Being a penny-pincher and trying to reach a more excellent gazelle intensity on my Dave Ramsey plan, I decided to try my own at-home pedicure. It has taken me a few tries to get to a point where I am happy with the results. Here are some of the tips & tricks I have learned so far. Please feel free to share your ideas in the comments!

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I will be recommending some products that will help make your pedicure closer to a spa experience. You can choose to pinch your pennies even further by not purchasing these tools, but I figure I have saved enough on the pedicures that it’s worth a little money to make my at-home experience a good one. Most of these things are one-time expenses or occasional expenses as opposed to the regular expense of the professional pedicure. Plus, I found I did not get the same results before these purchases. Having the right tools helps with any job.

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Step 1: Get your toes ready by removing old nail polish and trimming your nails. You will want to cut your toenails straight across in order to avoid ingrown toenails. I think it looks better to keep the toenail trimmed to about the top of your toes. Rub your finger across the top of your toes and you should just feel the tip of your nails. That’s how I like mine. You will want a good set of toenail clippers or scissors and an emery board.

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Step 2: Soak your feet. There are a lot of opinions out there on the best way to do this. You can soak them in a large bowl of milk (lactic acid helps soften callouses), you can soak them in scented water adding tea tree oil to help prevent fungus… but quite frankly, I do something that you can’t do in the salon – I soak my whole body in a luxurious bubble bath. Treat yourself to some yummy bubbles if you want. I do. You may want to hide it from the kids. Get them some dollar store stuff. 😉

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Step 3: Exfoliate your feet and legs. You can use bath salts for this step or these amazing sponges. Yes, they are $5/each. Each sponge lasts about 25 uses and I LOVE them. LOVE them. They smell divine and they really do their job. I do this part sitting on the edge of my tub as the water drains out.

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Step 4: Remove callouses. Okay, this is the area I have spent the most time on perfecting. I live my life in flip-flops and so my heels get pretty bad. A pumice stone really hasn’t been enough for me (although it is a great finishing touch). I own a Ped Egg and it works pretty well, but I finally got brave and purchased one of these. Seriously. Scary. But guess what? It works. Use whatever method you prefer for callous removal. I think it will vary depending on how bad your heels are. Make sure to do the balls of your feet and your big toes as well. I hope that now that I am keeping up on this I will be able to just use the pumice stone and it will keep things under control. We’ll see.

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Step 5: Push back/trim your cuticles. While your feet are still soft from soaking, pushing your cuticles back is a breeze. I just use  my thumbnail, but you can also use an orange stick. I haven’t purchased a cuticle nipper yet, but I probably need to.

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Step 6: Moisturize your feet. You can use Vaseline or Vaseline mixed with some lime juice, but your feet will be slimy. I recommend that if you do the Vaseline treatment you do it right before bed and that way you can put socks on and get an overnight treatment. I really like foot cream because it is designed to absorb quickly and it’s not as greasy as lotion so I can put my flip-flops back on without sliding around. You can do this after your polish dries, but I prefer to do it at this stage. I also apply it before I go to sleep.

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Step 7: Polish your toenails. You may need to use a little acetone to clean the lotion from your toenails. Be sure to use a base coat to prevent discoloration of your nails that comes from frequent polish. I recommend OPI polish because it goes on smooth and the polish doesn’t get gunky after a lot of usage. You can use one of those little toe separators if you want. A little baby oil or olive oil on a cotton swab rubbed onto the nails will help your polish dry faster.

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There you have it, a professional pedicure in the comfort of your own home for a fraction of the salon cost. I didn’t think I’d be able to do a very good job, but have been very pleased with  my results so far. I think a lot of it is having the right tools and not being afraid to mess up.

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