Three Do-it-Yourself Strategies

1. Exfoliate and Moisturize - Filing your feet a little each day can keep calluses and hard heels from ever appearing. "Once a month won't do it. You have to do it every other day, if not daily," says Erika Kirkland, president of Pretty Inside and the Polish Nail Emporium, in Brooklyn. Use a foot file or a pumice stone on your soles while you're in the shower and a liberal dose of hydrating lotion afterward.

2. Gently Shape Nails and Condition Cuticles - Avoid trimming toenails too closely and cutting cuticles, which can cause ingrown toenails and lead to infection. Cut toenails straight across with nail clippers. Then shape nails and push back cuticles with nonmetal tools — an emery board, a nail buffer, and an orangewood stick.

3. Polish and Protect - A pedicure should last at least two weeks, but nail lacquer can show signs of wear sooner. "Reds hold on better than any other color because they're more heavily pigmented," says Los Angeles manicurist Kristi Marie Jones. To make your polish last longer, paint a horizontal strip along the top edge of your toenails before applying two full coats.

How to Get a Safer Salon Pedicure

• Ask a friend. Having your feet done at an unknown place is a big risk, as unsanitary conditions can cause long-term problems. Jane Andersen, a podiatrist in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, says a toenail fungus can take up to a year to clear up.
• Give the salon the once-over. Examine the floors, the rest rooms, the towels, and the nails of the people offering you the service, advises Jeanine Downie, a dermatologist in Montclair, New Jersey. Ask if the implements have been disinfected in an autoclave (a machine resembling a toaster oven that uses heat to kill bacteria), or bring your own nail kit with you.
• Watch where you soak your feet. Make sure the tub is cleaned with a bactericide (such as bleach) after each use. Manicurist Kristi Marie Jones recommends bringing tea-tree oil and having a few drops added to your tub — it's a natural antimicrobial.

Written by Corynne L. Corbett

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