Lifestyle Choices

Wash them every day, making a rich lather and massaging it over the soles of the feet. With a loofah, gently rub the tops and soles of the feet, not forgetting the heels, to loosen the dead skin cells, and with a soft nail brush, gently brush the tips of the nails from side to side. Rinse them well in warm water and if there is any hard skin to remove, rub a pumice stone over it. Finally, rinse again in warm water and then splash with cold. Dry your feet thoroughly by wrapping them in a towel and gently rubbing and patting them, then rub dry carefully between and behind the toes until absolutely all the moisture is gone. This is important in order to protect them from infection. If your feet tend to sweat, give them a light rubdown with alcohol. If they ache, massage some cider vinegar into the soles to cool and refresh them, or make a hot and cold footbath—three minutes of hot followed by thirty seconds of cold—and end with a good friction rub with a soft towel. Finally, dust each foot with dusting powder.

 

The Pedicure

1. Take off every speck of nail polish and soak your feet in warm water for about five to ten minutes. (Epsom salts added to the water are very soothing for tired feet; camphor is good if your feet sweat.) When the soaking time is up, dip feet into cold water for about thirty seconds. This not only relieves aches, it is also excellent for chilblain-prone feet, for it stimulates circulation. Then dry feet thoroughly and separate the toes with little balls of cotton.
2. Using either a nail clipper for toes or a pair of scissors, trim each nail straight across and no shorter than the end of the toe in order to protect your toes from ingrown toenails. Smooth the edges with an emery board without shaping the nails. Apply a cuticle cream around the nails and massage it into the skin at the sides of the nail as well as into the cuticle, then, using an orange stick, ease back the cuticles. Next, gently clean the nails using an orange stick with a tiny piece of cotton wrapped around the end and remove the cotton from between the toes.
3. Now get down to the hard skin. There shouldn’t be much of it if you have used a pumice stone every day. But if it has accumulated, try a liquid hard skin remover (there are several on the market), rubbing it on and in until the rough spots disappear. If your calluses are really thick you will need to do this several times before you see any real improvement. (Or go and see a chiropodist, who will remove them with a scalpel.)
4. To give yourself a foot mask, mix rolled oats together with the juice of a lemon to a thick and sticky consistency and smooth on your feet thickly, including the soles—right up to the ankles. Rub the lemon halves against the heels to lighten and tone the skin. Leave on your foot mask for five or ten minutes, then rinse off with first warm and then cool water. Now smooth on a rich hand cream or moisturizer concentrating on the places where hard skin tends to accumulate and massaging it upward from the toes to the knees.
5. Rub your nails lightly with polish remover to get rid of any grease and replace the cotton between the toes. Apply a base coat to protect the nail and as a primer for the color, if you are going to use any. Let it dry completely. If you want color, choose a scintillating bold red or a soft sandy pink that tones well with your skin (orange and purple-pinks never do much for most feet) and apply two coats of it to each nail, sweeping the color from the center of the cuticle outward and inward to the center of the nail trim on each side, with a straight stroke up the center. This will give the impression of a lovely oval-shaped nail. Finish it off with a clear protective top coat to prevent the varnish from chipping and to give a strong shine. When all is dry, a splash of cologne or foot spray will add a beautifully cool finishing touch.

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