Summer Foot Care Suggestions

Many thanks to Jennifer for emailing and asking for tips on keeping your feet smooth and moisturized during the summer.

Hello Pedicure Guy,

It’s summertime and I’m spending more time in flip flops and have been looking for blog postings on how to keep feet (heels and the underside of the foot) soft and smooth.

I hope you will consider a blog post on summertime care for dry scratchy heels.

I’m big on doing manicures and love to paint my nails to match my clothing (including the colored pattern) or to match a holiday so the nail painting part, filing, and cuticle care part I already understand and can apply that to my feet.

However smoothing the rough heel part and underside of my foot is a bit baffling. Some of those scrubby things in the stores look too vicious (I don't have any calluses either) and just applying lotion isn’t enough (plus they put some lame slippery stuff on there that’s not good with flip flops).

Anyhoo any guidance on this would be appreciated, so I hope to see it as a blog posting, hint, hint!

Thanks for considering this, have a great day!

Jennifer
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Hey Jennifer, here is what I suggest: Readers, please feel free to add your experience in the comments that follow too!

Hi Jennifer, thank you for emailing.

I know you said those scubby things for feet look pretty vicious, and you are right - some are! But I have found that a basic loofa works pretty well, provided you don't have too much callous build-up on the bottom of your feet. I suggest soaking your feet in a solution of Dreft and warm water for a few minutes before using the loofa and it will work much better. Don't scrub hard, just evenly over the entire bottom of your feet, especially the pads and toes, until they begin to feel very smooth. You can also use an exfoliating scrub of your choice with a soft cloth for an even faster result.

Yes, lotions with an oil base will tend to leave your feet feeling slippery, so use only a light treament of water-base lotion during the daytime, and when wearing sandals. You can tell wheter a lotion has a water or oil base because it will wash off your hands with warm water easily if it is water-based. I really like the Avon Extra-care moisturizing lotion because a little goes a long way and it seems to last.

You'll also be surprised how using an oil-based lotion at night will help deep-treat your feet and really soften them over the course of a couple of nights. Olive oil is another great moisturizing treatment for cuticles, and you can rub a little into the bottom of your feet as well to help keep them nice and smooth. Just don't use too much or you will be skating out of your sandals!

If you tend to get your feet wet a lot (like in a lake or pool), you will have to be more judicious with your foot moisturizing to keep up with the drying effect that water can have. Rub a generous amount of your favorite lotion onto your feet at night, and you may even want to wear a pair of short socks to help keep the lotion off of the sheets and get the full effect.

I hope this helps. You can also search for other foot care sites for more tips. One site that I really like is: http://www.beautiful-healthy-fingernails.com/index.html. Let us know what works for you so we can pass on the good experience!

It's satisfying to have smooth, great-looking feet! Add a pair of nice sandals and an attractive nail color, and you will enjoy the admiration and compliments from others who will wonder how you do it.

Jake


Here is my color of the week (haven't changed it for a while...). I tend to really like silver/grays...

The BB Couture Formal collection

I haven't really reviewed any nail polishes here yet, so we'll see how it goes with my first attempt. Please pardon the inaccuracies in the colors - my camera and I have a bit more 'getting to know each other' before my pictures are as perfect as others I've seen on nail blogs.

I'd like to introduce the Formal Collection from BB Couture. These colors were designed to compliment more formal events, whether a wedding, prom, anniversary, even first date. They have a classy and elegant feel to them, and though they are labeled "for men", I think women may find them to be quite unique and attractive as well.

Here's the lineup:

The first color is called Tuxedo Night. It is probably the best maroon for a guy I have ever seen. It's not too dark to look black, not too light to look red and has just a hint of sparkle in it. You might think guys wouldn't wear a color like this, but I can tell you that I have searched for quite a while to find a maroon that worked well for me, and this one really does!

Incognito is a very cool looking gray with just a hint of purple opal to it (actually less than you see here). It's also abit lighter than the picture and is one of those colors that you have to do a double-take on because it's just not like anything else you have seen before.

This one is called Dress Rehearsal and is an awesome light green with just the right amount of shimmer in it. It's not loud at all and looks great with a tan and sandals. A very comfortable color to wear anywhere, anytime. I really like this one!

Dinner Jacket is a deep, rich blue that says "formal" all over it. It has that delicious, rich look to it that some polishes can only attempt to acheive. It might look out of place on the beach, but with typical formal attire, it's perfect!

Next is Ceremony, a medium green with a hint of blue and mild shimmer. The picture really does not do this one justice - it's one of my favorites now because it is such a comfortable shade! The finish has a slight matte look to it too, making it a great 'quieter' color.

And this one is called Award Medal. The best way I can describe it is a deep gold with a suave green hue to it. It changes too, appearing quite gold in bright light and more subdued, almost light army green in dimmer or indirect light. You will definitely get an award for best dressed when wearing this one to a special event.


Well, there you have it. A great collection from BB Couture of some pretty unique colors - and my first polish post!
Let me know if you buy any of these, and how you like them. Your feedback can help influence future releases because BBC is always fine-tuning their colors in response to what their customers tell them they like.

Spousal Acceptance of Polish - Part 2

Well, I hope you found the previous post intriguing. So let's explore this subject from a guy's point of view...

Guys, you have one thing going for you; many women tend to be very open-minded to new styles and trends. In my opinion, women are masters at creating, adopting and refining new styles and they do it with such flair and finesse that it seems pretty much anything they can come up with looks great. So, what this means to you is that your wife/GF may already be open to the idea of you wearing nail polish on your toes, they may just need to see an example of it done well before they accept it.

However, there are always a few gals who will look on this and frown on it, thinking that it just is not manly for a guy to wear nail polish at all - even clear. And those are the cases we'll focus on here.

The first step is to introduce the idea in a way that it is genuine and tasteful. What I mean is that she has to be able to see it as an emerging style for men that does not threaten her values or beliefs about what is 'right'. If it's on a goth (and you do not dress that way) or someone who is openly different than her taste will allow, it may do more harm than good. As with men, you cannot force an idea on someone if they are not first receptive to it. In that case, you may end up building walls in her mind that are even more impenetrable than what you started with.

Here are a few situations to begin your process that I would consider ideal:

1) You spot a guy with nice looking feet. He may or may not be wearing polish, but you point out to her that you wished your feet looked better, like his. This does not threaten her ideas and allows her to consider how it might have a legitimate benefit. If the guy is wearing polish, and it is done well and in good taste (girl colors like pink or red or chipped nails would not make a good first impression), then it may be just what she needs to see first-hand that it really can work and not look weird, as it might in her mind if you were just talking about it. Pictures could work too, but there is nothing like a real-life example.

2) You get a pedicure together. Now this make take a little pre-work to warm her up to the idea, but a great opportunity to do this is when you are traveling and out of your normal environment. Everything is new and different, and so something like stopping in for a pedicure is just another adventure to enjoy exploring together. You could even ask the nail technician if they ever see men getting color (and the answer will probably be yes), and what colors they suggest for men. If nothing else, this can open the door for further consideration on her part since she now knows you are interested, and that it's not unheard of for men. Maybe the tech may even have some example pictures, or better yet, a male client right there that you can see getting his nails done.

3) You can just spring it on her. Go out and just get a pedicure with color! You'll certainly enjoy it, it will be exicting (especially the first time), and you will break the ice for yourself and for her. If you have laid the groundwork for it by occasionally talking about it with her, like if she is doing her nails sometime, you can comment that you wonder what it would be like, or maybe that you like the way it looks and think it might help your feet (if you don't go overboard, that is).
There is the shock factor to deal with, and you could just write if off by saying that you thought it would be funny, interesting to try, you lost a bet, or whatever you can think of that will make light of it. Using humor can take you lots of places you could otherwise never get to.

4) You could take an interest in her nails and not only compliment her on them, but treat her to occasional gifts of maincures and pedicures at her favorite salon, give her nail polishes that you like for her to wear, give her foot massages, even offer to paint her toenails for her (but you better practice on this up first so you don't make a mess!). The more you are interested, the more she may associate you with polished nails, and then you could begin dropping hints that you have seen it on a few men and wonder what it would be like. Wearing polish privately is a 'safe' way for both of you to explore this new experience together. And remember, it's not permanent.


One thing she may be sensitive to is whether you seem to be interested in more feminine things, other than nail polish. And if that is something that you know turns her off, then you had better be sure to focus on just that because you like it for what it is and not even think about the other stuff because she could very easily lump it all together and think that you've suddenly changed teams on her.

Gradual is the key. As I said before, I have found that most women are quite open-minded, but they also need time to warm up to different things. There is nothing wrong with a guy wearing nail polish - it's not a lot different than if you wanted to grow your hair longer, get a tattoo, wear an earring or even buy a motorcycle (if you have never had one before) - it's just different and she will need to adjust to it. So be patient with her, she'll get there when she's ready.


Okay, so what if she is absolutely against you wearing any kind of nail polish and there is no way she will even consider it. Then my friend, you will need to consider what it's really worth to you. Probably not the relationship, and maybe not even the hassle of fighting about it. You may have to settle for step One, just having a pedicure once in a while and enjoying some great-looking feet sans polish.

I wish you the best in your journey and hope these suggestions are helpful. You may find that your wife/GF has already been thinking tabout this, and all she needed was a hint from you to admit it. In the previous post, the situation was turned around, and I got the idea for that post from a number of gals I have conversed with both in real life and over the internet who told me that they really wished their husband/BF would at least consider a having a pedicure to improve the look of his feet. And not all, but many went so far as to say they wished their guy would consider polish too because they thought it looked "cool", "nice", "neat", "different" (in a good way), and even "sexy".

Hey, let me know how it goes, and certainly comment here with your successes.
Even if you're not getting anywhere with her, let us know so maybe some of my female followers can offer some more advice from their point of view.

Spousal Acceptance of Polish

Many of you have asked about this - both gals and guys - so I will take a shot at the question. But, I would like to hear from you as well since we all have different experiences that others can also learn by.

I will start with answering the question for the women. A number of gals have asked me how to get their husbands/BF to do anything to improve the look and condition of their ugly feet. And they ask this because many men will not even consider having a pedicure just to get their feet into a presentable condition because they feel that it is not 'manly'. Some women would even like their guy to try out polish on their feet, but are met with rejection because "guys don't wear nail polish".
Well, some guys actually do.

We have all have been programmed from a very early age to act in certain ways and to beleive that certain things are true. And those beliefs are very hard to change. But the key to changing those ideas is that we have to have a reason to change. And it has to be something that we think is valuable and beneficial to us, and not something that anyone else can force on us if we don't want it.

For example, let's say that you are grossed out by his ugly feet whenever he goes barefoot or wears sandals. That probably means that he is not going to receive any favorable attention from you when he does, and probably he'll get less than complimentary comments as well. But, if you present him with a solution that he beleives will change the way you react to him when he does this, he may then have a reason to change his behavior. It might be a gradual or stepped process to help him get there without enduring a huge leap, so be ready to work it out. And it may take lots of encouragement too!

The thing he is probably the most concerned about is riducule and rejection if he does something that others feel is not appropriate. What you have to do is convince him that what you like and want him to do is more important than what others think. That their perception is not yours and his reality. If he beleives that you like it and there will be benefits from doing it (that outweight any downsides), he'll go for it. Guys can be pretty open-minded when you remove the hurdles.

It may take time and patience, so don't expect him to cave right away. But keep up the compliments and encouragement and you will make progress. Try talking him into going with you for a pedicure early on a Saturday morning when the nail salon is quiet (call ahead and arrange this). You and he can then relax and enjoy the treat without him fearing any unwanted attention. Ideally, you locate a salon that enthusiastically caters to both men and women so that he sees other guys there too. There are more and more salons wiseing up to attracting male clients because they know it means more business, and repeat customers.

You might even start with giving him a pedicure yourself at home if you are up to it so that he can experience the benefits privately and learn to associate them with being with you. Many men like this kind of personal attention and are more inclined to agree when a trusted friend is involved.

Talking him into trying polish may be as easy as having clear be a part of the routine pedicure. You could even suggest a non-gloss clear like OPI Nail Envy to make his nails look much cleaner but without the shine. Moving to color will take a bit more finesse and you may need to scope out a good 'guy color' before hand so that you will already know how it will look. Bolder guys will jump right in with a little encouragement, and so you can be a bit more creative here. But pay attention to his comfort factor so that you don't go over the line. If you do and he reacts , you may have to start at 'square one' again.

If he will agree to wearing his nails polished in private, for your eyes only, that may be one way to get him more comfortable with the idea and avoid the 'what others think' issue. At least in time, he will become used to it and may even like it himself. A surprising number of men who have tried this, even with being quite unsure at first, have ended up really liking wearing their nails polished because it's fun - same reason why many women do it!


Well, what is your experience? I'd like to hear how you may have talked your guy into tyring polish, and what your successes have been.

Next time, I'll explore this from the guy's side. How to get your wife/GF to warm up to it.