It seems like with in the last month my heels have become very dry and cracking. I have no idea what would cause this to happen. Is there anything that I can do at home (tight budget) to help it? It kind of hurts sometimes when it cracks and it just doesn't look very pretty either. Thanks!!
I used Dr. Schols cracked heel cream and bought it at Walmart.... it worked
great! My feet were so bad I couldn't believe it! All of a sudden they were
cracked with DEEP cracks and I freaked out! I was in Florida at the time
with my husband and we went to Walmart, they have some for dry cracked skin and cracked heels! It was only live $5 too!
Miracle Foot Repair Cream works great. I have bought it at Walmart and Bed Bath and Beyond. I put it on after my shower and then put on old, thick socks until I am ready to get dressed. It works faster if I put it on at night, too.
As soon as you get out of the shower, layer on the thickest moisturizer you can find- Eucerin is great. Then put on thick socks (I use my husband's old socks) and wear them to bed. I shower at night, so this system works. If you don't, then soak your feet for 10-15 minutes and go from there.
You should also consider a pumice stone to "buff" away the dry skin. I use a ped-egg, which might freak some people out b/c it looks like a cheese grater. I have to say, though, the process was recommended to me by a friend who owns a nail salon and it works!
This happens to me in the summer sometimes. It seems to be if I go outside barefoot or in slip on garden shoes and get my feet wet while gardening and don't dry them off right away. Also, I have a thyroid problem and notice my skin is worse when my thyroid hormones are out of balance. I mention that incase you have other symptoms. Anyway, great advice below about getting to heal. Once they are healed still use moisturizer. Also use a pumice stone, ped egg or foot sander to keep the thick skin more manageable. It seems for me the thicker it is the more it will dry out and crack. Hope this helps, it does hurt.
Another commenter mentioned thyroid function; low thyroid can bring dry, cracking skin; but thyroid function usually declines gradually. Another possibility, since you mention it just began within the last month, is fungus. Feet can be exposed to fungus while walking barefoot in public areas, especially wet areas like around a pool, or in a public shower or hotel shower.
Regardless of the cause, raw hemp oil will help heal it and if it's a fungus, keep it from recurring. Add a few drops of grape seed extract and/or tea tree oil to the hemp oil and rub it into your feet. Don't just rub the cracked parts, but the whole foot. Then put your feet up for a few minutes; no need to wrap in plastic; the hemp oil will soak in pretty quickly. You can find help oil at Whole Foods and other health food stores.
There is a cream, for cracked heels. I had to use it once and I purchased it at Wal-Mart. I can't remember the name, but it's something a long the lines of cracked heel cream. It worked really well for me. I soaked my feet before bed in warm water & epsom salt and then put socks on.
Kerasal works great, but is like $10 for a tube at Target, Walmart. This sounds crazy, but I do this a few times a week and it really helps and it is CHEAP. Get some vegetable oil, lay out a big piece of press n seal, rub vegetable oil all over the bottom of your feet and wrap them up. Put some socks on and get in bed. Be careful walking. The next morning I take off the press n seal in the shower so I don't get oil on the floor. Good luck!
If this is "only" dry skin...then it can be solved pretty easily but if there is fungus then you are going to need some other medication to get it under control. I would start out with by getting rid of as much of the dry skin as you can...other Mom's have suggested soaked your feet first and then attacking the problem...that is a good method but I prefer the "dry" method...I have a great "file" (think emery board on steroids!) and remove as much of the dry skin as I can that way. Then..if you want a really inexpensive solution...get some vaseline...put a generous coat of it on your heel and then put a pair of white athletic socks on for the night.
If this doesn't work, then I would consider the possibility of it being a fungus of some sort. You can go to the store and get some antifungul cream to apply to your heels, look in the foot care section ....and don't worry...the tube is going to say something about "jock itch"...it is the same issue...just a different part of your anatomy...lol.
After you get the heels cleared up you are going to want to continue putting lotion of some sort on your feet several times a week...or it will just reappear!!
Soak your feet in some warm water with Epsom salt, then buff them with a pumice stone. I grew up on a farm, so I was exposed to a product called "Bag Balm"(It's about $10 at Walgreens and Tractor Supply Company, but it lasts forever). It's used to keep cow's udders moisturized so they don't crack from all the milking. After you have your feet all buffed and dried, put a nice layer of Bag Balm on them and then put on a pair of thick socks and go to bed. When you wake up, your feet will be nice and soft! Repeat once a month or when you feel it's needed.
rub in a super creamy moisturizer or better yet an ointment like Norwigian Formula or Vaseline even-and then put your workout socks and shoes on. The nubby sock texture along with the sealing off of your feet with the heavy shoe will really soften them up!
moisturizer, i actually had to go to a dermatologist. i thought something was wrong but it was just dry feet. im sure other moisturizers will work, but honestly, mine come and go with the seasons no matter what i do.
Put Eucerin on after you get out of the shower. Then at night coat your feet with Aquaphor and put socks on, let the Aquaphor soak into your feet overnight. It works great!
I have something similar after my 3rd pregnancy...don't know why.
I tried every cream. But here's what I learned...
NOTHING will work until you get rid of the dead, dry skin. The moisturizers CANNOT penetrate layers of dry dead skin. So first, soak your feet in warm, slightly soapy water. Get yourself a pumice stone or one of those "feet graters". You want to gently remove all of that dead, flaking skin. It may be a little tender in spots where the cracks have created open sores. You still need to get all that debris away - both to help the moisturizers work and to keep infection at bay. Use a nail clippers or something like that if needbe to GENTLY cut away as much of the dead (white) skin you can around any open cuts.
Once the dead skin is removed, dry them thoroughly. The water would have penetrated the skin so it should already be plenty soft and moist. Then cover with a moisturizer of your choice - my dr recc Aquaphor since it doesn't have a lot of chemicals, scents, etc. and let's the skin breathe...they even recc this on my baby too! It's colorless and scentless so it shouldn't stain either. Put on socks and go to bed for the night so it can soak into your feet.
In the mornings, I did not remoisturize. I simply covered any cuts/sores with polysporine and a band aid to keep out any infections.
The second night I'd remoisturize and recover with socks.
The third night, I'd gently scrub my feet like the first night, removing any dead skin again.
My feet are fabulous now. But it is a constant maintenance. I don't have to always scrub and moisturize, but I am more aware of the condition of the bottoms of my feet and toes and take the necessary maintenance as needed.
As to why this happens? As I learned, we loose the "fat" in our feet over time. Age, weight gain/pregnancies cause our feet to flatten out and we loose our arches. So our feet don't really "grow", but instead get wider/longer due to flattening. This also causes our skin to react differently. There isn't as much "fat" holding in the moisture. So we have to keep the dead skin off, moisturize ourselves and keep our feet healthier as we age.
I hope this helps you!
if you don't have any medical conditions that cause dry/cracked feet, then i recommend within one minute of a bath or shower, apply aquaphor and wear socks. if you have spare time, put your feet up and relax!
I suggest that after soaking your feet while taking a bath or in a small tub, smearing them with Vaseline and putting on cotton socks. You can do this before going to bed. A couple of weeks of doing this every night will help. It does take time for the cracked skin to heal. After that, be sure to use a moisturizing lotion on them every day.
I don't know what causes the skin to dry out so drastically. I suspect genetics has something to do with it. My mother's feet were like that, especially when she was older and unable to reach them to rub in lotion. Because of her experience, I've always applied a creamy lotion whenever I noticed the skin getting dry.
My feet get like this sometimes.
Removing the dried skin before moisturizing works the best.
I soak my feet in warm water/epsom salt/apple cider vinegar.
It really softens the dried skin better than anything else I've ever tried.
Then I use a foot rasp to rub it off. It comes off very easily.
If you have some thick callouses you might have to repeat.
When it's all rubbed off, rinse and dry your feet, then rub in a good lotion.
You can do this as often as you need to.
Once every few weeks works well for me.
