If you’ve grown tired of bright nail colors but find the lighter colors to be a bit dull or boring, opt for a French manicure on your toes. A French pedicure can make your toes look neat and clean, with just a hint of tint. Monthly pedicures can become expensive after a while, but performing your own French pedicure can save you some money. Even better, you do not have to leave the comfort of your own home.
Step 1
Fill a basin with warm water and a squirt of antibacterial moisturizing bath soap. Soak your feet in the footbath for 15 minutes. The warm water with soften your skin and help remove any dirt around your toenails.
Step 2
Remove your feet from the warm water soak after the 15-minute waiting period. Dry your feet thoroughly with an absorbent towel.
Step 3
Push the cuticles around each of your toenails back with a cuticle pusher. To do so, push ever so gently around the skin of each cuticle with the cuticle pusher. Continue pushing until the cuticles appear nearly invisible. This will give your toenails a neater appearance and also elongate the nail bed.
Step 4
Trim your toenails straight across using a pair of toenail clippers. Trim your toenails even with your skin line. Cutting your toenails straight across will help prevent ingrown toenail problems.
Step 5
Moisturize your feet after pushing back your cuticles, using a moisturizing foot lotion. Apply a dime-sized amount of lotion to each foot, rubbing it into your heels, balls of your feet, tops of your feet and toes. Continue rubbing until the skin of your feet completely absorbs the lotion.
Step 6
Apply two coats of pale pink or beige nail polish to your toenails. Start with the big toe of one foot and work your way around to the other toes. Then, move onto the next foot. Brush each coat on thinly and evenly.
Step 7
Brush a coat of white nail polish onto the whites of your toenails. You will need a steady hand to do this. The idea is to enhance the white of the nails with the white nail polish. Start at one end of your nail and run the brush across horizontally to the other end, following the line that separates the white from the fleshy color of the toenail.
Step 8
Apply a coat of clear nail polish over each toenail after applying the white polish. Allow your toenails plenty of time to dry before slipping on your socks or shoes. If you need to head outdoors, a pair of flip-flops will protect the bottoms of your feet without smudging your toes. Drying time varies from polish to polish. In most cases, it may take up to a full hour before your toenails are safe from smudging.
