Pedicure, Simplified : Foot Relaxing Ritual + Foot Care Pro Tips

Now when it comes to me, I’ve had heavily damaged skin on my feet due to extreme sun exposure throughout my teenage years & although I’ve past those years long back, its still haunting my skin & I had to significantly modify my feet-skincare routine in order to reverse the damage (yes its still there). But on the other hand, there’re some people (Gifted ones) whose skin remain unchanged (visually) even after so much sun exposure unlike people like us with horrible sun sensitivity.

Secondly think about the stress your feet goes through on a daily basis. It is the part responsible to keep us going on with our daily routine: to move, to stand, to lift something & even if we don’t do any of these, it is the part that’s holding our entire body so this body part bears the most stress & thus it is very natural for them to show that on skin. Pampering once a week is not enough to undo all that. It needs some recharging.

So its important that you keep a full fledged daily care routine for your feet as well just like you do for your face. Keep it simple but potent.

Daily routine: There is no ideal feet skincare routine because each of us have different needs, different skin types but for most, feet skin is usually on the dry side & even if its not too dry; some emollient won’t harm. So I prefer a heavy foot cream all year round (I have extreme oily skin on face & body).

But if your feet skin has special needs like damaged skin on certain areas, patchy hyperpigmentation etc. you’ll need more than that. Sometimes, due to extreme stress/sun exposure/negligence; you’ll end up having patchy dark skin on your feet. In that case, regular application of 12% glycolic acid cream or 0.1% adapalene gel would help a lot but remember, if you do use any chemical exfoliant like these, you’ll have to consciously refrain from further mechanically scrubbing it.

Glycolic acid will even help fight sun damage & extreme dryness. To keep it even toned, you may apply an arbutin & kojic acid based cream twice a day.

Now for people of colour, hyperpigmented knuckles are extremely common (darker than the rest of the body). Sometimes it results from tight shoes (knuckles darken due to friction), or sun exposure. Glycolic acid cream can even help that; but since feet skin is thicker than your face, a simultaneous application of an arbutin+kojic acid based cream will result in better & faster results (each ointment once a day such as arbutin based one in the morning & glycolic acid before bed at night). Such synchronized routine is extremely important to show results on your feet.

Now for some people these don’t work or do very little. Chances are high that in these cases, it is acanthosis nigricans & if its so, its going to test your patience. A. nigricans is a metabolic syndrome, usually common in people with unregulated high blood glucose level. The best treatment for A. nigricans is working out & eating less carbs to keep your blood sugar steady. If you have to have carbohydrates, go for those starchy ones like oats, brown rice, whole wheat (but the portion should be controlled) rather than simple sugar like fruit juice, white sugar, honey etc. Next, you can apply the same ointments mentioned above.

I’m a fitness freak myself but it still didn’t solve my nasty acanthosis nigricans on my feet. So I had to do rounds of chemical peels to see any result. I find lighter peels to be most convenient, but for feet, you’ll need stronger formulations. So if you’re not an expert, consult a dermatologist for TCA peel.

Next comes sun protection. It is extremely important for any of the above techniques to be successful. So get a high SPF PA +++ broad spectrum sunscreen & apply it frequently during the day, even if you’re indoors. If possible, wear cotton socks after applying sunscreen. It alone can solve half of the problem.

Now coming to the pampering part as pedicure is most often interpreted as. However its although not the most important part but indeed its very rejuvenating. Here I’ll give an example f how the ritual would be & you’re free to modify the scrubs/packs as you please. we’ll do this ‘foot facial’ in four parts. First comes scrubbing, to get rid of dead cells & next we’d apply a nourishing feet mask & finish it off by applying a heavy moisturizer after washing the mask off & soaking your feet in warm water.

Foot Scrub: To make a scrub, I prefer dried orange peel. It is not only full of vitamin C (acts as an anti oxidant) but also makes a very good scrub because of its rough texture. Add 2 tbsp orange peel powder or fresh orange peel crushed with 1 tbsp rice flour & ½ tsp olive oil. Also add 1 tsp yogurt. This is a super scrub that will not only scrub your feet clean but also help you fade hyperpigmentation/tan because yogurt has a good content of lactic acid, while orange peel is also highly acidic.

You can keep this scrub on for 15 minutes as a mask & then wash it off by rubbing it gently.

Foot Mask: Make a foot mask using bentonite clay (alternatively, you can use multani mitti/fuller’s earth) because bentonite is the best bet to detoxify your tired feet. Add 1 tbsp of bentonite/multani mitti in 1 tsp rose water & 1 tsp milk. Add a few drops of lavender essential oil & a pinch of turmeric. Make a thick paste & apply this on your feet & let it dry. Now wash your feet off with water & you’d immediately see the difference.

Soaking: You can soak your feet in plain warm water to relax but you may also add special ingredients to the water for a better & rejuvenating feet bath. I prefer adding dead-sea salt for a total detoxification, along with a few drops of camphor & peppermint essential oils. If you don’t have dead-sea salt available, you may simply use Epsom salt instead. Himalayan pink salt is also an excellent option. This soaking part is especially relaxing & de stressing after a long day at work. You may take this feet bath for half an hour for optimum benefit.

Moisturization: This is the last part & is extremely important. I prefer a heavy foot cream based on shea/cocoa butter or simply, olive oil. You can use any. If you do this during the day, do not forget the sunscreen after the foot cream.

You can replicate the steps as mentioned or you may modify them as you please. Its still very effective after a stressful day. Also do let me know how it felt in the comments section below.

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Love,

Koyel M.