GIVING A SALON PERFECT PEDICURE

Wouldn’t it be great to be able to give your family and friends a Salon perfect pedicure?  Here are the steps required to make your subject feel super relaxed. Alternatively you can watch the full video at the end.

1. Sanitise Feet  – use different piece of cotton wool on each foot.
   

   Sanitise each foot with a different piece of cotton wool.

2. Work on one foot at a time
3. Remove any existing Nail Varnish
4. Soak feet for 3-4 minutes before commencing pedicure. Take out one foot and dry it with a towel. Leave the other foot in the foot bowl whilst working on the first foot.
5. If toe nails are long, clip them first using a tie nail clipper. Make sure you clip straight across the nail clipping small pieces at a time. This helps prevent in-growing toe nails.
   

   Tidy up each toe nail using clippers.

6. Initially file the nails straight across to neaten up the shape just created. Bevel the edge by filing at a 45 degree angle to remove the rough edge and then soften the corners. Do these for all the toes.
   

   File each toe nail.

7. Using an Orangewood stick apply cuticle cream to the base of each nail. In this video Skintruth Cuticle Massage Cream http://www.salon-services.com/skintruth-cuticle-massage-cream-creams–lotions-and-butters-pmanicure59/ was used.
   

   Apply cuticle cream to each nail using an Orangewood stick

8. Using a firm pressure massage the cuticle cream into the cuticle area of the nails.
9. Place the foot back into the foot bowl and repeat all the steps on the second foot.

10. Take the first foot out of the foot bowl and again dry it off with a towel. Whilst drying the foot massage the cuticle cream into the nails. The cream softens the cuticles making them much easier to push back.

11. Wrap the slanted end of an Orangewood stick with cotton wool and use this to gently push back each cuticle.

Wrap cotton wool around an Orangewood stick to push back cuticles.

12. After pushing back the cuticles it may be necessary to trim off any excess cuticle with some cuticle nippers. Just be careful to only remove excess cuticle and not living skin.

Use cuticle nippers to remove excess skin.

13. After the cuticles are done move onto the sole of the foot. You want to remove any hard skin with a Foot Rasp. Use the rasp in one direction following the grain of the skin. It’s better to apply a firm pressure as it helps remove the dry skin and also reduces tickling. When working on the heel always support the clients ankle with your spare hand.

14. After all the hard skin has been removed apply some Exfoliating Foot Scrub all over the foot and ankle to help to smooth over the areas of hard skin. Again use a firm pressure and use smooth sweeping strokes.

15. Put the foot back into the foot bowl and repeat for the second foot.

16. After completing the second foot rinse the cream off both feet using either your hands or a sponge.

17. Now give the first  foot and lower leg massage using a cream of your choice. Some of the cooling lotions like Peppermint work particularly well.

18. Using Effleurage http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effleurage strokes up to the knee 6 times. It’s worth checking with your client that the pressure is fine.

Massage the lower leg using effleurage strokes.

19. Then using Petrissage http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petrissage knead up and down the muscle on the front of the lower leg. Slowly up to the knee and then drag back down to the ankle. Repeat this 3 times.

20. Repeat this process up the back of the leg, massaging the calf muscle.

21. Now make 3 slow circles around the ankle bone before moving onto Petrissage on the top of the foot.

22. Make slow circles with your thumbs on the soles of the feet. Start on the pads and slowly work down to the soles. Remember to use a reasonable amount of pressure. You can also use the cross friction method where you cross our thumbs over and under each other.

Massage the heal using thumb circles.

23. Support the ankle and then rotate the foot 3 times clockwise, then anti-clockwise. This is good for joint mobility.

24. Slowly flex and extend the foot 2 or 3 times.

25. Finally stroke using the Effleurage movement 6 times up the front of the lower leg.

26. Repeat steps 17-25 for the other foot.

You’re now ready to apply whatever nail finish your client would like. The video below features Katie Miles, Owner of Cheshire salon All Eyes On You. She goes through all the stages above as well as continuing onto applying polish.

To find out more about Katie and the All Eyes On You salon, check out their Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/aeoybeauty?fref=ts

Thanks for reading this pedicure blog we hope you found it useful. To find out more about Vivid Photo Visual.