Keeping the Soles Soft and Supple

[Dr. Shoe]

I have always been blessed with very good skin and some of the folks at the last IHM were impressed with my soft hands. Touch wood, I have never had a problem with my soles but Ruth had always been a martyr to them and tried everything to treat them. She would file away the hard patches and put all sorts of creams and lotions but suffer with them getting harder and also opening up in painful cracks and fissures. One day she asked me how I did it so I let her into my little secret: I do absolutely nothing at all!!! No filing, creams or lotions. All I do is keep them clean with soap and water and keep them as dry as possible in wet weather. Now she does the same and guess what? She has lovely soft feet and the nasty cracks and fissures are a thing of the past.

[benthere]

I have always been blessed with very good skin and some of the folks at the last IHM were impressed with my soft hands.

Touch wood, I have never had a problem with my soles but Ruth had always been a martyr to them and tried everything to treat them. She would file away the hard patches and put all sorts of creams and lotions but suffer with them getting harder and also opening up in painful cracks and fissures.

One day she asked me how I did it so I let her into my little secret:

I do absolutely nothing at all!!!

No filing, creams or lotions. All I do is keep them clean with soap and water and keep them as dry as possible in wet weather.

Now she does the same and guess what? She has lovely soft feet and the nasty cracks and fissures are a thing of the past.

Ditto - I think half my wife's callouses are caused by her attempt to remove them. The skin's response to pressure and irritation is to thicken. Common sense says not to pressure and irritate one's skin!

She's pretty accepting of my heeling, provided I don't draw attention to us/her either in public or among mutual friends.

I think it's important to baby one's feet. As my grandpa said, "take care of your feet and they'll take care of you." He was in WWI. Didn't know what he was talking about when I was a kid. As an adult, now I know.

But agree with you, Dr. Shoe, that wearing what fits, listening to your body (pain = something's wrong), and common sense are key.

[Nail Goddess]

Being a well seasoned Nail Tech, I have few ideas and facts that alot of people don't know about feet and what causes dryness, callouses, and cracks and how to avoid them. Number 1. Keep them clean and dry. If your feet aren't clean and dry they are host to numerous bacteria and fungi. Number 2. Only file and work on callouses while they are wet. Dead dry skin changes to a milky white when wet and you can tell when you get to live soft healthy skin. Number 3. NEVER NEVER NEVER walk on carpet barefoot. New carpet is nice, but it is horrible on the feet. The fibers are so small and have chemicals in to dry dyes and go into every fine line and that dries out the feet. Number 4. Backless shoes are MURDER on the foot. (even though I wear them myself) The way the foot moves in the shoe creates a friction point that is around the outside of the heel and can cause those nasty looking cracks and then walking on carpet exaserbates the problem. Number 5. Invest in a "good" professional pedicure from someone that is knowlegdable in disorders of the feet. They can help you on the road to PERFECT feet for whatever shoes you wear. YUM! HTH Nail Goddess:queen:

[benthere]

4. Backless shoes are MURDER on the foot. (even though I wear them myself) The way the foot moves in the shoe creates a friction point that is around the outside of the heel and can cause those nasty looking cracks and then walking on carpet exaserbates the problem.

I wear backless shoes all the time, and have yet to experience any such problems. I'm almost always wearing either one of two pairs of sandals or my high heel clogs.

[Nail Goddess]

Do you wear these shoes for more than 8 hours a day? Also, Mens feet have more fat on the soles of the feet than women do. There are 3 other factors that people don't take into concideration. #1 wieght. The heavier a person is the more pressure there is on the feet. #2 age. With age we ALL lose fat and elastisity in the skin. #3 Genes. That is the biggest factor of all. It determins all asspects of our anatomy. I have seen all kinds of feet in 22 years of pedicures. I have seen better feet on men as a rule. I have also seen women in there late 80's that have better feet than some 20 year olds. It's all in the GENES. Nail Goddess:queen:

[benthere]

Do you wear these shoes for more than 8 hours a day? Also, Mens feet have more fat on the soles of the feet than women do. There are 3 other factors that people don't take into concideration.

#1 wieght. The heavier a person is the more pressure there is on the feet.

#2 age. With age we ALL lose fat and elastisity in the skin.

#3 Genes. That is the biggest factor of all. It determins all asspects of our anatomy.

I have seen all kinds of feet in 22 years of pedicures. I have seen better feet on men as a rule. I have also seen women in there late 80's that have better feet than some 20 year olds.

It's all in the GENES.

Nail Goddess:queen:

Only on weekends. At work I wear either men's dress shoes or boots.

1. I'm pretty hefty.

2. Early middle aged.

3. I don't know much about my genes, except that I have the usual aches and pains most people do, including under the balls of my feet when I try wearing more than a moderate heel. Probably because of #1!