With Spring here and summer quickly upon us our L’Onglex thoughts have turned to toes. Gladiator sandals, strapless sling-backs, peep toe mules and humble flip flops are once again ready to grace our wardrobes and so of course it’s time for a peddy !
Now the good news is you don’t have to go all the way to the salon for a pedicure ….. you can do your own from home if you follow a few simple steps to getting a professional finish. Here’s are a few pointers we’ve put together.
Remove -
Get the old colour off with some L’Onglex polish remover and a cotton ball. Once our lovely soothing formula has cleaned away your old polish you can tidy those edges with cotton buds for those difficult spots.
Soak -
10 – 15 minutes should do it – anymore and your feet will look like summer fruit. Add a few drops of tea tree oil ( great for preventing athletes foot ), some Epsom salt and a bit of scented oil to the mix to get the perfect foot formula. Remember not to make the water too hot as this will tighten the skin and make pumicing more difficult !
Pumice -
Once you’ve dried your oh-so-soft feet in your fluffiest towel its time to exfoliate. You can rub in any direction but don’t scrub too hard. Problem areas like hard skin on the side of your feet can be worked a bit more vigorously. If you suffer from dry or cracked heels try a formula rich in Coconut Oil which will help stop the drying out that tends to cause heels to crack.
Dead skin be gone -
Exfoliation is a must with any decent pedicure so just because your doing the home version doesn’t mean you skimp on the details. Remove dry skin from the legs and tops of your feet with a scrub or cream. You don’t have to use anything too expensive here as the skin around your legs and feet won’t need the same treatment as you would use for your face and neck. Try Body Shop body exfoliator or make your own mix with salt and olive oil – rinse with clean warm water and pad dry.
Time to trim -
Nothing too short at this point. Square toes look a bit more modern than rounded nails but getting the length right makes the real difference. If you rub backwards from the bottom of the toe you should just be able to feel the edge of the nail.
Softening the cuticles is a must. Try a cuticle stick and push the cuticles inwards to get the shape you need. Remember not too push them back too far. If you get a pain your applying too much pressure and since the cuticle is their to protect your nails from infection going too far can lead to cracked cuticles in the longer term. Never cut away at your cuticles and use a cuticle repair oil such as Sally Hansen’s or try solar oil which works wonders – easy does it !
Hydrate -
Massage your feet with your favourite cream. It’ll keep you soft, supple and make those summer feet less prone to drying out. Try vitamin ‘E’ night cream which works wonders for repair and moisture. Remember to alternate the shoes, the nicest manicure in the world won’t do you any good if you’ve got tan lines from wearing gladiator sandals.
Time to paint -
Always use a clear base coat. We know this takes longer to do but then since your going to all the trouble you might as well do the job properly. A good base coat will help the polish look better for longer and means you wont get stains on your nails if your using darker colours.
Once the base coat is applied go for two thin coats and store your polish in the fridge beforehand. In the summer months if the polish is too warm the colours can separate and become streaky. Before you apply the polish, tip the bottle upside down a couple of times but don’t shake.
Once your completely dry and have resisted the temptation to smudge your new toes add a topcoat - we love Sally Hansen Instadry ….. 15 seconds and your done.
There you have it. The L’Onglex guide to DIY pedicure. For more information and the latest beauty news, reviews and tips why not join us on facebook or twitter.
With Spring here and summer quickly upon us our L’Onglex thoughts have turned to toes. Gladiator sandals, strapless sling-backs, peep toe mules and humble flip flops are once again ready to grace our wardrobes and so of course it’s time for a peddy !
Now the good news is you don’t have to go all the way to the salon for a pedicure ….. you can do your own from home if you follow a few simple steps to getting a professional finish. Here’s are a few pointers we’ve put together.
Remove
Get the old colour off with some L’Onglex polish remover and a cotton ball. Once our lovely soothing formula has cleaned away your old polish you can tidy those edges with cotton buds for those difficult spots.
Soak
10 – 15 minutes should do it – anymore and your feet will look like summer fruit. Add a few drops of tea tree oil ( great for preventing athletes foot ), some Epsom salt and a bit of scented oil to the mix to get the perfect foot formula. Remember not to make the water too hot as this will tighten the skin and make pumicing more difficult !
Pumice
Once you’ve dried your oh-so-soft feet in your fluffiest towel its time to exfoliate. You can rub in any direction but don’t scrub too hard. Problem areas like hard skin on the side of your feet can be worked a bit more vigorously. If you suffer from dry or cracked heels try a formula rich in Coconut Oil which will help stop the drying out that tends to cause heels to crack.
Dead skin be gone
Exfoliation is a must with any decent pedicure so just because your doing the home version doesn’t mean you skimp on the details. Remove dry skin from the legs and tops of your feet with a scrub or cream.
You don’t need to use anything too expensive here as the skin around your legs and feet won’t need the same treatment as for your face and neck. Try Body Shop Body Exfoliator or make your own mix with salt and olive oil – rinse with clean warm water and pad dry.
Time to trim
Nothing too short at this point. Square toes look a bit more modern than rounded nails but getting the length right makes the real difference. If you rub backwards from the bottom of the toe you should just be able to feel the edge of the nail.
Softening the cuticles is a must. Use a cuticle stick and push the cuticles inwards to get the shape you need. Remember not too push them back too much. If you get a pain your applying too much pressure and since the cuticle protects your nails from bacteria, going too far can lead to cracked or infected cuticles in the longer term.
Never cut away at your cuticles and use a cuticle repair oil such as Sally Hansen or try Solar Oil which works wonders – easy does it !
Hydrate
Massage your feet with your favourite cream. It’ll keep you soft, supple and make those summer feet less prone to drying out. Try vitamin ‘E’ night cream which works wonders for repair and moisture. Remember to alternate the shoes, the nicest manicure in the world won’t do you any good if you’ve got tan lines from wearing gladiator sandals.
Time to paint
Always use a clear base coat. We know this takes longer to do but since your going to all the trouble you might as well do the job properly. A good base coat will help the polish look better for longer and means you wont get stains on your nails if your using darker colours.
Once the base coat is applied go for two thin coats and store your polish in the fridge beforehand. In the summer months if the polish is too warm the colours can separate and become streaky. Before you apply the polish, tip the bottle upside down a couple of times but don’t shake.
Once your completely dry and have resisted the temptation to smudge your new toes add a topcoat - we love Sally Hansen Instadry – 15 seconds and it’s time for killer summer dresses and floaty summer sandals !
There you have it – a L’Onglex guide to DIY pedicure. For more information and the latest beauty news, reviews and tips why not join us on facebook or twitter.
If you’ve been listening to the radio lately you’ll have noticed two things