Maintaining soft feet/removing callouses?

[Sangue16]

Wearing high heels more frequently again after a break with them has me looking for new ways to do everything again, including foot maintenance. I currently soak my feet or shower as usual then use acheap foot file to remove callouses around my heel and the side of my big toe. This I follow with lotion.

Does anyone follow a similar routine? What do you do different, if at all? Thanks, I am looking for some insight to keep my feet open toe and sandal-heel ready!

--Sangue

[Dr. Shoe]

Don't do it! Leave the callouses and hard skin where they are. They are there to protect your foot from further damage. You need to wear shoes that take pressure off that particular part of the foot or use corn plasters. Creams that soften the skin is bad too. I don't have any hard skin on my feet at all. My secret? I do absolutely nothing!

[Glosha]

I use Tinactin powder just to prevent high sweating of my feet. Nothing else as the rest is natural. Just comfy shoes and you'll be fine.

[Sangue16]

Interesting. Thanks Dr. Shoe and Glosha! So you don't do anything to even out the texture of your feet? How about when the back edge of the heel becomes rough and white-ish?

[Shafted]

I don't remove callouses, but then again I always wear closed toe. Never had any problems.

[Glosha]

Interesting. Thanks Dr. Shoe and Glosha! So you don't do anything to even out the texture of your feet? How about when the back edge of the heel becomes rough and white-ish?

San, I don't have to do something as there is nothing wrong with my feet. The extra layers of skin are growing up in places where there is extra stress on your feet.

I had skin growing on my right foot before I've went to orthopedist. I found out that my left leg is 1 cm shorter than the right one. He made me infils (which I can't use with heels) and now the pressure on my feet is distributed equally and my feet are ok.

The leg length problem with heels I've solved by the heel tip size.

See licensed private therapist. Don't go into walk-in clinics. They are useless! Maybe look for orthopedic shoe place.

All you need to do is to find what is causing the problem.

G.

[Dr. Shoe]

Usually it's heels rubbing when you walk that cause this. Stop it from happening and it will eventually go.

[roniheels]

After wearing high heels all of these years, I've not had problems with callouses. But I do soak my feet every night just because it makes my feet and me feel good. Maybe that is the reason I haven't had any major foot problems.

[meganiwish]

I've got lots of hard dry skin on my heels. I've tried filing it but it doesn't do anything. Should I not? I soak my feet often, but it just makes the stuff go white. I've tried moisturiser and vaseline but nothing works. I don't do bare feet, so in a way it doesn't matter, but it does, if you know what I mean. Any suggestions would be most welcome.

[Shafted]

One of the best things you can do for your feet is to walk in sand (on a beach, preferably) barefoot. It will do wonders for you feet.

[meganiwish]

Thank you, my New England Gentleman. Beach I can easily do. We only have wet sand at low tide. Will that do?

[Shafted]

Thank you, my New England Gentleman. Beach I can easily do. We only have wet sand at low tide. Will that do?

Absolutely. Sand is a natural exfoilient for the feet. It will remove callouses from your feet that are minimal and soften those that are thicker. Who can resist a barefoot walk on the beach especially with that special person.

[meganiwish]

Absolutely. Sand is a natural exfoilient for the feet. It will remove callouses from your feet that are minimal and soften those that are thicker. Who can resist a barefoot walk on the beach especially with that special person.

Thank you. I thought I was stuck with dry heels because of my age. They crack sometimes. I don't normally do barefoot, but I do go down to the sea most days. When it warms up I'll give it a go, but only at low tide. It's all shingle otherwise - very painful.

[CassieJ]

I have a foot sanding board on the shower. It looks like a small paddle with two different roughnesses of sandpaper type texture on the opposite sides. After I have been in the shower for about 10 minutes, my feet are good and moisturized with water and the hard skin on the heels is softer. I just sand it off a bit. Doing this every day, I don't have to do anything uncomfortable and my feet are very soft and my wife comments on them. I used to have a hard ring around the heel but it has been gone for quite some time using this regimen. It also works for those hard spots on the ball of your feet you get when you wear heels a lot.

[Dr. Shoe]

Just do nothing. Keep your feet clean and the hard skin will go on its own accord when it's ready. I don't do anything to my feet at all and they are probably the softest you will have ever seen. I gave this same advice to a friend who had been troubled in this way for years and now she too has nice healthy feet. The hard skin forms in response to an injury or infection to protect the foot from further damage. By filing it away or trying to soften it you are interfering with a natural healing process so therefore it will never heal.