How to get pretty feet for summer

It’s easy to forget about our feet in the colder weather. When they’re covered up in socks and rarely exposed, who needs to worry about having pretty feet? But with sandal season fast approaching, now is the time to start focusing on your feet.
The warmer weather can be particularly detrimental to your feet. Which is why any summer foot care routine needs to start with foot health. Embarrassing issues such as foot odor and flakey skin can make you want to throw away the sandals and keep those heels firmly placed in your winter boots, despite the heat.
RELATED: 5 things that are wrong with your feet
RELATED: Are you hurting your feet?
We spoke to Pharmacist, Gerald Quigley, to help us get our feet summer reason in no time!
First, fix embarrassing foot problems
Issues such as foot odour can increase in summer for a few reasons. Gerald says that sweating, which is the body’s natural response to heat, can cause the growth of bacteria which can result in smelly feet. “Thoroughly washing your feet and keeping them clean along with changing socks when exercises or after sweating a lot is another way to help.” Using a foot specific exfoliating product will help by getting rid of the dead layer of skin on your feet, which leaves less places for the bacteria to hide.
Gerald also recommends caring for your shoes by airing them out and keeping them clean. “You can do this by alternating shoes daily - one day on, one day off - which allows them to air and breath between wears, reducing their overall smell,” says Gerald.
bh loves: Milky Foot Intense Exfoliation Pads, Nutrimetics Sole Revival Foot Scrub, Juliette Armand Almond Peeling Cream
Dry, flakey feet
The skin on your feet and on the tops of your toes can become hard and flakey, which doesn’t look great in sandals. So what can we do to fix it? Again, you need to look at your choice of footwear. “The skin on our feet and toes endures a lot everyday with every step we take, literally, and this can leave our feet and toes not only sore muscularly but the skin around the toes dead and blistering,” explains Gerald. Choosing to wear high heels, steel capped boots, and even leather school shoes can cause your toes to rub and endure a lot. Always make sure you’re alternating what shoes you wear, as this changes up where the pressure is applied when you’re walking. “Being comfortable in your shoes will ultimately reduce the amount of hard dead skin on your feet,” says Gerald. Regularly exfoliating your feet will help to remove any dead skin that you already have. After exfoliating, always moisturise your feet with a hydrating foot cream and apply a foot cream daily to keep your feet soft and smooth.
bh loves: JERGENS Foot Cream, Natura Siberica OBLEPIKHA SIBERICA FOOT CREAM, QV Skincare QV Feet Heel Balm
Hot tip: Don’t forget to keep your hands hydrated as well, with a nourishing hand cream like NIVEA Nourishing Care Hand Cream
Primp with a pedicure
Since we’re constantly using our hands, it’s easy to remember to maintain our manicure - but we often forget about our feet. If you’re not getting regular pedicures, make sure you keep your toenails trimmed and filed. If you’ve been neglecting your toes for a while then you may need to use a speciality nail care product to nourish the cuticle and boost nail strength. Pedicures can be expensive, so if you’d prefer to splurge elsewhere you can follow these simple steps for your own DIY pedicure.
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Remove any traces of nail polish or nail treatments from your toenails
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Allow your feet to soak in a bowl of warm water for a few minutes, then exfoliate with a foot scrub
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Push your cuticles back with a cuticle stick
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Massage a foot cream into your feet, concentrating on dry areas
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Use a nail clipper to trim your toenails to your desired length
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File your toenails with a nail file
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Apply a base coat so that your pedicure lasts as long as possible
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Apply two thin coats of your favourite polish
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Finally, don’t forget to finish the pedicure with a top coat
bh loves: Fabuluscious Miracle Nail Treatment, Revitanail Nail Strengthener, Mavala Switzerland Mavaderma
Do you get regular pedicures? How do you get your feet summer ready?
Have you tried any of the products mentioned above?
Review them now to earn points that you can swap for free beauty products in RewardsRoom.
53 Member Comments
summer's approaching really fast. time to get going with these tips.
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Thanks for these tips...
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I do pedicures in winter as a treat. Now I have Justifictaions :)
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I only get a pedicure for special occasions or when I am in need of a pamper
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my fee are so bad
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My feet aren't too bad. The only issue is my big toe nail is slightly yellow so need to use polish as I don't know how to get rid of it and it's not a fungus either Dr said !
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Some good tips for me to try as I have sweaty feet.
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I have always hated my feet so I am often struggling to fix them up for summer- a good scrub and some nice moisturiser is always a good thing tho!
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If haven't had a pedicure in months. Unfortunately I tend to neglect my poor feet. Luckily they don't give me any problem. I do wear flatter shoes which would help I think.
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Pedicure is due, good reminder BH.
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Thank you for the foot article
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This article reminds my feet needs some TLC. Time to use some foot scrub and cream.
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My poor feet could do with some love
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I have had a pedicure before and I hated it! I suppose it didn't help that the lady at the nail bar made my feet bleed. I really need to give my feet some love, they are looking rather ordinary to say the least.
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I don't have time for a pedi. But I have some very good scrubs and Foot cream, both of which I have been too lazy to use!
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My feet need some tendering to so I will be trying out this DIY foot care this week, because summer time my feet are really on show.
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I just wash mine when I shower and take a bath but I know that isn't enough. But moisturising my feet sounds weird because how am I going to walk around while waiting for the cream to soak in?
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A timely reminder my hoofs are in dire need of some TLC. Last time I had a pedicure the lady had to get out the cheese grater the dry skin was that rife. SUPER EMBARRASSING. Home remedy time.
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Need a fix, but not doing anything about it. Just seems no time
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My feet need some serious TLC!
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I moisturise my feet daily every night and put socks on so it could soak up the cream.
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I get a pedi about every 6 weeks and in between use the Scholl file and heel balm nightly, my system seems to working pretty well.
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The scholl pedi doesn't work on my feet so maybe i need to start moisturising them before using it.
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