Pedicures and Foot Care Tips for Year Round Pretty Bare Feet

The foot: an interesting part of the human anatomy. When we’re born, they take our footprints, people count our toes and tickle our soles to hear that wonderful baby gurgle. At that amazing age babies can actually take hold of their feet to chew reflectively on their own toes. Long before we’re walking, our parents are cramming them into tiny little leather Oxfords, hiking boots or even tiny running shoes, I guess because they’re just so darned cute. Once we do start walking, we take our feet for granted. They get us where we want to go, and that’s just fine.

But once we’re grown and trying to fulfill our sexual destiny, we become aware of feet as aesthetic accessories. Turns out, they are more than just balancing tools, locomoting appendages. Feet have the surprising capacity to be extremely cute, or they can be downright hideous. Women's feet are usually nicer than men's, and the foot fetish is a common obsession among men. In fact, China once made the foot the primary object of female sexual beauty, subjecting women to footbinding because tiny feet were considered the most attractive. We still hold to the ideal of tiny feet, which explains why it's so hard to find women's shoes in wider that "B" width. It also describes pointy-toed shoes, stilettos and other fashionable footwear that makes your legs look wonderful, but can turn toes into what one author described as "scrambled monstrosities".

Sexy feet, repulsive feet, are not usually a matter of luck. A lot depends on the care and maintenance regime established by the foot-owner. At an absolute, bare minimum, feet should be clean. I mean, you walk on them, don’t you! What if you were stuffed into a leather show all day, strolling through parking lots, jogging in parks, shopping, doing laundry, tapping impatiently in line at the bank. Feet suffer from lack of air, from shoes that don’t breathe, from sweaty conditions on hot summer asphalt. Daily scrubbing with soap and a nail brush is a good start, but it’s only a start, if you want good-looking feet.

When it comes to toenails, there is no in-between. Clean, healthy, well-groomed toenails are sexy. Grubby, long, unhealthy toenails are nasty, and not to be tolerated. Toenails should be well-brushed with soapy water, clipped short and neat with clippers, and treated with anti-fungal medicine if nails are discolored, thick or peeling. Even girls can get athlete’s foot (always wear flip-flops at the gym, at the pool, at the park, in any shower that is not your very own), and there topical medicines that can cure it. (If you don’t know what athlete's foot is, it’s a fungus that causes feet to burn, itch and peel).

Assuming your feet are clean and healthy, the step to beauty is a short one. Keep your feet smooth by using a pumice stone a couple of times a week, rub them with lotion like Upper Canada Peppermint Foot Cream to keep them soft, and use a clear polish if you don’t like brightly colored toes. No one talks about it (except in women's studies class), but women grow hair on their toes. If your toes are fuzzy, you can wax them to add to overall foot smoothness. Get a pedicure for that professional polish, but don’t let them cut your cuticles, whose sole purpose in life is to keep your feet safe from infections.

Showcase your sexy feet in strappy date-night sandals, sexy career pumps or silly, weekend, jelly thongs with a silver toe ring for an accent. (Never wear a toe ring and an anklet at the same time –it’s a huge Fashion Don’t). Hiking boots are ideal for long walks, and they also look cute with ragg socks in wool or cotton and tweed skirts. Boots always look wonderful, and the longer they are, the better they look. (There is a limit—boots that go past the knee scream "Dominatrix!" and may not be the look you’re trying to project.