Easy Home Pedicure

 We ladies absolutely love indulging and giving our feet a treat with a
professionally done pedicure in a spa or beauty parlor and tell me don't your feet (tootsie) just
crave all those attention, soak and therapeutic massage showered on them? and after all your 
feet comes out looking prim, kissable, soft and oooohhhhh......la...la...cious!!!.

Wouldn't it be fun to have regular professional spa tended pedicure probably weekly or
bi-monthly?  But every once in a while a chic could be short on finance but still want to flaunt
 a gorgeous feet in that open toes sandal, and trust me when I say though your feet may seem
unassuming, it's a very visible part of your body that people get to notice. You don't want to
leave a wrong impression with a dry chapped, tough, calluse ridden feet or a chipped nail polish.
And what's more you should show some love to your feet for being so down-to-earth picking up all the dust
and dirt after you while carrying your whole body network/frame.

For this process we'll be improvising with the items needed so you don't spend too much but
still get an amazing result similar to when you visit a spa.

Items required for our home-spa pedicure:

uncoated aspirin tablet/baking soda
mint green tea bag
home foot scrub/industrial body scrub
vinegar/disinfectant
pumice stone/foot brush
lemon
nail file
nail cutter
nail buffer
olive oil/almond oil
shea butter/castor oil as nail cream
cuticle pushing stick
towel
basin
nail polish
foot cream/baby lotion.
a pair of stocking
original black soap/foot shampoo

home foot scrub:
In the absence of an industrial foot scrub, make a foot scrub at home, mix 1/2 cup of brown sugar with 1/2 cup of coconut oil,1/2 a lemon  to a body scrub consistency, now you have ready a foot scrub. Mix fresh batch for every use.

steps to getting a great pedicure:
Using cotton soaked with nail polish remover wipe off old nail coat
get a basin of warm water enough to submerge the feet in, add vinegar/disinfectant, drop 2 bags of mint green tea for a soothing effect. Throw in some uncoated aspirin tablets/baking soda
this helps in softening and exfoliating dead skin cells, add a bar of black soap/foot shampoo,
remove black soap once water becomes foamy, now soak feet in the warm water, sit back relax and have fun with a good novel/movie for 15 minutes.

After 15 minutes, remove foot using the pumice stone/foot brush firmly scrub the calluses and
toughened skin on the heels and underneath the feet. Scrub until the heels and balls of the
feet are smooth to the touch, do same for other foot.

Now slather on some foot scrub mixed with lemon juice on the feet, massage gently the skin on the feet, underneath the feet and corners around the toes. Rinse with cool water and dry with a clean
towel, your entire feet should feel soft and smooth at this point.

Take a part of  olive oil/almond oil mix with some foot lotion/baby lotion, gently and tenderly massage
 the moist feet, toes, heels and underneath the feet, until absorbed by the skin.

Trim toenails with a nail cutter avoid cutting the corners of the nails to avoid ingrown nail
springing out from the sides. Using a nail file, file each nail from left side to middle and right side to
 middle direction to get a shapely nail.
Smoothen the rough edges on the nail surface with a nail buffer, push in the cuticle with a cuticle stick, now gently massage cuticle and nails with shea butter/castor oil, this helps to strengthens the nail from breakage and it also enhances nail growth.

Apply base coat on the nail before nail polish, this prevents nail polish stain, apply first coat of nail polish, leave for few minutes follow with a second coat to prevent untimely nail polish chipping and finally touch up with a transparent gloss coat for a perfect finish.

Sit back one more time and relax for 30 minutes to allow nail polish to dry up before putting on a pair of thick woolen stockings to allow feet soak in the oil and moisture.

Note
This ought to be a leisurely routine so it is more convenient to do this on weekend or your relaxation
period to maximize time.

Pedicure is inevitably necessary particularly during the harsh, cold and dry harmatan or winter season to
protect and keep those feet (tootsie) in tip-top shape. you can observe this weekly and in no time at all you will have a feet (tootsie) to die for.
Your comments, questions and suggestions is highly welcome

Get Out That Embarrasing Dark Knuckles- Using This Amazing Tricks

Dark knuckles is perceived as one of the evidence of bleaching,
It can be really embarrassing for a lady, imagine visiting an expensive spa to get a new manicures and pedicures done and decided to share a picture of it on social media expecting likes and compliment, but all your social media friends care to notice and comment on is how dark your knuckles look with annoying questions like "are you bleaching?"
I feel for celebrities sha..... like one that flaunted her well manicured hands recently on social media but all she got from her fans was bashing from left and right about how disgusting and bleached out her fingers looked, all because of dark knuckles.
The fingers and feet may seem so unassuming  but it can create a dent in a lady'
over-all physical appearance when not cared for. It could also trigger a feeling of self-consciousness
and diminish one's self-confidence.

Factors responsible for dark knuckles
Genetics: dark knuckle can be hereditarily passed from parents to offspring, this account
for a dark person who is not into skin toning having pigmentations on the knuckles.

Exposure to sun rays: the danger of exposing the skin to the harsh rays of the sun begins with
facial sun-burn, wrinkling, darkening  of the knuckles before showing on other parts of the skin.

Excessive use of cosmetics: continous and extreme use of lightening/ toning creams and lotions
may successfully enhance and brighten your complexion leaving out the knuckles
This is because the skin on this area are tough and hard thereby requiring exclusive tender loving
care to actually lighten them.

Dryness: leaving your fingers dry especially after every hand wash and during the dry harmattan
season can cause dry,toughen skin which overtime darkens the knuckles.

Lack of exfoliation: exfoliation helps to rid the skin of dead skin cells that may create a resistive
barrier on the skin surface preventing skin care products from being absorbed by the skin layers.

Friction; daily routine activities like washing with harsh chemical detergent, submerging hands in hot
water and other rigorous physical activities that induces friction on the finger joint could also darken the
knuckles.


Steps to treating dark knuckles

 Exfoliate: the role and importance of exfoliation in the treatment of dark knuckles can not be
down-played at all. To remove the dead skin cells, you would need a body scrub ( I love Eden body

scrub) or alternatively you could use sugar (white or brown). Add tablespoons of fresh lemon juice in the sugar or body scrub,wash the skin, use this to gently scrub the fingers, feet, elbow, and knee paying particular attention to the troubled dark spot then wash off after scrubbing. you would feel smoothness
and soften skin afterward.

Lighten dark knuckle: the next procedure is to lighten those dark patches naturally using  "the good
 old" lemon and honey as a toner. Cut a lemon into two halves, pour honey on the surface of each half,
use this to vigorously scrub the knuckles of the finger and toes, elbow joint and knee cap,leave for 10 minutes and wash off. Don't leave on for too long lemon can be drying.

Moisturize:  make your own  home-made moisturizer/ hand and feet cream by blending a mould of sheabutter,10 tablespoonful almond oil, 6 tablespoon  vitamin E, 2 teaspoonful of honey and  5 tablespoonful johnson baby lotion /pears baby lotion., store in a fancy jar, use this to replace hand cream and use often. keep the hands, feet and and those joints that tends to darken moisturize regularly.

Pamper your hands and feet: Give your hands and feet weekly soak and massage if you can't afford salon
or spa pedicure and manicure. make your own soak by adding sea salt, olive oil and baking soda in a basin of warm water. use your home made hand and feet moisturizer to massage afterward.this helps in softening.

Sunscreen: use sunscreen protection on your skin before going out under the sun.

Patience:  finally be patient, it wont go away overnight but with constant and consistent care you are
sure of achieving that flawless and kissable hands and feet you've always wante