What do you do to get your feet sandals ready?

[Marghe87]

I wanted to book a deluxe pedicure before my hols but all salons are very pricey where I live and I feel a bit bad wasting money for something that won’t last long (I wouldn’t get gel nails, just normal polish). I don’t have particularly problematic feet but I would like them to look pretty and polished for the sandal weather. What do you do to keep yours at their best?
The only thing I do right now is use a pumice stone in the shower once a week or so. In the summer I usually wear nail varnish (I am very good at doing my hands but less precise on my toe nails I find). Do you also have tips of what nail varnish to use? I want one that is very shiny and long lasting - I do also use a top coat. Majority of my nail polishes are essie.
Thank you for the tips :)

Thank god its not just me with the hobbit feet 🤣

I use Body Shop foot scrub once a week, and foot cream every day after my shower. All year round. Nails I use Essie or Zoya polishes, and Essie Good to Go top coat. Nothing takes long, and I don't have hard skin or dodgy cuticles.

I religiously use a cracked heel repair cream on my feet every day as soon as the weather starts picking up. By the time the sandals come out, my feet are no longer an embarrassment!

I soak my feet in a bowl of warm water and scrub all over with a nail brush.

Dry and cut nails and see to cuticles.

Use Soap and Glory file

Paint with a neutral polish as it's more forgiving with mistakes.

Use nail oil and foot cream.

Can I ask where you get your chiropody sponges @UndertheEagle? I haven't been able to buy them for ages and pumice stones just aren't as good.

I got mine from Amazon. I don't know if they're still in stock. I have several packets as back up

Hire an industrial sander.

Under the eagle - where did you buy the newtons sponge from - I haven’t been able to find one!

I did the Footner sock peel for nice smooth feet and a good quality polish in the toes.

I use olive oil on the ends of my hair and my finger/toe nails. It costs me nothng as I already have the olive oil in the store cupboard. I do that because my hair's curly and goes it's own way. The oil is about smoothing it.

Cuticles and follicles need nourishment, ie from vitamins/minerals. Outside of that the tissue is dead, so there's no point spending a fortune on products for dead tissue.

I have a scholl velvet smooth too and use the body shop peppermint foot cream.

I have horrible, horrible dry and hard skin on my feet to the point that it's painful to walk, but the combination of these really help and make them presentable too.

Pumice stone after a soak. Cut and file nails then use tea tree oil on them. I used to have a fungus infection years ago and the tee tree just stops it from coming back. Any old moisturiser that I have lying around but I'm thinking I want a urea cream next time.

Watching with interest! I bought a pack of Footner but haven't dared use it. How long does the peeling last? Are there any risks/ downsides?

Soak, Footner then moisturise like mad. Maintenance pumice, especially on heels.
Nail polish is dual base/top coat, two layer of colour then the base/top coat again. Lasts for ages.

Footner is amazing, so satisfying, but be very careful NOT to pull at anything that resists at all.

Peeling starts day 3/4 days after application and lasts about 4/5 days, so you'll want to time it if you have sandal ambitions. If you've never used it before, the first time is spectacular.

Don't use with open sores, etc. as basically it's an acid.

@Whippet I soaked my feet first, did the Footner and then each day I soaked my feet. I also gave them a bit of soak in the morning by covering the shower drain. It worked really well, much better than the £2 one I got from the chemist.

I can’t find Newtons sponges anymore either. I’ve found notherscrubber.com which from what I can tell is exactly the same, just slightly bigger but works the same magic. Always followed by Flexitol heel balm. I use so much I’ve started buying it in a tub instead of the tube.

Thanks all for all the advice! I definitely need to moisturise more as currently I barely do it at all. Will also look into footner.
Keep it coming if you have more tips! Also tips on long lasting nail varnish, very welcome. I mostly use essie, including top coat, and I like it. Would like something really shiny though.

30 urea foot cream from Amazon!

I use a hard skin sponge thing, like a fake pumice, every time I bathe, summer and winter, as I find hard skin building up on my heels really uncomfortable.

If you use footner, I recommend putting vaseline on the top of your foot and toes beforehand. I found footner excellent on hard skin, but it "burnt" the tops of my feet, and was quite painful while it healed.

See a podiatrist every spring. Sometimes I think I don't need it and my feet are fine, but there's always a noticeable improvement. Then daily moisturise and weekly exfoliation to maintain. I like gels on toes to get the shine and longevity, but I do them myself.

I tried footner once, I hated it and the results were not noticeable.

My routine is to use a foot file, followed by a couple of nights where I slather on a thick layer of Nivea blue tub, followed by a thick layer of 8 hr cream - basically vaseline type stuff - and two layers of socks - one thin pair of cotton socks that I don't mind getting greasy and then a thicker pair. This gets me back to a good baseline, and I follow this up weekly. My toenails are good so I'm happy to varnish them myself.

I’m somewhat obsessed with feet. I always notice women with cracked hard skin and minging feet. I use flexitol a couple of times a week, all year round. I have no hard skin on my feet as a result.

I’m also a bit obsessed with cuticles. I use the Sally Hansen cuticle gel once a week and also push them back when I’m in the bath.

I use the Sally Hansen double duty as a base and top coat. I have tried them all and this is the best imo.

I must have 100 Essie polishes. At the mo I have ‘Blanc’ on my toenails. Looks lovely with a bit of a (fake) tan. I think whites and very pales on feet are having a moment this year.

Pumice, moisturise, paint toenails, wear sandals. Is it that difficult?

I do the same.