Fun fact about me: I am obsessed with giving myself at-home pedicures. I love everything about soaking my feet in a foot bath, sloughing off my dry calluses with a pumice stone, and slathering on my favorite creams and cuticle oils like a g’damn pro. I know you’re thinking that it sounds like a ton of work, but it’s shockingly easy and saves you a whole bunch of $$$—sounds like a pretty good deal, amiright?
So, if you’re ready to take the plunge and DIY your own pedicure at home, keep reading for the ultimate guide to salon-worthy pedicures, including all my tips and tricks for getting baby-soft feet, as well as a shit ton of product recs (think: the cutest fall nail polishes and gentle nail polish removers, and so much more).
Gather your pedicure supplies
Before you set off on your at-home pedicure journey, make sure you have all the proper tools. (And because I know you’re thinking it: Don’t worry, we’ve got some really excellent product recs throughout this guide if you need some ideas.) You can decide how basic or fancy you want to get with your supplies, but in general, you’ll want to at least have the following:
Your essential pedicure supplies
Step 1: Prep your nails for your at-home pedicure
Time to finally get rid of the remnants from your last pedi (seriously, how long have you had that chipped-as-hell red?) and do a proper polish removal. To remove every last bit of color, soak a cotton pad in nail polish remover (I’m a fan of gentle, acetone-free formulas) and hold it on each nail for a few seconds to allow the paint to break down before you start swiping. If you want that perfectly smooth, lacquered finish at the end, don’t half-ass this step.
Pro tip: If you’re left with any weird stains or a yellow tinge (you’ll usually see this after removing darker colors, like red polish or black polish), rub cuticle oil over the surface of your nails to lighten any residue.
How to prep for your pedicure
Step 2: Soak your toes and feet
Before you start soaking, your first job—and this is important—is to go around your house and gather every candle you can find. Oh, and get yourself a glass of wine while you’re at it. The trick to making an at-home pedicure feel like a spa experience instead of, you know, rubbing your own feet in your too-small-for-comfort apartment, is setting the ~mood~ at your makeshift pedicure station.
Once the ambiance is right, you’re ready to soak your feet—which softens tough skin and cuticles (and is downright relaxing). I suggest using a pedicure basin (aka a really big bowl) if you have one, but your bathtub is also a sound option. Fill ’er up with warm water and add a liberal scoop of skin-soothing bath salts (or use a cup of sea salt). Let your feet soak for a few minutes before moving to the next step.
The ultimate foot-soaking products
Step 3: Get rid of any dead skin
Okay, so, this is lowkey my favorite part. I know I’m weird, but it’s way satisfying to see how smooth your feet get after rubbing everything off. After patting your feet dry, grab a foot file or a pumice stone and go ham on your calluses, removing any and all dead skin. Be sure to really focus on your heels and any other calloused, hard areas. Scrape until your feet feel smooth, but don’t scrub your feet raw—you could end up causing irritation, which is never fun.
Step 4: Trim your toenails
Once your feet are smooth AF, it’s time to whip your toenails into shape. Reach for classic nail clippers to trim and cut your nails. Don’t worry about getting the edges perfect—you’ll take care of that in the next step.
Step 5: Shape your toenails
Now that your toenails are at a perfect length, it’s time to smooth them out. Pick up a nail file and shape the corners and edges. There’s no need to rush during this step—take your time filing until all of your nails are even.
Supplies for trimming and shaping your nails
Step 6: Add a few drops of cuticle oil
Don’t forget to pay special attention to your cuticles on each toe. While you can use an orange stick to push back your cuticles, save the trimming or cutting for the pros. Cuticles protect your nails from bacteria, and you shouldn’t trust yourself (or anyone, really) to mess with them—especially with that glass of wine in hand.
Instead, show them some love by working in a few drops of cuticle oil. It’ll make a major difference in the shine, health, and overall strength of your nails.
The 4 best cuticle oils to try rn
Pear Nova Growth Green Tea Cuticle Oil
L’Occitane Nourishing Nail & Cuticle Oil
C Care Sweet Almond Cuticle Revitalizing Oil
Now 23% Off
CND Essentials Nail & Cuticle Oil SolarOil
Step 7: Massage your feet with lotion
With a foot cream or body lotion, begin massaging your toes, feet, and calves until, well, you wanna stop. Not only will this massage feel amazing, but it’ll also help moisturize your feet after all that scrubbing and soaking. Finish off by grabbing a cotton pad soaked with rubbing alcohol to clean the surface of each nail, removing any oily residue that could prevent your polish from sticking.
Everything you need for that foot massage
Step 8: Apply a layer of base coat
If you’re thinking that you can skip this step, pls reconsider. Since the base coat acts as a barrier between the natural oils that come from your nails and your actual polish, it’s super important to swipe it on if you want your pedicure to last. And who doesn’t want that?
Base coats
OPI Natural Nail Base Coat
Now 30% Off
JINsoon Hyper Repair Base Coat
Deborah Lippmann Hard Rock Nail Strengthening Top and Base Coat
Nails Inc. Nail Pure Base Coat
Now 50% Off
Step 9: Paint your toenails
If you have toe separators, grab ’em. Otherwise, tear off a piece of paper towel, rolling or twisting it into a rope, and weaving it through your toes to prevent the polish from smudging. Apply two thin coats of your color of choice, letting the paint dry for a few minutes between each coat. If you kinda suck at painting inside the lines, use an orange stick to clean any mess-ups.
Supplies for painting your toenails
Step 10: Finish with a top coat
Unless you want your pedicure to chip the next day, you don’t want to skip this step, either. Layer on a top coat to seal in the nail polish. You’ll be left with a super shiny and long-lasting finish.
Top coats
Sally Hansen Miracle Gel 3.0 Shiny Top Coat
Now 25% Off
Deborah Lippmann Addicted To Speed Ultra Quick Dry Top Coat
Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Anti-Chip Top Coat
Now 18% Off
Olive & June Super Glossy Top Coat
The final look
And there you have it: a salon-quality pedicure in the comfort of your own damn home. What are we spending our extra money on?!
Associate Editor
Siena Gagliano is the associate editor at Cosmopolitan, where she primarily covers beauty in the makeup, skin, and hair spaces, as well as some fashion and lifestyle. Wanna know how to get the best brows of your life? Gotchu. What about how to achieve ridiculously glowing skin, a super bouncy blowout, or exactly how to use that viral face mask? Check, check, and check. Before joining Cosmopolitan, Siena was a writer at Bustle and several other media outlets. As NYC’s newest resident, she has vowed to find the best (extra) dirty martini this city has to offer—and yes, that means ~attempting~ to try every cute cocktail spot in the city (hit her up with some recs, pls). Follow Siena on Instagram where you’ll see that her account is mostly dedicated to pics of her cute dog and that magazine life.
Ama Kwarteng was previously the associate beauty editor at Cosmopolitan.
Ruby was the beauty editor at Cosmopolitan, where she covered beauty across print and digital. Her work has appeared on The Zoe Report, Fashionista, and StyleCaster. Follow her on Instagram.
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