You could perform one mighty pedicure with all the things you just mentioned along with a chemical treatment for the callused areas. A few different manufacturers offer chemical callus removers. You should also strongly encourage home care — a moisture treatment daily and one minute of foot filing in the bath or shower.
Don’t feel you have to remove all of your client’s callus. Some people need callus. It is made by the body to protect an area of the foot that is being stressed. Walking improperly, ill-fitting shoes, and friction can create some needed cushioning — a callus. I encourage smoothing and removing thickness from a callus, but use extreme caution before removing it entirely. Always encourage regular pedicures and home care so your job won’t be as hard — no pun intended. -- Sarah Hager
To safely remove callus from feet, I first soak the feet in warm water to soften the skin. I use a callus dissolving product that breaks down the dead skin cells. First put a generous amount on the callused area. For the product to work it needs to stay wet on the foot for about five minutes so I take lint-free wipes or cut up squares of a paper towel and cover the area I’m treating.
You can also apply the callus dissolver and then wrap the foot in plastic wrap to keep it wet. After a few minutes remove the lint-free wipes or plastic, wipe off the excess callus dissolver product, and with a coarse foot file scrub the callused areas. The dead skin will roll right off without doing any harm to the living skin.
I encourage my clients to use a foot scrubber periodically after their shower to keep callus from building up on their feet and also to always apply a heavy lotion to the bottoms of the feet (especially at night). – Christie Lovett