Displaying items by tag: pedicure

At Superior Foot & Ankle Care Center, we know the coronavirus has made life very stressful for our Douglas Park/Los Angeles County area patients, and we hope everyone is doing their best to stay safe and healthy. One suggestion we have if you are staying in your home is to treat yourself to a pedicure—home style. Taking care of yourself helps maintain good health and a healthy attitude.

An at-home pedicure is also relaxing and soothing. Just follow these 9 simple steps:

1. Find a quiet place in your home. Put on some soft music and light a scented candle. Try to have all our tools gathered before you start.
2. Remove old nail polish using nail polish remover and cotton balls.
3. Soak your feet in a basin of warm, soapy water. Add some essential oils to the water if you have them. Using a soft nail brush, gently scrub your toenails. Rinse feet with clean water. For patients with diabetes, you should now skip to step 7. Cutting nails and cuticles should be handled by our podiatrists, Victoria M. Foley and Dr. Constance Ornelas, to avoid possible injury or infection.
4. Exfoliate dead skin from rough areas on the heel and ball of the feet using a pumice stone or foot file. Wipe feet clean.
5. Trim toenails straight across. Be careful not to cut nails too short, or this can cause an ingrown toenail to develop. File smooth, but don’t round the edges.
6. Use an orange stick to push back cuticles gently. Carefully trim if needed, being careful not to cut too aggressively, so they bleed.
7. Massage a rich moisturizer into your entire foot. Take your time! Massage eases aches and tension and feels so good.
8. Remove any leftover lotion from toenails with nail polish remover.
9. If you’d like, apply a base coat, your favorite spring color, and a topcoat, allowing ample time between coats for nails to dry.

If, during the course of your home pedicure, you notice anything unusual about the appearance of your feet, contact our Long Beach office by calling: (562) 420-9800 to confer with one of our podiatrists.

At Superior Foot & Ankle Care Center we know that many of our patients enjoy getting professional pedicures but recent stories in the news about fungal and bacterial infections lurking at some salons may leave you feeling hesitant. If you don’t have a salon you trust to follow proper sanitizing procedures, we want you to know that you can give yourself a relaxing and pretty pedicure at home. Here’s how:

1. First remove any old nail polish using cotton balls and nail polish remover.
2. Fill a small tub with warm, soapy water and soak your feet for 5-10 minutes. Use a nail brush to gently scrub toenails and then rinse feet with clear water and dry.
3. Rub a pumice stone or foot file on rough areas of the foot such as the heel and ball. This will exfoliate dead skin and help smooth calluses. If you have large or deep calluses or corns, make an appointment at our Long Beach office and let our podiatrists, Victoria M. Foley or Dr. Constance Ornelas safely remove or trim them.
4. Trim toenails straight across and not too short. File the edges with an emery board. Do not curve the edges downward as this can lead to ingrown toenails.
5. Gently push back your cuticles with an orange stick. Cuticles that extend from the nail margins can be trimmed using a cuticle trimmer. Do not cut so close that they bleed.
6. Apply moisturizer to the cuticles and then the rest of your feet. Give yourself a soothing foot massage, using your fist to rub the balls of your feet and heel. Massage the top of your foot and your toes as well. You can also roll your feet on a bottle or rolling pin.
7. Remove excess lotion from toenails with nail polish remover.

Brush on a base coat, then two coats of your favorite color and a top coat. Put your feet up and allow time for nails to dry completely. Enjoy!