Ladies are you ready for sandal season?

Ooh, yes girl . . . yeah. . . uh wait…what?

Yes, you read that right, I said sandal season. With the fall and winter months upon us, now is the time to pamper and revitalize your feet. Let’s face it, most women lead such busy lives that their feet are the last things on their minds. But where would you be without your feet? No where! So take some time out to take care of the pair that takes you everywhere. It doesn’t take a lot of time or tools to do the job and the results are amazing.

These are the essential that you will need, in no particular order:

Foot file
Foot lotion
Cotton socks
Foot bath (optional)

Let’s take a closer at each element

Foot file – a two-sided file that has a coarse side and a fine side (you can also use a pumice stone). After your shower or foot bath dry feet and use the coarse side to remove the dead layers from the heel, ball and toes of the foot. Remember to do one foot at a time but working at a timely pace, you don’t want your feet to dry. Then, use the fine side to smooth away and polish the areas. It is best to use while the foot is soft and damp but not wet.

Foot lotion – winter is a great time to stock up on foot lotion. Because winter air is drying to the skin, lotion made especially for winter is super moisturizing without the greasy residue. In fact, you can use your winter foot lotion all year long. Apply a good amount to your hands and massage into the skin. Take a moment to give yourself and mini foot massage. Focus on rough areas and add more lotion if needed. Finish one foot before you begin the next and immediately put your socks on afterwards. It is best to use lotion for the feet than body lotion.

Cotton socks – You don’t have to go out and buy special socks, regular cotton socks will do. Now you’re probably thinking that you could skip this step and you could, but you won’t get the same benefits. After applying lotion to your feet put on the socks, they will lock in the moisture. Doing this step at night will really allow the lotion to sock in and give you softer feet in the morning. If you can’t stand to sleep with socks on, do this before you head out in the morning. Lotion your feet then put on your winter shoes.

Foot Bath- (Optional) there is all different kinds and types of foot baths, you can use any one that you like. Soaking your feet for 15 minutes can help you relax after a hard day. Give yourself a little extra massage by dropping a couple of marbles in the bath and run your feet over them.

Winter is also a great time to let you feet go naked. Remove your nail polish and let your toes breathe. If your nails are a little discolored from the nail polish head to your local drug store and pick up some Polident. That’s right, denture cleaner. Soaking toes in warm water for 15 minutes once a week, will remove stains and whiten nails. It’s also good for your fingernails as well.  However, if your nails are badly discolored see your doctor it could be a more serious problem.

Just follow these steps for the next couple of months and when the summer comes you’ll have sexy, sandal ready feet.

contributed to Queen in Heels
by Barbara Rainey