All women know nothing competes with the euphoria of the first day you break out sandals after a long, snowy winter full of drab and practical boots. Unless, that is, youâre instead feeling the disappointment of having feet that arenât quite ready for summer footwear. Misshapen nails. Chipped polish. Dead skin. Rough heels. Even callouses.
Sisters, donât fret. Salt Lake magazine is here to help. We chatted with the toe experts at Nailed! to find out how to keep our feet forever, er, on their toes.
Find a salon that follows a strict hygiene protocol. Even better if they send tools home with youâtrust us, you donât want to share foot germs and dead skin with a total stranger.
Tend to your toes: âWe can only do so much,â explains Nailed! Boutiqueâs master esthetician, Shelby Hamler. âYouâll get a better pedicure if you take care of your feet.â Exfoliate in the shower and moisturize each day to see gradual improvements in callouses, rather than expecting your pedicurist to be able to perform a miracle in less than an hour.
But donât âpre-pediâ: Hamler warns against trying to do too much yourself. Let your pedicurist trim and shape your nails, otherwise she says, âyouâll end up with cracked, chipped nails and maybe ingrown toenails,â to boot (pun intended).
Rather than apologizing for not shaving your legs before your appointmentâembrace it. If you remove hair too soon before your appointment, some of the products the nail tech uses on your could stingâlike Nailedâs house-made sugar scrub.
Tips to make your pedi last longer, according to Hamlerâuse a long-lasting nail polish (Nailed recommends OPI Infinite Shine), bring your own nail polish so that you can reapply a top coat when it starts to chip, or go all-in and upgrade to a long-lasting gel polish.
Foot Fashion-Forward
Whether you call it an accent nail, a rogue nail or a sass pieceâhighlighting one or two nails is still a thing in pedicure style. As is nail art and ânegative spaceââleaving a portion of a nail uncovered by polish.
But, French manicures are out. Oui.
Nailed, 875 E. 700 South, SLC, 801-532-6245, nailedboutique.com
See more inside the 2017 May/June Issue.