Dry skin is not a pretty sight and it can be painful! Hard, cracked skin can be a serious issue that, when left untreated, can lead to infections.
First of all, if you have dry skin on your feet, you’re not alone. Everyone experiences it at some point. Luckily, it’s super easy to get rid of. You can learn how to get rid of dry skin on feet today by following these simple steps, and get your dry-feet freedom!
Step 1: Soak your feet
Before you can begin to remove the dry skin and moisturize, you need to soak your feet to soften the skin and make any loose bits of skin easier to remove. Soak your feet in warm water for 10-20 minutes or until the skin is soft.
If you’d like, you can also add some oil and Epsom salt to the water to soften your feet even more.
Some people also swear by soaking their feet in Listerine and vinegar. Just add a ¼ cup of each in a few cups of warm water and soak for about 10 minutes.
Step 2: Exfoliate dry, cracked skin
It’s time to remove the dry skin. To do this, we must exfoliate. Use an exfoliant that is appropriate for the amount of dry skin you have. If it’s not too severe, don’t use too harsh of a mixture. If the dry skin is severe, you may need to use something a bit tougher.
If the skin is so cracked that it has broken open the skin, you must treat the cuts before you can start to repair the skin. Exfoliating cuts will only make them worse. Simply skip this and the next step, and go straight to moisturizing until the skin is repaired enough.
You can apply a scrub with your hands or with a pummus stone.
If you’d like to make your own scrub at home, they are super easy to make! All you need is:
- 1 cup Epsom salt
- 1 cup oil (coconut oil, olive oil, jojoba oil, whatever you have)
- Just mix them together and scrub away!
Step 3: Soak feet again
Now that your skin is properly exfoliated, you’ll need to moisturize the skin, but first you’ve got to soak your feet once again if they have dried out. In order for the moisturizer to work, you need to put moisture in and then seal it. Applying moisturizer on dry skin won’t be as effective.
Soak for another 5-10 minutes in plain warm water.
Step 4: Moisturize!
Immediately after you soak your feet, pat dry and apply a thick moisturizer. Vaselineworks great, but you can use whatever thick lotion you have. If you’d like to intensely moisturize, put the cream on and then wrap your feet in plastic (plastic wrap or plastic bag) and then put socks on to keep the lotion and body heat in.
Depending on how severe your dry skin problem is, you may have to repeat rather often. However, if you continue to moisturize every day, you won’t have to repeat the entire process as much. Always remember to soak your feet before you apply your moisturizer to get the most out of it!
How to combat future dry skin
If your dry skin problem is severe, there may by some simple changes you can make in your everyday life to help.
Here are some things that may be causing your dry skin:
Dry air: Especially during the winter months, dry air can really take a toll on your skin. The cold, dry air outside as well as the dry warm air from your heater can cause the same dry skin. To fix this, you can add a humidifier to your home. Also, make sure your feet are properly protected from the harsh weather by wearing the appropriate socks and shoes.
Long, hot showers: Long, hot showers can strip your skin of natural oils that keep it lubricated throughout the day. To fix this, take shorter showers with cool water. The water doesn’t need to be cold, but even warm is better than hot. It may also help to do a “cold shot” at the end of the shower to help contract the skin and keep moisture in.
Harsh soap/ washing too often: If you find that a particular soap you’re using is causing dry skin, stop using it immediately! Even if your soap is not drying out your skin, overusing any soap can dry out your skin. Stay away from soaps with alcohol, that are antibacterial (if you need to get a sanitizer, but not anything antibacterial) or have perfumes or dyes.
Dehydration: Honestly, you can’t really have too much water. If your feet are dry, then you might be dehydrated. Try to drink more water and less caffeinated beverages, which act as diuretics and unnecessarily pull water from your body.
Homemade foot scrub
As we mentioned above, making a foot scrub at home is super easy, but if you’d like to get a bit craftier with it, here is a lovely DIY foot scrub from soletshangout :
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup granulated white sugar
- 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1 tbsp. vanilla extract
- 1 half pint mason jar
- Baker’s twine
- Label (with a sticker back)
- Fine point black marker
Instructions
- In a medium sized bowl, combine your brown sugar and white sugar. Whisk them together until they are completely combined.
- Add in your olive oil and vanilla extract and mash together with a fork until all of the oil is combined into the sugar mixture.
- Pack the mixture down into your mason jar.
- To finish, tie a bow around the mouth of the jar with some baker’s twine. Create your own label and stick it on the front of the jar. Now, it is ready for gifting or for immediate use!
We hope you’ve learned all you needed to know about how to get rid of dry skin on feet and that you’ll be free of dry skin all spring! What are some of your favorite homemade foot scrubs to get rid of dry skin? Let us know in the comments and be sure to share this article with your friends!