Thirty-minute pedicure

1. Clean toenails and remove all traces of polish with a conditioning remover, as described for the manicure.
2. Cut toenails using a nail clipper and file into the desired shape using the rough side of an emergy board. Hold the board slightly angled down over the edge of the nail. Smooth the edges towards the center with a light motion; don't cut or file them always as this weakens the nail and can lead to ingrowing toenails.
3. Lightly massage the nail contours with a cuticle oil or cream.
4. Place both feet in a bowl of warm water into which you have added a handful of bath salts or a few drops of pure essential oil such as peppermint. Soak feet for five to ten minutes.
5. Dry feet throughly with a towel and apply a drop of cuticle remover to the nail contours. Leave it on for a few minutes while you smooth away any hard skin or callouses on the soles of your feet using an exfoliating cream. Then gently 'roll' the cuticles back with a manicure stick covered with cotton wool. Massage hard skin again with the scrub, then rinse off in the warm water.
6. Rinse your feet in cold water to boost circulation. Dry them again with a towel, paying special attention to the skin between your toes.
7. Clean your toenails again with a cotton pad soaked in remover to take off any oily film.
8. If required, apply a hardening formula to the toenails, taking care not to let it touch the cuticle or the surrounding skin.
9. Apply a base coat, followed by two coats of polish, ans finally a top coat, as described for the manicure. Placing cotton wool between your toes separates them to make applying polish easier.

The cuticles on toenails are so tough, it's important to work on them with a cuticle remover at least once a month, paying particular attention to the little toe, which usually suffers the most. If you have a dry skin on your feet, the best way to remove it is with a scrub cream, which will leave your feet smoother and well conditioned or best of all, use pumice stone for smoothing those rough patches.