# How can I give myself a pedicure? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 27, 2006, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-give-myself-a-pedicure/378090 "2006-10-27T11:05:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2006, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-give-myself-a-pedicure/378090/1 "2006-10-27T11:05:30Z")
Besides the obvious, that is. I just slopped a coat of polish on my toenails, but I have to admit, my toenails, heck, my toes themselves, are really skanky. What should I do to keep the nails pliable and the skin soft? All I currently do is use a pumice to fine down any obvious lumps. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2006, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-give-myself-a-pedicure/378090/2 "2006-10-27T12:01:44Z")
Tools you’ll need: Foot cream (softens the skin that is usually harder to soften than most of your skin) Orange stick (push the cuticles back when the skin is soft…usually right out of the shower) Sanding block (it’s a little foam block with different degrees of roughness. This will smooth the nails. I don’t know about you, but my nails get ridges. This will smooth them away. Be careful… you don’t want to generate too much heat or smooth too much off your nail. Clippers base coat polish top coat Most people get pedicures about once every 6 weeks. I just had my first one and it was nice. You may want to get one so you can see the process and then do it at home yourself. ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2006, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-give-myself-a-pedicure/378090/3 "2006-10-27T12:13:12Z")
Okay, I have the last four items, and I know where to get the foot cream and the orange stick. I guess I’ll know a sanding block when I see it. Thank ye! ---
**Author:** ![Batsinma\_Belfry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea5d25/32.png) [@Batsinma\_Belfry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Batsinma_Belfry)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2006, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-give-myself-a-pedicure/378090/4 "2006-10-27T12:19:07Z")
Nail cream, keeps cuticles soft and nails from drying out. Even if you’re wearing polish. Also, a non-acetone polish remover, help protect the nail and surrounding skin from drying out. ---
**Author:** ![Surok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@Surok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surok)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2006, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-give-myself-a-pedicure/378090/5 "2006-10-27T12:34:01Z")
Soaking your feet regularly in a bowl of hot water, and using some kind of foot scrub helps. Foot scrub usually contains little grains of pumice - it’s less harsh on your feet than using a pumice stone on dry feet. Cornmeal mixed with a little shower gel also works well. What I do: 1. Go to steam bath/ sauna. This will help soften your feet. 2. While there, use a foot file to gently get rid of loose/ dead skin. (My manicurist told me very firmly that using a pumice stone isn’t advisable, as it takes off the skin in uneven layers, ultimately leaving you **more** prone to lumps and bumps.) 3. Then soak feet in bowl of water (as hot as you can stand it) for 10 - 15 minutes. 4. Scrub with abovementioned commerical foot scrub/ cornmeal mixture. 5. Rinse off. Soak feet again for a couple of minutes in fresh hot water. 6. Scrub feet with nailbrush and shower gel. As long as you’re not too ticklish, the nailbrush bristles are quite invigorating. Then once I’m out of the steam bath and getting dressed: 1. Use foot cream/ moisturiser all over feet, toes and nails. 2. Push back cuticles. 3. Clip any nails that need clipping, and file them. 4. Apply polish. Make sure you’ve got all the grease from the foot cream off your nails, or the polish won’t take properly. I don’t use a sanding block (also called a buffer) but it does smooth down nails nicely. This may all sound like a lot of hassle, but I like my feet, and when they’re happy, I’m happy. When I recently had my first salon pedicure, the woman didn’t believe that I’d not had one before, as my feet were in such good condition. ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2006, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-give-myself-a-pedicure/378090/6 "2006-10-28T06:43:40Z")
Okay, I got the foot scrub, the foot file, and the orange stick. Don’t have the nailbrush or the sanding block yet, but I will. And thank you for the heads-up about the pumice stone! ---
**Author:** ![conurepete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a88e57/32.png) [@conurepete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/conurepete)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2006, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-give-myself-a-pedicure/378090/7 "2006-10-28T22:18:33Z")
Or, you could use the method favored by one of my patients: grasp foot firmly. raise toes to mouth, chew nails into preferred shape. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2006, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-give-myself-a-pedicure/378090/8 "2006-10-29T00:32:25Z")
:eek: Find me a woman who does that and I’ll be hers for life. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2006, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-give-myself-a-pedicure/378090/9 "2006-10-29T06:24:37Z")
My podiatrist says not to put lotion between my toes, as it can cause all sorts of infections (athlete’s foot, etc.) in there. Otherwise, he’s totally behind lotion, foot soaks, and generally taking care of one’s feet. My mother swears that putting a half cup of vinegar in her foot bath helps soften her feet. I’ve never tried it, myself. IANAP, IANAD, YMMV, all that good stuff. ---
**Author:** ![conurepete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a88e57/32.png) [@conurepete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/conurepete)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2006, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-give-myself-a-pedicure/378090/10 "2006-10-29T15:17:30Z")
Beware of Doug, you had better move quick, she has been doing that for 77 years. (funny thing- she has a twin sister, who had never chewed toenails. The twin had a fall and broke her hip. The life lesson: Chew Your Toenails)