Summer Foot Care Suggestions

Many thanks to Jennifer for emailing and asking for tips on keeping your feet smooth and moisturized during the summer.

Hello Pedicure Guy,

It’s summertime and I’m spending more time in flip flops and have been looking for blog postings on how to keep feet (heels and the underside of the foot) soft and smooth.

I hope you will consider a blog post on summertime care for dry scratchy heels.

I’m big on doing manicures and love to paint my nails to match my clothing (including the colored pattern) or to match a holiday so the nail painting part, filing, and cuticle care part I already understand and can apply that to my feet.

However smoothing the rough heel part and underside of my foot is a bit baffling. Some of those scrubby things in the stores look too vicious (I don't have any calluses either) and just applying lotion isn’t enough (plus they put some lame slippery stuff on there that’s not good with flip flops).

Anyhoo any guidance on this would be appreciated, so I hope to see it as a blog posting, hint, hint!

Thanks for considering this, have a great day!

Jennifer
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Hey Jennifer, here is what I suggest: Readers, please feel free to add your experience in the comments that follow too!

Hi Jennifer, thank you for emailing.

I know you said those scubby things for feet look pretty vicious, and you are right - some are! But I have found that a basic loofa works pretty well, provided you don't have too much callous build-up on the bottom of your feet. I suggest soaking your feet in a solution of Dreft and warm water for a few minutes before using the loofa and it will work much better. Don't scrub hard, just evenly over the entire bottom of your feet, especially the pads and toes, until they begin to feel very smooth. You can also use an exfoliating scrub of your choice with a soft cloth for an even faster result.

Yes, lotions with an oil base will tend to leave your feet feeling slippery, so use only a light treament of water-base lotion during the daytime, and when wearing sandals. You can tell wheter a lotion has a water or oil base because it will wash off your hands with warm water easily if it is water-based. I really like the Avon Extra-care moisturizing lotion because a little goes a long way and it seems to last.

You'll also be surprised how using an oil-based lotion at night will help deep-treat your feet and really soften them over the course of a couple of nights. Olive oil is another great moisturizing treatment for cuticles, and you can rub a little into the bottom of your feet as well to help keep them nice and smooth. Just don't use too much or you will be skating out of your sandals!

If you tend to get your feet wet a lot (like in a lake or pool), you will have to be more judicious with your foot moisturizing to keep up with the drying effect that water can have. Rub a generous amount of your favorite lotion onto your feet at night, and you may even want to wear a pair of short socks to help keep the lotion off of the sheets and get the full effect.

I hope this helps. You can also search for other foot care sites for more tips. One site that I really like is: http://www.beautiful-healthy-fingernails.com/index.html. Let us know what works for you so we can pass on the good experience!

It's satisfying to have smooth, great-looking feet! Add a pair of nice sandals and an attractive nail color, and you will enjoy the admiration and compliments from others who will wonder how you do it.

Jake


Here is my color of the week (haven't changed it for a while...). I tend to really like silver/grays...