In either a large enough bowl for your feet, or an electric pedicure unit, put some nicely scented liquid soap, maybe a drop of two of essential oil, and even some flower petals, if you happen to have some around. Light a candle or two. Fill the tub up with nice warm water, as warm as you can stand it. I have a pedicure tub that cost around $35, and has a heater in it that will maintain the heat of the water. That is a VERY nice feature to have. Gather all of your pedicure supplies, and don’t forget several towels, as your feet will be going in and out of the water several times.
Pedicure bath available at The Sharper Image: Portable “No Spill” Massaging Foot Spa with Jet-Action Bubbles, Vibration & Heat (CA843)
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[Ed. note - we are moving right on to the Spa Pedicure this week due to the news from Dallas that I reported yesterday about people being infected by Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus bacteria from pedicure baths. I hope you will forgive me if I stress cleanliness so much here, but this bacteria is very, very dangerous and life threatening. Please take the time and make the effort to do your own pedicures, or ensure that the work area is very clean if you must go to a salon.]
Ok, on to the intro:
The Basic Spa Pedicure is very similar to the Spa Manicure, except, naturally, it is performed on the feet. Something special to
remember about manicuring your toes is that you do not need a topcoat on toes. Just your basic basecoat, and two coats of color is all you need, as your toes do not go through the abuse that your nails do. The added thickness of the topcoat on your toes can even encourage them to chip under the pressure of wearing shoes all day. So just skip the topcoat, but be sure and allow your toes plenty of time to dry completely before you put shoes/socks/stockings on, preferably overnight!
So, lets get started!
Wrap your hands up in a towel to retain the heat for as long as possible, sit back and relax for 15-30 minutes (or as long as you feel like sitting there—the longer the better). When you are ready, just remove the plastic, the paraffin will probably slip right off with it, and throw the whole thing away. Do NOT reuse the paraffin that was on your hands, no matter how tempting it may be—it will be dirty, full of skin cells, bacteria and microbes that LOVE to breed in warmth, and your paraffin pot will be full of nasty bacteria the next time you want to use it.
Now if you want to finish your Spa Manicure, go back up to Step 6 of the Spa Manicure. If you are finished with your hand treatment, you may wash your hands to remove any residual oils and get on with your day!
