Jump Start Aug: Summer Prep Week: Day 1

Another week, another theme for the August Jump Start. The next few days are devoted to holiday preparation, to get yourself ready for a break. You don’t have to be going away anywhere, of course, for these, you can use them to give yourself a bit of a boost too.

Here’s the outline for the week:

• Get your feet into shape
• Make your smile more sparkly
• Summer body care
• Fake it without getting tangoed
• Summer hair
• Summer skin care
• Travel/handbag essentials kit

Let’s get started on making those feet sweet!

Good foot care is for everybody, not just for the fashionista types – it’s mostly about being healthy. It can also be done on a tight budget too, so you don’t need to go to an expensive salon unless you have serious problems (in which case a chiropodist might be your best bet).

1. First of all, sort out any dead or built up skin and cracked heels. Soak your feet first, or do this after a bath or shower, and remove excess rough skin with an ordinary foot file. Don’t overdo this, you don’t want to do too much at once and end up with sore feet. If necessary, do three light filing sessions over the course of the week rather than being very rough all in one go.
2. After filing, remove any nail polish (if you use it) then push back any overgrown cuticles on your toes very, very gently using a cheap orange stick or similar product from any high street chemist. Clip or cut back toenails, square but not too short, and gently file the edges with an emery board to smooth them.
3. If there are minor health problems (small corns, a verruca, athlete’s foot etc) pick up a generic product cheaply at the chemist and start treating them today. The sooner you start, the sooner it can be got rid of. If you think you have a fungal nail infection, it might be better to make a GP appointment – the most effective over-the-counter treatment is relatively expensive, and it usually works out a fair bit cheaper to get a prescription drug via the doctor.
4. If the skin on your feet feels slightly dry, rub in some thick-textured body lotion or body butter, let that soak in for a couple of minutes, then pop some loose-fitting cotton socks over the top. This works best if you sleep with the socks on, but even a couple of hours relaxing in front of the telly can be helpful. For light moisturisation you won’t need an expensive cream specifically marketed for feet.

If your skin is dry to the point of cracking, be very gentle with it rather than grating away to remove any hardened skin. Again, your local chemist is the place to go: pick up some basic cracked heel or dry foot cream that contains salicylic acid or urea as one of the main ingredients, and apply it every night for a few days. You don’t need a fancy perfumey product, you just need something that’s simple and effective.

Do you have any other great tips for healthy-looking feet?