The Spa Pedicure.(foot manicure tips)

Byline: Ellen Miller

Six easy steps to happy (and soft and smooth) feet.

Most at-home pedicures are like a NASCAR pit stopa quick polish change, one squirt of foot lotion, and you're racing out the door. But "to keep feet healthy and beautiful requires some pampering and attention," says Ji Baek, owner of the Rescue Beauty Lounges in New York City. Adding a few extra steps to a basic pedicure can result in a treatment that's as relaxing and effective as one you'd get at a spa. Scented candles and soft music are optional, but the most important indulgence is a therapeutic milk foot soak. "The lactic acid will help soften rough calluses," says Jin Soon Choi, owner of Jin Soon Natural Hand & Foot Spas in New York City. Follow with a moisturizing foot mask to condition skin, finish with one of spring's soft pink polishes, and you'll be ready to take a victory lap around your bathroom in no time.

Start by removing your old polish and then fill a large bowl or tub with equal parts milk and warm water. Add a few drops of lavender oil, and soak your feet in the warm milk bath for about five to ten minutes.

Rub a drop of cuticle oil into each nail bed and push back any thickened skin with an orangewood stick. Use a coarse-grain emery board to file your nails straight across to prevent ingrowns, and then slightly round edges.

Refill the bowl with clean water, then thoroughly exfoliate both feet with a coarse foot scrub and rinse them clean. Remove calluses on your heels, the balls of your feet, and your toes with a foot file or pumice stone.

After rinsing off the scrub in the bowl of plain water, coat your feet and lower legs in a moisturizing foot mask. Let the ingredients sink in for five to ten minutes, then rinse your feet and legs under the faucet.