When did you last consider your feet? I don't mean just looking at them and thinking, "Blimey, they're a bit grim." I mean give them a proper going over; a good wash, scrub, maybe a couple of masks, the kind of attention that your face gets either before or after a big night out?
After a summer of flip-flops, sandals and other varieties of chafing footwear, I caught sight of my feet the other day. Boy were they cross. So in an attempt to right a summer of wrongs, Shawn Edwards, beauty therapist at Michaeljohn, Mayfair (020-7629 6969), is giving my feet a facial (Foot Facial, £82.50 for 75 mins). Feet are scrubbed of dead skin, a glycolic gel mask is applied (to help smooth skin and prevent ingrowing hairs) and the lot wrapped in towels.
Only after this does the usual round of pumice action, cuticle trimming and nail filing start. By the end, my feet and legs aren't just soft, they are glowing. This being Mayfair, the treatment isn't cheap. As most women I know don't have £80 handy to spend on getting their feet played with, I decide to pump Shawn for tips.
"Black women tend to experience dry skin and this can be true of feet as well. If feet are dry they can become rough and crack. Be liberal with a thick body moisturiser, and don't stop at the ankle, remember to cream feet and heels," says Shawn. For an at-home foot facial, she suggests soaking the feet for five minutes in warm water (adding a few drops of lemon oil), washing (up to the knee) with a gel cleanser and exfoliating with a good body scrub. Then file away at rough skin on the heal, big toe and sole with a pedi-paddle and give feet and legs a good massage, using a base oil such as wheatgerm with a few drops of essential oil (rose, geranium and ylang-ylang are all good for dry skin).
"If you have time, wrap your legs and feet in clingfilm and cover in a towel - the heat created will help the oil to penetrate the skin and get to work," says Shawn, before applying a berry varnish to my toes that makes them look good enough to eat, but this ain't that kind of column.
