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As the weather gets warmer, pants turn to shorts, long sleeves turn to tank tops and sensible waterproof winter boots turn to cute strappy sandals. If you’re planning on showing your feet to the world or have a sunny vacation on the calendar, you’re likely in dire need of a pedicure.
Before you make an appointment at your local salon, however, know that nail blogger and home manicurist Amanda Bella says it’s easy to make your feet look spiffy without ever leaving the house. “I love encouraging others to DIY their own manis/pedis at home,” Bella told HuffPost.
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For Bella, home pedicures can also be a great way to maintain smooth and polished feet between trips to the salon. Instead of shelling out for a professional pedicure each time, you can supplement your trips with a little DIY action.
Bella and another nail-care experts outlined step-by-step instructions for DIY-ing the perfect pedicure, along with recommending several under-$20 products that will help you achieve professional results.
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Trim and file your nails
For Jessica Austin, a manager at Primp & Polish, a small chain of New York City-based salons, the first step to a killer at-home pedicure is tackling your talons while they're dry. "At home, you can prepare for a pedi by trimming and/or filing your nails," she said. "Like they say, it is important to have the right tools for the job! [You need] straight-edge nail clippers. Most nail kits come with curved ones, but don't buy those."
When trimming your toes, Austin says curved clippers can potentially cause more irritation, nicks and hangnails or ingrown nails that straight ones. A straight-edge nail clipper will help you trim just the toenail without jabbing the soft skin around it by mistake. Additionally, grabbing a set of nail files can help you level off your finger and toenails before getting to business.
Austin emphasized that you should just trim the tops of your nails at the point; you don't want to push back your cuticles until they've been soaked in water (see the step below). However, later in your home pedi process, nail blogger and home manicuristAmanda Bella recommends using a flat nail file to buff and smooth your nails, as that type can be easier to hold than a nail buffing cube.
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Give your piggies a soak
After you give your nails a trim, Austin recommends soaking your feet for 3-5 minutes in warm water to soften your cuticles, making it easier (and less hangnail-inducing) to push them if you prefer to do so.
If you want to upgrade your foot soak, you can opt for an Epsom salt bath like this tea tree and peppermint version that's specifically made for feet.
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Scrub your heels after they've soaked
After soaking your piggies for 3-5 minutes, Austin suggests patting your feet dry with a towel and using a pumice stone or foot file to buff away any dry skin on your heels.
Bella recommends this budget-friendly green file from Sally Beauty.
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Or elevate your heel work with this luxury scraper
Bella also recommends this luxury foot file from Diamancel. Unlike everything else on this list, it's over $20, but reviews say it takes off even the most stubborn calluses and is surprisingly durable for how lightweight it is.
"This one is a bit more expensive, but will last you years," Bella said.
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Exfoliate with a sugar scrub
Following filing and buffing, Austin suggests something a little sweet. "Apply sugar scrub to both legs and feet to exfoliate, and rinse," she said. "Once complete, you will see and feel the difference right away."
This mango sugar scrub is made in the U.S. with shea butter, natural oils, mango puree and real sugar.
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If you like, clean up your cuticles when they're soft
In her home pedicure instruction video, Bella explains that after soaking and scrubbing your feet, you should be able to gently push your cuticles back, if you prefer the look. According to the Mayo Clinic, you should never remove your cuticles, and many doctors recommend against cutting or trimming them at all as they exist to protect skin and nails from infection. You may, however, want to gently push them back with tools like this stainless steel cuticle pusher.
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Opt for an all-in-one kit
"For at-home pedicures, the four-step Pedi In A Box kits from Voesh are incredible," Bella said. "They offer a luxurious salon-like experience from the comfort of your home. They also come in 15 scents, so there's something for everyone."
Voesh is a Korean-American small business making vegan body products. Their Pedi In A Box kit includes a one-time dose of a salt solution, foot scrub, mud masque and massage butter.
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Or a budget-friendly disposal kit with everything you need
You've come all this way, so you don't need to discourage yourself by accidentally getting nail polish all over your newly scrubbed and trimmed toes themselves, rather than your toenails. Austin recommends grabbing a budget-friendly disposable pedicure kit that comes with a pumice stone, nail buffer, wooden cuticle pusher, nail file and toe dividers to help prevent mistakes or smudges with polish.
In Bella's video, she recommends separating the toes, then starting polish on the pinky toe of the left foot and working your way in, then moving with the big toe of the right foot and working out in order to limit potential smudging. (Bella paints with her right hand, so we suggest our left-handed friends do the inverse and start on the pinky of their right foot.) She also says you can use the cuticle pusher to clean up any extra paint around your toes.
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