Tips for peeling feet?

[pegkerr]

In other earth-shaking news, the bottoms of my feet, now that I'm in sandals for the summer, are peeling horribly. I tried a pumice stone on the rough patches and slathering Vaseline on them at night; but they are not in the least impressed by my efforts.

How do you keep your feet from flaking away?

Comments

[catmcroy.livejournal.com]

Try cocoa or shea butter.
Vaseline isn't actually a moisturizer - it seals the pores but doesn't actually absorb.

-she who used to have a home-based business making soap and bath n body items

[jeanineers.livejournal.com]

I finally made the decision to get weekly (mostly) pedicures. Best $20 I spend each week. Prior to getting pedicures my feet were much like sandpaper and my heels were in pieces. It didn't take very many visits before my feet were gosh darn pretty.

[callunav.livejournal.com]

Okay. For skin that's thick and dry and in danger of (or already) cracking (the backs of my heels get like this) use something like pumice, loofah, or just your fingernails after you've soaked them in hot water for long enough that the dead skin's really soft and just comes away (say, when you scratch it). That way you're not likely to hurt the live skin underneath. For skin that's thinner but peeling, do the same thing, but really gently - I recommend loofah or sisal, rather than pumice.

Then, both on any area you've treated that way, and on areas that are just dry, like catmcroy says, use a vegetable oil/butter for moisturizing. Butters and salves are better than lotions, in general - more concentrated, and they don't need preservatives - and preservatives are generally bad for the skin, so there's kind of a conflict of interest there. Cocoa butter, coconut oil, shea butter, heck, even olive oil out of your kitchen woudn't be a bad choice. There are also more exotic butters and stuff, but those are the most commonly available. (I make body butters with a mix of shea butter and cocoa butter, but if I were making a foot-specific butter I'd probably use kokum butter as well, because it's supposedly specifically good for healing cracks in skin.) I'd check your local healthfood/natural stuff store, and look for any kind of salve or moisturizer that /doesn't/ have any petroleum jelly or mineral oil in it.

Alternatively, in a couple months, you can start buying such things from me. But alas, not quite yet.

[callunav.livejournal.com]

Also, do you by any chance wear Tevas with rubber inner soles? I don't know why, but I've found that my feet dry out many times worse when I'm wearing Tevas than when I'm wearing any other sandals. I still love them, but it is something I've noticed.

[snippy]

In summer I have a regular footcare routine. I try for every night, but don't always manage the entire thing.

Soak your feet for 20 minutes in warm water. Scruff off as much of the dead skin as you can--I usually go at it several times, soaking the foot I just worked on while I scrape gently at the other one, by turns. I don't use pumice, nor loofah--I have a pedicure rasp with a rough side and a fine side that I bought at a local spa. It's really worth the money. I also trim my toenails, if needed, as it's much easier when they're soft from soaking in the water.

Pat your feet dry and immediately slather them with some kind of ointment or lotion. Then pull socks on to protect your sheets, and to keep the lotion on your feet. Sleep in them!

[redbird]

I rub lotion into them: I use unscented Lubriderm, but if you like a scented lotion that should be fine too.

[misia.livejournal.com]

Reasonably regular homemade pedicures. Like once a week or so. Pumice works okay but relatively coarse sandpaper actually works better and is, ya know, cheap like a cheap thing, which is a plus. Followed up with shea butter. Put on cotton socks, leave it be for a few hours or overnight. After the socks come off, a bit of "Gloves in a Bottle" lotion, repeated when i remember it over the next several days, and it helps quite a bit.

Also, walking barefoot in sand, whenever I get the chance. Nothing like it.

[splagxna.livejournal.com]

soaking in warm water a few times a week helps a lot, but i don't often have time for that. using lamisil (athlete's foot treatment) is the only thing i have found that really, really, really works consistently; it is also expensive.

verymelm recently gave me pied de pepper foot cream from lush. i have not used it a loooot yet, but i am very impressed and hopeful. and it smells divine.

[eal.livejournal.com]

Fruit of the Earth Vitamin E cream. Seriously, two tubs of it available at Wal-Mart for $5. I use it for just about everything and it works like a miracle.

M

[cakmpls.livejournal.com]

Summer doesn't bother my feet. I suspect that's because I go barefoot in the house year-round. Shoes are not my friend.

[mamculuna.livejournal.com]

What they said, but you have to do whatever you're doing often, even routinely.

I had the same problem, and just looked down to notice it's returning. I was sort of hoping walking barefoot in wet sand would accomplish the same thing, but no.

Rough stuff on wet skin followed by gooey stuff. Maybe covered with socks at bedtime if house is cool and sheets are clean. Maybe not.

[kijjohnson.livejournal.com]

Okay, I'm a freak, I freely admit it, but I, um, cut the calluses off. This may seem extreme (also gross), I grow calluses that are a quarter inch thick or more, and it's the only way to keep them from turning into hooves.

[cornfields.livejournal.com]

Don't feel bad. I have to do the same thing. There's nothing else for it, I'm afraid. I actually had a pedicurist once ask me if I were a diabetic, my calluses were so thick. Which I'm not. I guess diabetics have problems with calluses and/or dry & cracked feet?

There's this gel you can buy in Wal-Mart in the Pharmacy section that's usually right around other diabetic supplies, in a little blue bottle. You slather the gel on your feet, leave it on for a minute, and then wipe it off. Usually a good layer of dead skin comes off along with. Wonderful stuff. I have to use it several times in one sitting, but it does make callus-removing easier.

[sraun]

I use Eucerin Cream - not the Lotion!

I've also got a skin condition that makes them itch horribly, so my doctor wrote me a prescription for .5% hydrocortisone in Eucerin Cream, it's wonderful stuff.

[pyrzqxgl.livejournal.com]

I used to have a big problem with heel cracks, where if I ignored them they could continue to crack to the point of bleeding and causing pain with every step. Now I soak my feet in warm water once a week, and then while they're still wet file the edges of my heels with a big old metal file from the hardware store (I'm so hardcore pumice stones just break on me). If I get lax and any cracks still turn up, then right before bed I put lotion on them and then a piece of duct tape to cover -- lots cheaper than bandages, keeps the lotion in the cracks and off the bed and the floor, etc., and is kind of amusing.

Cracked feet may be a vitamin deficiency

[(Anonymous)]

I've had this problem too and NOTHING seemed to help. It's often much worse in the summer. One of my alternative healers (heelers. he he he) told me that it could be a result of a vitamin B12 deficiency. She suggested a B12 only supplement and omega 3/6/9. This seems to help whenever the flare ups occur. (I'm having one right now!) She also said too much folic acid can keep some people's bodies from absorbing b12 (I was taking a supplement with 1250% of the USRDA). You might want to work with an alternative healer or nutritional doctor on this problem. There is hope!