The Under-$20 Tool That’s Saving My Feet During Quarantine

When I dream of post-quarantine days, I think of the list of beauty services I can't wait to scratch off once businesses safely reopen in New York City. I look forward to getting my eyebrows shaped and my hair trimmed, but more importantly, I long for my biweekly pedicures. Not only do I want to support local salons, but I want to get back to the self-care routine of treating my feet to some TLC.

The reality is that I don't know when that time is coming, and about three weeks into quarantine, I knew I had to figure out how to smooth my dry, cracked feet at home. Serendipitously, I was gifted an electric foot file months before the pandemic hit that was now collecting dust in my bathroom cabinet, waiting to be used in an emergency. This was that emergency.

An electric foot file sounds intimidating — and once you turn it on, it might not seem beginner-friendly — but I can confidently say that the cordless Pedi Perfect Extra Coarse model from Amope is easy to use. You simply run the spinning head over your dry foot to exfoliate any dead skin, and you'll actually see the dead bits fall off. (For that reason, I advise doing this in an area that's easy to clean up.) The ergonomic handle is easy to grip, and there's no pain involved, just a slight tickle. Really, it feels a lot like my foot is being gently buffed as it would be during a salon pedicure.

After using the coarse roller over an area for a few seconds (the instructions advise only focusing on one spot for 3-4 seconds at a time), you can literally see your feet transform as the dry skin falls off. It's disturbing, yet gratifying, and the overall process takes me less than five minutes. I've been doing it roughly every two weeks, followed by a foot mask and polish application. The result is that I no longer feeling mortified about my feet sounding and feeling like sandpaper when they touch. It's just a bonus that the routine gives me that self-care feeling I typically get at a salon, as I dedicate those few minutes to me.

When I stored away this foot file before quarantine, I never thought it'd come to the rescue in a situation like this. It's become a permanent part of my new DIY grooming routine, but I'll happily return to my pedicure appointments once salons are able to safely open again. It's just nice to know that I can keep my feet smooth from the comfort of my home when I need to — though I truly hope I won't need to much longer.