Yes, you can do a perfectly neat and salon-like French pedicure in the comfort of your home. But, do you want to know how? If so, keep reading this article. Here, you have the ultimate guide to doing a French pedicure at your home. Keep reading.
What Is A French Pedicure?
A French pedicure is a method of decorating your nails with a thin white horizontal strip of nail color on the tips of your nails, with the plate of the nail either painted in clear, pink or neutral tone nail polishes.
Time to try the French pedicure! Scroll down.
You Need
Nail Polish Remover Cotton Balls Nail Cutter Nail Filer Tub Warm Water Epsom Salt Towel Exfoliating Cream Pumice Stone Moisturizer Cuticle Trimmer Nail Separator Nail Polish (Opaque White And Transparent) Drying Spray
Note: Always choose toluene-free nail polishes.
Step 1: Prep Your Nails
Before you even begin to do anything, first clean up your haggard nails. Remove the existing nail polish on it, cut them (leaving some nail for the French tips), and file them neatly. Here’s how to do it. Wash your nails, then, with a cotton ball soaked in nail polish remover, gently rub the polish off your nails. Wash your feet again and let your nails dry. Start to file your nails. Do it from one side to the other until they even out and become smooth. Make sure you keep your nails long to enable the French manicure. Then, one final cleanup before you soak your feet in the water.
Step 2: Soak Your Feet In Water
Ah, the best part! Take a tub of warm water and add Epsom salt to it. You can even get a little fancy and add a few drops of soothing essential oils like lavender, rosehip, and grapefruit to it. Soak your feet in the water and stay put for 10-20 minutes. It will soften the skin on your foot and make it easy to deal with rugged areas of the skin later. This helps the skin to rejuvenate, relax, and heal. A small tip here – while you soak your feet in the water, you can unwind by reading a book or listening to some soothing music.
Step 3: Scrub Your Tootsies
Next is scrubbing your feet. It is pretty simple and straightforward actually. Dry your foot with a clean towel once you remove them from the warm water. Take an exfoliator in your hand and start rubbing your soles. Gently, in circular motions, scrub away the flaky dead skin. This process also softens the thick calluses on your feet. Start with one foot and go on to the next one. Take your time. You can also use a pumice stone and scrub the ends, tips, and back of your feet with it. Make sure you don’t scrub too hard though. Rinse and pat dry.
Step 4: Moisturize
Now, is the time to indulge. Lather your feet with the creamiest of lotions and massage with your fingertips, applying slight pressure to the skin to reduce stress. Choose a moisturizer whose texture and smell you love. Something juicy and fruity like mango butter or delicious like cocoa butter or shea butter. Go all the way, don’t limit yourself here. Massage your feet for a good 10 minutes until the moisturizer gets completely absorbed into the skin. You’ll notice that the skin is fresh and glowing after you are done moisturizing.
Step 5: Use A Cuticle Trimmer
Time to give some TLC to your cuticles. Take some cuticle oil and massage it gently on the cuticles. Fix the edges and trim the dead and hanging skin. Take a cuticle stick and push back the overgrown skin gently. Remove any hanging nails and make sure you don’t overdo any part of the cuticle fixing as that would be damaging. Rinse your feet and pat dry.
Step 6: Color Your Nails
The fun part begins with coloring your nails. Take toe separators and place them on your feet – they make painting your nails easier and fuss-free. Otherwise, you can use cotton balls to do the job. Apply a coat of clear nail polish and let it dry for a few minutes. You can choose baby pink, beige or other skin color shades.
Step 7: Add The French Tips
The main part – Frenching your nails away. It’s pretty easy. You just got to aim right. Take an opaque white nail polish and spread the nail paint horizontally on the tips of your nails from one side to the other as the first coat. Let it dry, then apply the second coat from the other side. Make sure the color is creamy and pigmented. You need to get a thin white line at the tip of your nails. If using a nail polish brush to do this seems too difficult, you can opt for a concealer brush or use nail strips to make the process easier. If there are any white patches left on the skin, you can just remove them with a brush soaked in a nail polish remover.
Step 8: Let The Nail Polish Dry
Dip your feet in cold water for a few minutes – it’ll help dry the polish quicker and also make it last longer. Wait till the nail polish is dry. Remove your feet from the water and gently pat it dry.
Step 9: Apply The Second Coat
To put the entire nail look together, you must apply another coat of clear nail polish. Apply a single layer of clear nail polish to the whole nail. Finish the job in swift and even strokes – it helps to cover the nail in one layer and highlight the French-pedicured nails. You can also choose a very pale pink color as a top coat.
Step 10: Spritz On A Drying Spray
Take a drying spray and spritz it on your nails from a distance. It helps dry your nails faster and gets you going without any danger of smudging the nail paint. Make sure you do not spray too much on the nails to avoid using too much of the product. How do I make my French pedicure last longer? Regular touch-ups and reapplications will help your French pedicure last longer. What is a reverse French pedicure? In a reverse French pedicure, the white coat is at the base of the nail in a curved shape, aligned to the nail’s base. A reverse pedicure does not necessarily use white and nude/pink shades. How long will my French pedicure last? That depends on how well you maintain your feet. The French pedicure can stand well for a good 15-20 days if maintained decently well. How do I get a French pedicure off? Just rub it off with a nail polish remover. Try to find an alcohol-free nail polish remover to maintain healthy nails. What is the difference between a French pedicure and a regular pedicure? A regular pedicure can have varied nail colors on the nail, unlike the white tips and nude color look of a French pedicure. Are French pedicures in style in 2022? Yes. Though French pedicures never really left, they are now back with a bang and are considered a classic in salons. In fact, color remixes are the new twist added to them. Can you get a French pedicure on short nails? Yes, French pedicure looks very natural and attractive on short nails and gives the nails an illusion of having long tips as the white tip gradient fades. What does a French manicure look like? French manicure is either shaped round or square with white polish on the tips of the nails. It looks good on short to medium-length nails.
