Taking care of your feet can sometimes seem like a thankless task; no sooner have you got them looking in tip-top condition but the hard skin seems to have come back and you’re back to square one. As well as keeping up a regular foot care routine, there are several things that you can do which will actually help to reduce the formation of hard skin on your feet, and we thought we’d take a look at a few of them, to help make your life (and your pedicures) a little easier:
Properly Fitting Shoes
Hard skin will often form in response to shoes which rub or are too tight in certain areas. Many of us buy “off the peg” shoes without realising that we actually have feet which are wider (or narrower) than a standard size, so going to a decent shoe shop to have both the length and width of your feet measured could really help.
Keep Your Feet Dry
It is SO common for people to get out of the bath or shower and dry their body but neglect to properly dry their feet but making sure your feet are properly dried and free from residual body wash can also help to prevent the skin from drying out.
Moisturise
This one seems like a bit of a no-brainer, but despite the fact that feet are one of the most common places for dry skin, they’re often completely neglected during the moisturising phase of any beauty routine. Use a rich moisturiser such as Dermalogica Ultra Rich Body Cream will replenish the moisture lost during the rigours of the day and will help to prevent hard skin from forming by keeping the area soft and supple.
Pumice
Whether you use a traditional pumice stone or one of the newer contraptions on the market, pumicing your feet should be a regular occurrence. So many people only do it once in a blue moon, once a build up of hard skin is already there, making it a far harder task to remove, but regular usage each time you get out of the bath or shower will prevent a build up of hard skin and also helps to keep your feet clean, too (but make sure you keep your pumice stone clean too as they often harbour nasty bacteria if not properly sanitised).
Socks
Wearing cotton socks is another thing which could be potentially making your callouses worse. Cotton will absorb foot sweat but doesn’t wick the moisture away from your feet, allowing the sweat to hang around and makes your socks rub. Wearing socks which are made of wool, merino wool, or a man-made fabric (especially during periods of exercise) will help to draw the sweat away from your feet FAR more effectively than cotton and will greatly reduce the risk of rubbing and callous formation.