Rough heels: the bane of sandal-wearers everywhere. Fortunately, rough skin on your feet can be remedied with a regimen of cleansing, moisturizing and protection. Even if you've experienced cracked heels--a condition in which the roughened, callused skin on your heels actually cracks, causing pain--a nightly care routine with a few basic supplies will improve your heel health over time.
Step 1
Fill your bathtub with a few inches of warm, not hot, water and add a squirt or two of gentle liquid soap. Soak your feet in the solution for 10 minutes, or long enough to soften rough skin on your heels.
Step 2
Rinse and dry your feet. With a fine-grain pumice stone, gently buff the softened skin on your heel. Aim to remove a layer of skin without abrading the newer skin underneath. Don't rub so hard that you scratch or irritate your skin. Repeat on the other heel.
Step 3
Apply a intensive moisturizer liberally to your heels and allow your skin to absorb the lotion.
Step 4
Put on a pair of clean cotton-polyester blend socks to protect your feet. Cotton-poly socks wick away sweat and allow your feet to breathe better than 100% cotton socks.
Step 5
Repeat Steps 1 through 4 regularly until your heels have completely shed the layers of rough skin and appear soft and supple.
Step 6
Avoid rough heels in the future by wearing proper-fitting shoes that don't rub against your heels, causing friction and calluses. Wear socks with your shoes to cushion your heels. If you develop a spot of rough skin, protect the area with adhesive moleskin patches until the roughness disappears.
Things You'll Need
- Liquid soap or body wash for sensitive skin
- Water
- Fine pumice stone
- Moisturizer
- Polyester-cotton blend socks
- Moleskin pads
