It’s sandal weather and if your feet are like mine, they need a little attention. There’s nothing delicate or feminine about heels so cracked they’d look at home in an elephant herd. It’s not healthy either. Dry cracking feet are gateways for infection. When I snggle up to DH at night, I want him to smile not yell ouch! if I touch his leg with my foot. Dead skin and callouses soak up all your product and prevent lotions from nourishing the young healthy skin underneath.
For minor foot dryness, slather on a thick ointment like Mary Kay’s Extra Emollient Night Cream or Cocoa Butter and slip on cotton socks. The heat from your body will soften the cream and help it move deeper into the skin. If you tend to have poor circulation with cold feet, get moving as soon as your socks are on. Exercise will move blood down to your feet and help heal.
1. If you have serious foot problems, it will take a little time to get them up to par. Place a dishtub over a bathtowel and fill with warm water (as hot as your feet can take.) Add 1/4 cup epsom (Dollar Tree has this) or coarse sea salt and a squirt of shampoo or your favorite body wash. Soak your feet for 15-20 minutes while you read your favorite book or magazine (or catch up on earlier Grocery Shrink posts!)
2. After soaking, use a pumice stone, lufa sponge, or sugar scrub to begin to remove the layers of dead skin. If it’s very bad, it’s best to do this over a period of several days. (A great commercial product for this is the Mary Kay Satin Hands Set.)
3. Follow up with an intense moisturizing cream and cotton socks while it soaks in.
4. Repeat these steps every other day until your feet are soft and smooth, while using a nightly intense moisturizer and cotton socks.
If your DH doesn’t like you to wear socks to bed, start the treatment early enough that you can remove the socks before slipping into bed. Otherwise, it’s okay to wear them all night.
Great post! I’ve even heard of people wrapping their feet in saran wrap and then putting on socks. You can also use EVOO to rub on your feet.
The best thing I’ve ever found for extremely dry feet was rubbing on some olive oil and slipping on a pair of sock before bed. This worked for me when nothing else did. And, no chemicals!
i have fantastic feet year round — my friends always comment on how soft and smooth they are. i also play soccer (hard on your feet!). what i do is keep a file in the shower (i think it’s specifically for feet), and the last thing i do after every shower is file my heels and big toe (where i tend to get a callous from my cleats). i then put on a cream called heel of approval from bath and body works, but any heavy cream works. then my slippers if i’m at home, socks if i’m going out to do errands (unless i’m wearing sandals). i put the same cream on every night before bed, then some socks, and i leave those on while i read before bed. i take them off to sleep because i get too hot.
i do this all year, winter, summer, all the time, and my feet are always soft and smooth.