Day Six: My toes are shamefully naked! Foot and nail care

I don't do pedicures. I don't do manicures for that matter. I've said it before...my style is "tomboyish" at best. Earthy nutty crunchy at worst? But this has a more practical side to it...I wasn't allowed to wear nail polish for many years because bacteria can grow under nails and good clean short nails are a nurses best friend in stopping the spread of infectious diseases. Now that I've taken up a desk job, I still haven't embraced the world of polishes and paints. Personal style I guess, it's never been my "thing". I have read recently though that nail polishes are laden with horrific ingredients so I don't plan on jumping on that bandwagon any time soon.

However, I am trying to be more "polished" in general about my overall appearance so I have started to try to take care of my nails and feet. That means, no more going out with raggedy hangnails and huge nasty foot callouses. Umm...er....most of the time.

So, let's look at some simple natural steps to nail care and foot care. Keep in mind, I'm a newbie at this.
Nail care:

Step one: Gently file the nail using and emery board from corner to center, rounding the shape out as desired.
Step two: Soak hands in warm (soapy) water to soften cuticles and get rid of excess dirt. (Ew...good plan.) Clean under the nail carefully.
Step three: Push the cuticle gently back. Do not cut or trim, just push it back and leave it intact.
Step Four: Apply a moisturizing cream to the hands to prevent nail breaking.

(Hmm...moisturizing cream. Look, we can make that ourselves! http://naturalnailcarerecipes.homestead.com/handcream.html)

That's it. Whew. Not to painful. I can do that.

Okay, now how about our aching tired, stand up all day nurse feet?

Start with a basic foot soak of on gallon or so of hot water (whatever you can tolerate. I like mine fairly hot) and 1 cup of epsom salts. (If you have diabetes or another condition that causes poor circulation please be cautious with the temperature of your water.) Soak your feet until the water starts to cool then pat your feet dry on a dry towel you have standing by. (Option, adding 1-2 tablespoons of baking soda to the water will help to moisturize dry feet and absorb foot odors)

Another option, a callous conquering foot scrub:
1 cup of sea salt (or epsom salts, which are super cheap and found in the pharmacy section)
3 tablespoons of moisturizing oil (Jojoba, almond, apricot, even olive oil will work here.)

Mix ingredients into a thick paste. You can add essential oils to the mix if you'd like. Take a bit and sit on the edge of the tub, and scrub scrub away gently at your feet, heels and ankles, using your hands to work in the oils while the salts slough off the dead skin and draw out the toxins.

Final thoughts for today, if you still want some sparkle and bling to your nails, look for nail polish options that are rated as "Toxin free" but be warned, those have STILL be found to contain toxic ingrediants.