I'm in open-toed shoes quite a bit so my feet are constantly exposed to the elements. This really can take a toll on how your feet look. It's time to establish a legit foot care regimen. Especially now that winter's on deck. If we can perfect this regimen now, we won't have a care in the world come spring.
Our end goal is to maintain soft, pretty feet all year round. So we need to institute daily and weekly actions to ensure that happens.
The first habit that's served me well over the years is finishing off each shower by removing dead skin with a pumice bar. This simple daily act has prevented me from having thick, dry heels even though I'm always in sandals. Sloughing off dead skin daily is the best thing that's happened to my feet. It's an integral part of my body exfoliation routine and if I go too long between sessions, my feet suffer.
Pro Tip: At my last pedicure, I received the tip to push my cuticles back while in the shower as well. Since our skin is already damp, it's easy remove the dead skin. She also told me that our nail beds lengthen as we age so it's important to push the skin under the nail bed back on a regular basis.
INTERNAL MOISTURE
Daily scrubbing keeps cracked heels at bay but I also need to employ strategies to keep them moist. This one is a bit more challenging for me. I recall doing an omega 3 challenge, years ago, where I drank a tablespoon of liquid fish oil daily. The end goal was to experience healthier hair but I distinctly recall experiencing naturally softer feet as an unexpected side effect. It felt like my skin was moisturized from the inside out. Internal hydration is key so I'll be sure to drink loads of water and get back on my Omega 3 regimen with daily spoonfuls of fermented cod liver oil.
EXTERNAL MOISTURE
The most important aspect of having pretty feet is the maintaining the appearance of moisture. Wearing lotion is the easy answer but perhaps there are even better options. After giving up lotion a few years ago, I found other alternatives that can handle the job. One thing I've loving right now are all natural butters. I'm not talking about body butters that you buy at The Body Shop. No, I'm referring to single ingredient butters like shea, almond, or cocoa butter. My current fave is acai butter. It's so rich and nourishing on the skin....probably because of acai's high omega 3 content. So if you aren't getting your fatty acids through your diet, might as well put it directly on the skin.
Lastly, I'll continue to enhance external moisture by using products specifically for that purpose. We're all fans of hydrating sheet facial masks. Did you know there are sheet masks for feet as well? I actually found some at my local Asian grocer. The one's I picked up are solely for hydrating but there exfoliating foot masks available as well. Some of them have the ability to peel the dead skin right off. Some of the pics of feet with peeling skin kinda free me out so I prefer to stick with scrubbing daily and using hydrating foot masks for moisture.
That's the strategy so far. Simple but effective.
Feel free to leave a comment with your tips and secrets for maintaining pretty feet.
I'm one of those people that take care of their feet year round but since my feet get no exposure from October till May I pumice once a week instead of daily like I do during the warmer months. I just got my first foot mask but I was saving it to use before my vacation in November but maybe it's something I should incorporate on a weekly basis instead.
ReplyDeleteI've tried pedicures, but I have one foot that's a lot worse as far as dead skin, than the other foot. So I usually don't have fully smooth feet afterward. I haven't done a pumice stone every single day, but I think I'm going to start using the KIT every day, on my feet at least. And I absolutely LOVE Baby Foot byes the peeling is gross, but the results are worth it.
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