade pedicure has a base coat. Think of it as the primer to your nail color. Just like eye primer precedes eyeshadows, a base coat comes before a nail lacquer. Go for a nail strengthening coat like the Dermelect Matte-iculous Matte Strengthening Base and Top Coat with a hydrolyzed keratin protein peptide that fortifies the nail and helps extend the life of your pedicure!

Coat on the Color

You've prepped your toes, now it's time to paint them! Whatever color you go for, it's important to do two or more coats of your hue of choice to ensure longevity of the pedicure.

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• Always make sure there is plenty on your brush. A dry brush delivers a poor coating.
• Start with a long stroke down the middle of your nail, then finish by running the brush along the sides of the nail for the smoothest coating.
• Always make sure your first coat is COMPLETELY dry before applying another. The thicker the coating the longer it takes to dry.

QUICK TIP: Submerge your nails in ice water for about a minute to dry the coating. This helps solidify the coating all the way through, not just the surface.

Don't Forget to Top it Off

Once your nails are good and dry, spread on another finishing coat of Dermelect Matte-iculous Matte Strengthening Base and Top Coat to seal everything in and extend the life of your pedicure. Don't like the matte finish? Try Lauren B. Dual Base and Top Coat for a glossy finish!

All you really need for a pro-looking pedicure is some loving time and attention. Check out more of our favorite nail tools and lacquers on the SkinStore website today!