7 top tips for an at-home pedicure to get feet sandal-ready for spring

With sunny weather finally here, now’s the time to pack away your winter boots for another season and slip your feet into summer sandals, sliders and sling-backs.

But if your feet have been wrapped up in woolly socks since October, they may need a little TLC before they’re ready to be seen out in public again.

A spokesperson for footwear brand Public Desire says: “It’s not just about making your feet look pretty, it’s also about them being in the very best health to avoid any discomfort when they’re eventually exposed to the sun.

“Start by removing build-ups of hard skin and moisturising feet daily now to avoid painful parched and cracked heels. These both need to carry on throughout the warm months to ensure feet look amazing right through the summer.”

Follow these seven simple steps for sandal-worthy feet…

1. Give them a soak

Start by giving your feet a deep clean by soaking them in a bowl of warm water with a few drops of essential oil like tea tree oil, peppermint or lavender added in. Your feet will feel soft and fresh when you’re finished.

2. Remove hard skin build up

Hard skin will build up on your feet over winter. For an easy way to remove dry skin without needing to use much elbow grease, try a foot sheet mask. Slip your feet into these plastic booties – which are lined with an exfoliating acid-rich serum – for about an hour, rinse off…then wait. After a few days any dry or hard skin will simply peel off – weird but strangely satisfying!

 

If you fancy trying one out for a bargain price, you’ll get a Grace & Stella Foot Peel Mask inside this month’s Treat Time OK! Beauty Box. The sheet mask is worth £18 but new subscribers can get the whole box – which is worth over £95 in total – for just £4.95 when they sign up (the monthly subscription cost is £15 thereafter).

3. Keep them clipped

Jagged, broken toenails are not a good look. Invest in a good pair of sharp nail clippers and keep toenails short and neat. Use a nail file or emery board to soften any rough edges.

4. Moisturise

Cracked heels are a fact of life year-round for some people, while for others they only appear in the warm weather, when feet become drier. Make sure you moisturise your feet every day, either with a foot cream or a good rich moisturising cream. Try sleeping in socks once you’ve applied the cream to lock the moisture in.

5. Look after cuticles

Apply a cuticle remover every two to three weeks, push back the cuticle and trim gently with cuticle clippers to keep your nails looking perfect.

6. Paint your toes

A couple of coats of your favourite nail varnish always gives feet a new lease of life. Reds, pinks and nudes are classic colour choices, while pastel shades can be a fun fashionable nod to the season.

7. Keep feet protected from the sun

When you do finally get your sandals and flip flops on, don’t forget your feet when applying sun cream. Sunburnt feet aren’t pleasant!