After rounding up 25 DIY summer sandal ideas we’re going to get those pretty soles ready to show off. Have you experienced the dreaded “flip flop feet” ugliness? Yeah, it’s not pretty. Last summer after wearing flip flops at the beach for a week I got a crack in one of my heels, and it was awful. My poor feet definitely needed some TLC after the wear and tear of salt and sand. You’ve got to take care of your feet!
Here’s my Friday night at-home ritual for keeping things soft and pretty. Bonus – the better you take care of your feet the longer you can go between pedicures. That said, if you can make time to relax in the pedicure chair every week, more power to you!
1. Soak Your Feet
1. Soak Your FeetFirst, you need to prep those toes with a simple foot soak. The best way to soften calluses is to soak them in warm water. Add something acidic – like lemon juice, orange juice or white vinegar – to help do the job. I like to sit on the edge of the tub – or heck, take a long bath – to soften things up. The bowl is pretty, but I know it will inevitably end up all over my floor. And if you plan to repaint your toes, then be sure to take off all of the old polish before you soak.
2. Give Heels a Good Scrub
Once your feet are good and soft, go to town on them with a simple salt or sugar scrub. This doesn’t have to be (and probably shouldn’t be) fancy schmancy. Sugar with a little oil will do a nice job of removing dead skin and cleaning things up. And your best investment of the year will be a pumice stone. Work on the hard calluses and heels with this guy. Even better, keep it in the shower and do a little scrubbing every time you’re in there.
I’m not a fan of callus remover creams or those scraper tools because I’ve found that as soon as you use them the calluses come back thicker and harder than ever. Plus you risk getting a little over zealous and causing injury. And since the goal is less time on maintenance it’s better to just stay away from those.
3. Slather on Moisture
Did you guess this was coming? Coconut oil! Slather those feet with this awesome moisturizer or whatever thick cream you have on hand. You can wear socks for a while to let it soak in. Some folks sleep with their socks on but this feels icky to me. I prefer to let my toes have a chance to air out. Then if you want to paint your toes, go for it. This I leave to the pros though because I’m woefully uncoordinated. And I find that I can get by with a pedicure about once a month if I keep the maintenance up.
And that’s it! Do this regularly – at least once a week – and you will have pretty feet all summer long. Now go rock some sexy sandals!
18
Ooh, yes. This is a must before the weather becomes solidly sandal-friendly.
I particularly like how simple your solution is. That’s totally do-able on the regular!
Now, I just need to figure out how to navigate around this baby bump to reach my feet in the first place!
Great post – very informative and much needed because I think foot health is an ignored component of healthy living and pampering yourself.
Supposedly if you soak you feet in lemon juice it will make your nails whiter
Haven’t tried it, but that is cool if it is true
Brett
This is a great idea! I really need to give myself a pedicure! xx. McKenna Lou
http://www.lynnandlou.com
p.s. Did you get a chance to enter in our Anthropologie gift card giveaway?
Here’s the link: http://www.lynnandlou.com/2013/06/how-to-perfectly-frost-cake-25-anthro.html
It is so much harder to keep feet pretty in the summer months. Mine get so dry this time of year, right when I want them to look their best! These are all great tips. I also apply body butter before bed every night and put on a pair of socks.