Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Rescue Remedies for Summer Dry Heels





Summer is time for bare feet and sandals! 

It happens every summer, all that sandal wearing takes it's toll on my heels.  By late June, after my feet have been free from wearing socks with shoes for about 6 weeks I might feel the first little fissure...you know that pain?  Ugh, it's irritating!  

Dry, cracked heels are not a pretty sight but, with a little effort our feet can be pretty enough to stick out the window too :)







The first step is to soak your feet for 20 to 30 minutes in warm water, a big bowl will do. 

To your foot soak, add either 1 cup of epsom salt OR 4 tablespoons oatmeal OR even one cup of milk.  A few drops of essential oil like Lavender would be nice too.


After soaking your feet they should be soft and pliable, a good time to scrub your heels to remove as much dead skin as possible.  If your heels are severely cracked, they may have embedded dirt, this process will help remove that.  Gardeners, you know what I'm talking about here... 

I realize it's not wise to garden in flip flops, but hey...that's what pedicures are for!





After heels are nicely scrubbed and clean, pat them dry and with a heel buffer like this one in the photo, or Pedi-egg or even an emery board, go back and forth on dry areas to remove the dry, dead skin.  

Once completed, rinse your feet and pat dry.
  

Next step is important...if faithful...you'll be flip flop ready all summer long!




After your heels are soaked, scrubbed and rubbed you need to lock in all that moisture!  Several are options are readily available.

#1  The SIMPLEST!  Add a drop of Peppermint EO to each fissure, weird but it works if you're consistent.  Do this morning and night.  Or...

#2  Make up a blend of 10 drops each: Geranium, Peppermint and Melaleuca to 1/2 cup of organic coconut oil and 1/2 teaspoon of Olive or Almond Oil.  Whip them together and store in a small glass jar.  Apply 2x daily.


In addition to or instead of #1 and #2, try this...


All Purpose Healing Salve:  A CW favorite!
If you have the time make a batch of salve, please do.  This all purpose workhorse of a salve will save you so much time and money in the long run, it's uses are quite endless!  One of it's best uses is to lock in moisture ~ then put a sock on it!






LOVE this idea! 
 
Lock in the moisture by wearing a custom cut pair of cotton socks to bed or just around the house.  If you take the time to moisturize your heels and cover them at night several times a week you'll be amazed at how soft your heels will stay all through the flip flop season.



Enjoy your day, pamper your feet & grab a bowl of ice cream while you're at it :)



26 Comments:

At April 10, 2012 at 10:01 PM , Blogger Deebi27 said...

Yes, Yes and YES!

 
At April 19, 2012 at 8:27 AM , Blogger RebeccaMom said...

Great ideas! I bought one of those cut off sock things from my podiatrist ($15? if I remember correctly). I like your idea better! I live in Florida, so I have to have my feet flip flop ready year round. I love it here, but I have found they end up being much more dry year round than when I lived in colder climates.

 
At May 22, 2012 at 7:53 AM , Blogger Diapers.Deadlines.DIY said...

Love this!!! How often should you do the foot soak and pampering, couple times during the week as well?

 
At May 22, 2012 at 11:26 AM , Blogger Rebecca said...

Once a week is great!

 
At May 26, 2012 at 1:53 PM , Blogger Linh C. said...

Now why didn't I think of cutting a pair of socks like that! Great tips!

 
At May 27, 2012 at 7:58 PM , Blogger Sheri said...

That's a great idea. Thanks so much for sharing.

 
At May 27, 2012 at 9:21 PM , Blogger Dana Joy said...

Just came across your blog from Pinterest. Great idea. I hate seeing people with cracked feet during the summer. I need to give these people your blog address. :-).

 
At June 4, 2012 at 4:18 PM , Blogger Rachel said...

I too am from Florida, and even in snow in other states, I'm a flip flop girl. Love this idea, cause I hate socks!

 
At June 17, 2012 at 11:19 AM , Blogger Erica said...

Tried it and LOVE it! :) Thanks for the tips!!

 
At June 25, 2012 at 11:24 PM , Blogger TreyceMontoya said...

I've been using this since high school (1980) and still works!

 
At June 26, 2012 at 1:19 PM , Blogger Penny Hanuszak said...

Love your blog and this tip. I winter in Southern California and suffer the same malady. The soaks are cute and practical. Great way to clean out the sock drawer or pair up "lost and found" socks from the laundry. Thanks to your readers for the other skin care product tips too. Can't have too many of those!

 
At July 7, 2012 at 5:50 PM , Blogger toocrazy said...

Bag Balm works overnight on heels but I never thought to cut the socks like this. I'm a FL girl too and I can do these socks! Love this idea!

 
At July 9, 2012 at 5:00 PM , Blogger eleven-o-one said...

Flip flops and sandals year round here, too. But the heals are worse in the summer. Great idea on the cut off socks. Probably the only part of this routine that I was missing and it is probably essential. I'll have to try it tonight! Found you on Pintrest.

 
At July 12, 2012 at 8:38 AM , Blogger Unknown said...

I can't wait to try this tonight!

 
At July 15, 2012 at 7:13 AM , Blogger Valerie said...

Great reminder to take better care of our poor feet! The moisture/sock combo is something I've known about, but have hated in the summer due to the warmth. After reading this last night I cut up a pair. Perfect! I slept with the summer socks on & my feet didn't get hour.

 
At July 15, 2012 at 7:15 AM , Blogger Valerie said...

That was suppose to be "hot" not "hour." Stupid auto correct.

 
At July 18, 2012 at 4:01 AM , Blogger screendoorgirl3 said...

Great idea! I also hate wearing socks to bed, so this should be perfect. It's funny , I remember seeing my friend's Mom's cracked heels as a teenager and thinking ewww, never me. Well, here I am. That's life . Thanks--cute blog!

 
At July 29, 2012 at 11:01 PM , Blogger Unknown said...

Thanks for providing such helpful information on cracked heels.
Thanks

 
At April 9, 2013 at 1:34 PM , Blogger Nathalie Conde-Jahn said...

i use Vaseline every single day before wearing my socks and my feet are so smoooooth

 
At June 15, 2013 at 6:57 AM , Blogger Unknown said...

Thanks for the great ideals, my best friend has very bad dry heel s, this will help her. Thanks again

 
At June 17, 2013 at 10:05 PM , Blogger Unknown said...

Love this, works great! I have dry peeling elbows in the winter and I found a perfect pair of long sock to cut off for my elbows this winter. Thanks so much for another great idea. I'll be silky smooth from now on.

 
At June 27, 2013 at 4:32 AM , Blogger Unknown said...

No kidding! I hate the heat socks create on my toes during the summer!! Great idea!!

 
At June 27, 2013 at 7:13 AM , Blogger Tracy said...

Love these ideas!!!! Can't wait to try the socks!!! I've done it many times before and it really works, but never with a trimmed-down version. Perfect! Thanks for posting!

 
At June 27, 2013 at 7:48 AM , Blogger Karen Yott said...

I LOVE SUMMER SOCKS!

 
At October 2, 2013 at 3:24 AM , Blogger Unknown said...

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At May 11, 2014 at 9:19 PM , Blogger nitnole711 said...

Hi! I'm so anxious to try this! So what exactly do you use to scrub the dead skin off after soaking? Thanks!

 

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