'Summer feet' - rescue & recovery plan...

[Mo2]

Inspired by the 'do you paint your nails?' thread, I wanted to ask advice - how do you get feet that you're happy to display to the world in open sandals??
My feet are definitely my 'bete noire' or whatever the expression is.... horrid hard thick ridgy nails, dry hard skin bits, short stumpy toes - not at all long elegant beautiful things everyone else seems to have in summer...

Help - what do I need to do??? Products, devices, tips??

Treat yourself to a pedicure. Depends on where you live but in the North West it's about £10 - £15. You will feel like you are walking on air and as they do it pay close attention then you can follow the routine at home. Mt dd age 14 and I have girly nights giving each other pedicures! I do love havign my feet played with tho, and up with all sorts of fantastic colours if I let her have her way.

Funny this should come up because I've just embarked - in desparation - on a footcare program. My main problem is hard, cracked, dry skin around the heel, sole and big toes.

If you can get started with a pedicure it's a good idea - it'll bash everything into shape for starters - but we're skint at the moment so I'm only on a home regime whenver I have the time or energy (a few times a week is what I'm aiming at). This is what I'm doing, and what worked last year - give it a go:

1. During bath, rub away at hard skin vigorously with Scholl 'foot grater'. I've heard others do it before a bath, but that doesn't have the same effect for me.

2. Scrub at top of feet and toes with a nail brush.

3. After bath lather on some special foot cream and massage it in. Boots do a really nice one - peppermint & mallow or something? Don't use Flexitol Heel Balm. It smells really badly of stale wee, even though it does make your feet quite soft!!!

After I've done this regularly for a couple of weeks, I know that my feet'll be almost fit for sandals and I'll tackle the nails with a bit of filing, thingy-removal (you know, that stuff that grows over the nails - I've forgotten the name!!) and painting.

I won't comment on the shape of my feet/toes since I can't change them!

Good luck!

Sorry - awful question - but do you shave hairy big toes?

I bought a fabulous emery board thingy for hard skin - I find it very much better than the Scholl grater - it was in the Tesco Barbara Daly range - only about £3.50 and is the same as the beauty therapists use in pedicures. Use it on dry or just bathed/showered feet, over the bath or loo preferably and just file away ! Roughest bit first then the smoother side. Afterwards scrub it under a running tap and leave to dry somwhere, then slather feet in rich moisturiser, put cotton socks on (v attractive) and go to bed !

You might be able to smooth the ridged nails out with a nail smoother which is effectively a very very fine soft emery board. I bought mine from Boots I think - might be called a polisher - not sure - but has one shiny black/grey polishing side and a split white/pink bit on the other side - you use roughest bit first, then the next one and then finish with the polishing side. Again - not very expensive - about £3 again.

Will probably need a hoofstick for the cuticles - I have a cuticle trimmer from Tesco Barbara Daly range again - but it might be a bit lethal if you're a novice !

I bet your toes aren't short and stumpy ! Put some jazzy nailpolish on and you'll be amazed !!

Mo2 - Yes - always !!! I hate stubbly toes !!!

Cuticles - thank you Scatterbrain!

Mo2 - if my big toes were hairy I'd definitely shave them (along with the big warty mole on my neck and the one big moustache hair that his recently - and mercifully - started to grow white!!).

oh yes shave/immac or wax them! What do other people do about the odd big thick hairs that grow on their face? I am going to be a very hairy faced old lady.

I recently bought some Boots own make foot stuff. One tube is a really heavy duty exfoliater for feet and you rub it in before bath/shower, and the second is a really great moisturising cream. Am trying to remember to exfoliate my feet every day before I jump in shower (bit of a tricky manouver trying not to get stuff all over floor!) and after a couple of weeks of using the stuff almost every day feet are looking loads better. If your feet are really bad maybe have a proper pedicure first and then get some foot products to keep them looking good.

Peppermint lotion is fantastic for feet. Don't waste money on those little toe things to separate them so you can paint the just fold a tissue up long ways and place it in and out between your toes.

I also suffer from very dry and cracked heels and get a pedicure every month to help take the skin off. I'm lazy and never do it myself. However, one piece of advice if you have this is douse your feet in petroleum jelly and wear socks to bed for the night. Will really moisturise your feet while you are asleep helping with the cracked skin.

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My fave thing for my feet is Body Shop Olive body cream - it is fab I put it on at night really thick and wear socks over it (really romantic !!) and my feet are all gorgeous and smooth. Well, thats what dh says!

wow- this is fantastic - didn't realise so many people invested so much time in their feet - my poor peds clearly deserve some pampering...

great news - have just discovered that the 'wellness' centre in our office offers beauty treatments including pedicures, so I'll be off there next week. I've never been keen before - didn't think I could cope with someone touching my feet (ticklish!) but I had reflexology when pg 10 months ago and it was surprisingly relaxing!

I read the other day that you should smother your feet in vaseline and then go to bed in your socks, which strikes me as a hassle free thing to try!

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theres a cream by bareille , who made stuff for horses hoofs (hooves?!) and i used it pre my wedding for slingbacks and its great, expensive a 16 a tub but i got married in 2000 and still have a half tub . space nk might stock it.

I confess to hairy toes too, but have to admit that for someone who is ordinarily a product junkie when it comes to feet I have one word........Vaseline.
Have a hot bath, pumice stone the hard skin off, shave hairy toes. Dry thoroughly and smother in Vaseline, I usually put on some cotton socks then or I end up skating around the house

The mind boggles - stuff for horses hooves? Hoof oil or stockholm tar spring to mind!!!

Another vote for lashings of vaseline on dry bits of feet at night and wearing socks to bed. Would prob work for hands too but don't think I could cope with sleeping in gloves!

lilibet, I think you'll find that if you remove those thick hairs with tweezers they'll eventually grow thinner. I too will be a hairy old lady. Will probably exhibit myself in a circus with handlebar moustache.

I posted on the toe nail painting thread but must confess that the reason I do it is because my toe nails are disgusting and I would be mortified if anyone saw them!

I will try the vaseline as I have horrid dry skin on hands and feet, wonder if I could cope with gloves at night?

I have one black hair that grows on my fact and tend just to cut it as short as I can with very sharp scissors, I also have dark hair on my top lip and tend to use Jolen facial bleach on this.

Oooooh I sound horrible don't I?

did you see the thing on foot care on this morning (i swear i just caught this bit! the days of watching This Morning from beginning to end are way over!) yesterday?

i would love to go to a chiropodist and then get a pedicure but my feet are far too shameful to be seen in public... the nails are awful (i love cutting them when they're really not ready!!!), short little stubby things... that hardly resemble nails at all... they're like claws! not to mention the roughest toughest skin on the block plus with all that rubbing and attention paid to my feet i fear that i might fall asleep and start drooling!...

i think i shall take a trip to boots and get myself some footy things... sounds like dh maybe busy tonight!

lilibet - I agree tweeezers for those 'overnight hairs' as my sister calls them. I have mini penknife as a keyring which has tweezers on it so I can get at them at any time!

I can pluck facial hairs with my finger nails - a bit distracting for others as I tend to do it anywhere.

As for toes, I have a fungal infection on my big toe so the nail is really think, brown and shrunken. . Even varnish doesnt help much . I have had 2 unsuccessful remedies from my gp and one from a chiropodist. Cant face another summer in trainers, does anyone know if it is possible to buy false nails for feet?

footcare4me.com have fungal nail oil + loads of products to help