You might have dry, cracked heels from spending time outdoors in hot weather, barefooted, or from forgetting to regularly moisturize your feet. Podiatrists attribute cracked heels to dry skin and call it xerosis. The remedy is not complex; there are many good commercial products for foot care and several home remedies, too.
The Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit organization, has created a database of 60,000 skincare products called Skindeep. It identifies any ingredients that may be harmful, such as substances that can damage the endocrine system.
Vitamin E, Arnica, Lavender Oils
One product that rated low in toxicity by the Environmental Working Group and can be used for dry, cracked heels is a foot and body lotion called Laid in Montana Deep Muscle Herbal Rub. Its ingredients include emu and organic soy oil, arnica, chamomile, calendula, lemon balm, beeswax, shea butter, vitamin E, grapefruit seed extract and cajeput, lavender and eucalyptus essentials oils. Arnica and chamomile can help calm skin irritation, and shea butter and vitamin E are often used on dry skin as moisturizers. While lavender may affect some sensitive people as an endocrine disruptor and eucalyptus is noted as potentially irritating to eyes, skin and lungs for sensitive people, both essential oils are widely used in skin and other beauty products. The amounts are small in this product.
Olive, Calendula, Coconut Oils
Antioxidant vitamins A and E along with castor, extra-virgin olive oil and coconut oil are among the ingredients in another foot lotion called Wellspring Naturals Snaggly Hands and Feet Repair. It also contains beeswax, carnuba wax and the olive oil is the carrier oil for wild-crafted calendula, plantain, rose hips, chaparral, osha and bolete mushrooms. Both coconut and olive oil are traditional remedies for dry skin and are used to soften skin and moisturize hair. Calendula is an herb that is found in balms for lips, dry skin and diaper rash. Rose hips contain vitamin C. It's also an antioxidant, useful in tissue repair. The only cautions here are for vitamins A and E, which the Environmental Working Group states has been shown in some studies to possibly present risk for developmental toxicity in large quantities.
Almond Oil, Comfrey, Clove, Chamomile
Another cream, made from organic soy and almond oil, is rated at low toxicity by the Environmental Working Group, is Laid in Montana Workers Cream Hand & Feet. Designed to prevent cracking of skin on hands and feet, this cream also has emu oil, beeswax, lanolin, vitamins A, E, comfrey and grapefruit seed extracts, benzoin gum and clove and chamomile essential oils. Soy and almond oil are commonly found in moisturizing lotions and can be used on their own as a body oil. Vitamin A in this cream is derived from carrot seeds and with vitamin E, is an antioxidant. Comfrey, clove and chamomile are used here to "calm" sensitive skin. The cautions by the EWG are for comfrey, chamomile, clove oil and vitamin E for people who may be sensitive to them. Each of these skin creams is designed to be used to help reduce dryness and prevent cracked skin on the feet.
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