Now that it’s summer you can’t wait to slip your feet into those sexy sandals but are your feet ready to be seen? Here’s your guide to feet as fabulous as your footwear.

Soak feet first in warm, soapy water. If you have very dry and cracked feet, use a little bath oil in the water. Soaking will also make nails easier to clip and shape. After toweling off your feet, clip your toenails evenly and straight. Next, use a pumice stone to smooth out rough areas from heels and the ball of the foot. Follow this with a foot massage using a moisturizing lotion. For a tingly, fresh feel, try a lotion with peppermint. You can rub the lotion into your cuticles and push them back gently if you like.

You’re now ready to polish those nails up pretty. Choose a color that will get attention, but nothing garish. Unnatural colors such as green or blue will not look fashionable on your toenails. Coral, pink, rose, peach, bright red or even a french manicure will make your feet look feminine and begging to be shown off. Add a toe ring as an added attention-grabber.

Now slide those sexy feet into a pair of great sandals and take them out for a walk!

For centuries the pale-skinned woman was considered to be the ultimate in beauty. How many poems refer to skin like “alabaster”? Before the 20th century, a suntan meant a woman worked outdoors and was therefore of a lower class and station. Women used parasols and wide brimmed hats to ensure that no part of their bodies was exposed to the sun.

But in the 1920’s, Coco Chanel changed all that by popularizing the bronze look. Suddenly a tan meant that you had leisure time to spend by the sea, which meant you had money. Suddenly, tans were “in”. Soon a suntan became associated with looking healthy.

Of course, that was before we learned the relationship between premature aging of the skin and skin cancer with repeated sun exposure. Still, the image persists - tan skin is healthy skin. A tan also helps to hide imperfections and makes you look thinner. So, what’s the answer?

Self-tanners go back a long way. In the early days they were mostly dyes that stained the skin and were very orange. Nowadays self-tanners have advanced and are available for every skin type and color and come in the form of lotions, sprays and even towelettes. You can get good color with even a lower-priced drugstore product. The best thing is that you can get a tan with a sunless tanning product even if you can’t get a tan from the sun!

The key is application. Here are some tips to help you get the results you want from your sunless tanning product.

* Take time to apply it evenly. Don’t use too much or you will end up with a streaky, orange tan.

* Wear gloves to apply the sunless tanning product. Trying to wash it off your palms before it “tans” them is almost impossible and you will also end up with dark orange knuckles.

* Self-tanners adhere to the top layer of dead skin cells. Taking a shower and exfoliating prior to use will prevent uneven color. Use a light moisturizer over knees, elbows and ankles to prevent dry skin in those areas from soaking up too much tanner.

* Apply the self-tanner to hands last. Apply lotion using a sponge for an even look. Even if you use the towelettes or a spray, going lightly over the back of the hand with a cloth will help to avoid a patchy tan. This method also works well for the tops of the feet. After applying to hands, use a Q-tip soaked in nail polish remover to go around nails and between fingers.

* Wait at least 15 minutes before getting dressed as sunless tanners will stain clothes. Keep cool as humidity and perspiration will cause the product to streak.

Lastly, enjoy your safe tan!

Summer is here with long days, golden and glorious. It’s the season for outdoor living: gardening, walking, cooking out, and soaking up the sun at the pool or the beach.

Yet we all know the damage that prolonged sun exposure can cause to delicate skin tissue, making it dry and causing premature aging. We are all well-versed in the abbreviated language of summer sun: UVA, UVB, SPF. Sunscreen is now a part of life for sun-worshippers. We know that sunburns and overexposure to sun lead to permanent damage and discoloration. We have seen the reports of the increased incidence of skin cancer. Sunscreen has become a part of every womnan’s summer wardrobe.

But what you may not realize is what all that sun is doing to your hair. Hair is just as susceptible as skin to the sun’s damaging UVA/UVB rays. The sun bakes down into the inner layer of hair, destroying it and causing hair color to fade. It also dries and damages the outer layer of the hair shaft, causing it to become brittle and break easily.

While there are hair care products that contain sunscreen, many of these won’t have much lasting effect. Shampoos and conditioners are rinsed out and there is no way to know how much sunscreen may be left on the hair. A leave-in conditioner with sunscreen won’t get rinsed out but brushing and blow-drying your hair can remove the sunscreen from the hair shaft.

So, what’s the answer to protecting your hair from the sun…?