As one of the most active parts of your body, your feet are programmed to take a beating from wearing heels, trekking on sidewalks, and waking bare foot on hard wood floors. Dry, cold weather makes it much worse and contributes to calluses, cracked heels and dead cell buildup.
Best bet for cracking, callused soles is exfoliation daily or every other day, to avoid dead skin from building up.
- Soak your feet in warm water and throw in some soothing lavender or rosemary oil for about 10 minutes.
- After your feet have soaked, use a pumice stone to smooth out small mounds of dead skin, being careful not to rub off healthy skin in the process
- For thicker, rough areas, use a callus filer
- Rinse feet and towel dry
- Apply some emollient foot cream
- Repeat as necessary as buildup recurs
Finally, nothing beats Vaseline for super dry feet. To wake up with soft soles, smooth some on and put on cozy socks overnight so your feet can absorb the moisturization.
FOOT TREATMENTS ON TRIAL
*All of these were purchased
DDF Pedi-Cream – Infused with spearmint oil and refreshing menthol, and uber sloughing glycolic acids, this cream doubles as an exfoliant and leaves feet smooth and soft with regular use. Around $32.
Dr Scholl’s for Her Smooth My Soles Micro File – A step up from the Ped Egg, but far from brilliant. We loved the pretty pink plastic container that looks like a computer mouse, but the stainless file is too gentle to really work and the thin strips supposed to file away dead skin are less effective than a nail file. $10.99 but we say Pass.
Tweezerman Pink Travel Pedro Callus Stone – Petite so you can bring it along, and a nice oval shape to smooth away calluses, cracked heels and bunions. $12 but well worth it.
Amlactin Foot Cream Therapy - Loaded with alpha hydroxy acids for effective exfoliation and therapy for cracking heels, also makes a great product for rough elbows. Around $10.99
Neutrogena Norwegian Formula – The same rich cold weather formula for your hands, but thicker and stonger for your winter worn feet, and at a price you cannot beat. Around $4.49
Burt’s Bees Coconut Foot Creme - Like a pina colada, this delicious creme smells like your feet are taking you away for a quick trip to a tropical island, with a little peppermint oil thrown in to wake up your tootsies too. Around $8.99
L’Occitane Lavender Harvest Relaxing Foot Cream - Great for relieving stress and exhausting, this light cream relaxes tired feet with calming lavender essential oil and refreshing menthol. Aaahhh – you’ll be addicted. Around $20.
Butter London Stiletto Stick - If you hate dry heels and cracks, this product is the best way to go! I never wear heals, so the title of stiletto stick for this product wasn’t immediately appealing to me. What was appealing though is that it was highly recommended to help make my feet soft. I have feeling like my ankles and heels are rough. This stick (it kind of goes on like a deodorant) is such a dream. It may be a little “greasy”, but it is definitely worth it. And it will last forever, because you only use a tiny bit at any time.
Final Verdict: GGI (Gotta Get It) - Soft silky heels and ankles without having to go to the spa! Great packaging too – love the black theme going on. If you need a great gift for a well heeled friend, try the Pedicure Collection Trio ($58) that contains Stiletto Stick, Silk Stockings, and Pumps, 3 of Butter London’s signature treats for feet, in a stunning black floral gift box.
VEET SPRAY ON HAIR REMOVAL CREAM Veet has a reputation for being the fastest working, top rated depilatory cream. BUT now VEET has come up with a revolutionary formula that comes in a handy and very easy to use Spray-On cream, this stuff rocks! All depilatory creams have a strong scent but with the spray the scent is a bit less potent. The spray formula is offered in two scents: Shea Butter and Lily (for dry skin) and Aloe Vera (for sensitive skin). In 3-5 minutes this cream really works, leaving your skin silky and smooth. One of my favorite things about this fantastic creation is the fact that you don’t have to spend time getting your hands smelly and spreading the cream around. You simply spray the cream on and it doesn’t leak or drip, it stays in place until you remove it with the enclosed spatula.
FINAL VERDICT: GGI (GOTTA GET IT!) With the economy in such a tight place, your budget is a bit tighter as well, so waxing and laser hair removal may become a very pricey priviledge, never fear VEET is here! This stuff really works, the spray keeps the process simple and mess-free, and its very affordable!
