Treat Your Feet!

Your feet are the working class heroes of your body. The journeymen. They’re probably the hardest working parts of your body. And if you’re like me, you don’t take care of them the way they deserve to be taken care of. Let me talk to you about my feet. Cause recently we’ve been having issues.

I don’t know when it happened – I used to take great care of my feet. And then I started noticing changes. Like…the raspy sandpaper noise they made when they rubbed against my satin sheets. And the cracks that started to appear in my heel area. And – since when do I have calluses?

I had to admit, my feet were in a MESS. And I didn’t quite know what to do about it. I started getting desperate. I even spent an afternoon or two researching fish pedicures, to see if they were still legal in my state. Sad but true.

My feet got a fresh start when I went to Miami for Blogalicious, and I got the BEST PEDICURE EVER. Seriously, if you’re ever on South Beach, do your feet a favor and ask for Vilma at the Ritz Carlton South Beach spa. She is incredible. What made that pedicure different? After soaking my feet in a formula to soften the skin, Vilma busted out a DREMEL and literally blasted off all of the dead skin from my feet. It was absolutely amazing, but not something I could recreate for myself at home. For obvious reasons.

So what have I been doing to try to upkeep the softness, sans power tools? I’ll tell you the at home pedicure regimen and products that have been working for me, step by step!

Step 1 – Buff like nobody’s business.

Whether you use a pumice stone, like the Rock n Sole by Ms. Pedicure, the PedEgg, a steel micro file like this Dr. Scholls model, or a foot buffer like this nifty one from Birkenstock – the important thing is to use it. I usually start with dry feet, and graduate to more intense exfoliation later. It’s usually recommended to soak your feet and/or your buffer/pumice stone first, though.

Step 2 – Treat the problem areas.

I’ve got really rough, tough skin on my heel – which can be cracked sometimes, especially in colder months. And I’ve got reoccurring calluses on my big toes. I thought there was not much I could do about the calluses myself, but then my friend Paula of Older Girl Beauty pointed me in the direction of Sally Hansen. I had NO IDEA Sally Hansen had a whole product line called Just Feet. And I had no idea there was a product called Just Feet Deep Callus Remover. This stuff is pretty hardcore, y’all. Slather it on for just a minute (the bottle warns you not to go over). I don’t know what all is in this blue gel, but it will start stripping away your calluses in just 60 seconds. I know some folks leave it on for longer, but I’m quite honestly a bit afraid of its power! Once my problem areas have been tackled, I move on to step 3!

Step 3 – Soak and EXFOLIATE.

Once my feet have gotten the Sally Hansen treatment, they’re ready to be soaked and then scrubbed! Sometimes I bust out the Homedics foot spa, but it can get messy. So I usually just use the bath tub and get to scrubbing. My absolute favorite scrub right now is Carol’s Daughter Almond Cookie Sea Salt Scrub. It smells absolutely edible, and has the exfoliating power required for the job. For the rest of my body, I am Team Sugar Scrub. But my feet NEED salt. A salt scrub has more durability for the task at hand, and the Carol’s Daughter scrub is also supremely moisturizing (and doesn’t sting!)

** PS: The last time I rhapsodized about Carol’s Daughter products, a commenter felt the need to write in and accuse me of getting paid for positive reviews, or something suspect like that. While most of the products I review here were sent for my consideration, I feel the need to add here that it doesn’t work that way. I don’t just blindly give positive reviews to whatever I am sent. A positive review has to be EARNED by me testing the product. And I only review products I think are worth writing about, and worth your hard earned money. For any further questions and/or accusations, I encourage you to visit the FTC guidelines on my FAQ page, please and thanks.

Off soapbox. On to step #4!

Step #4 – MOISTURIZE.

After sloughing off all that dead skin, your feet are parched and need some love! Both the Carol’s Daughter scrub and the Sally Hansen treatment offer some moisture, but I really treat my feet at this point, and slather on a rich, thick moisturizer. There are all sorts of great body butters out there and I’m sure you’ve got one in your stash right now just for this purpose! Lately I’m using Votre Vu Tarte D’Amande Souffle. A super rich, thick yet light moisturizing souffle that absorbs quickly into the skin, it’s a decadent treat for the hardest working parts of my body. When I rub this stuff on and slip on a pair of socks right before bed, I know my feet won’t make that awful sandpaper sound on the sheets for a while!

Of course, this being winter boot season, I need to upkeep this regimen regularly to keep my feet in fighting shape. Those are the top foot product recommendations I can make, based on the products I’ve tried lately. What are your favorite treat-your-feet goodies?