Feet appreciation with a side of happy May Day!

feet foot
Happy May Day, all you wonderful Posse folks! I always feel a little extra spring in my step on May 1 because it means the school year is winding down fast and summer’s on its way, which means sandals, big-time. And it will soon be Mother’s Day. Speaking of, every Mother’s Day, to keep things simple, I ask for a pedicure. My boys are very kind to get me one and my feet are always so grateful; after all, they are one of the hardest-working parts of the body and often sorely underappreciated.

But, and this may sound silly, I always have this nagging feeling that my feet need to be much improved BEFORE going in for said pedicure. Kind of like cleaning your house top to bottom before you have a cleaning service in; know what I mean?

Anyhoo, I’ve been using my buffer/scrubber before every shower (or at least when I think of it, which is about every other time) and slathering lotion on when I get out. But it always seems that a day or so later, my poor old tootsies have reverted quite a bit to their former state of disrepair. I’ve even tried wearing socks at night over heavy moisturizer but because of my tendency toward swollen feet, they often irritate me, so I gave them the boot ASAP and let the old footsies breathe at night.

So I’m thinking that perhaps my foot products are not up to snuff. I do have a tube of something called Podiatrist’s Secret blah-blah-blah, which I use, but somehow doesn’t seem to make all that much difference. So I’m hoping you guys have some good products and or tips/procedures to greatly improve the feet.

Because, you know, I wouldn’t want to embarrass myself at the salon with my ratty feet or make my aesthetician have to work like a dog trying to make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear, ha!

  • Portia says:

    Hey Ann,
    Sorry I’m so late to the party.
    My feet are ghastly when left unloved. It comes from all my youthful pursuits from Football, Swimming, Basketball, Ballet, Running, Gymnastics etc etc. I spent decades in and out of share shower stalls. Add to that my years of drug addled partying where I’d be dancing all night long and well into tomorrow.
    I came back from a 2 years stint in the UK with what my doctor called Trench Foot. He was mystified that someone who’d never seen trench warfare could come up with such a rare and undignified problem.
    Anyway, I go get my feet seen to by the pedicurist at least once a month, they scrape off the dead hoof that forms. If I don’t the dry mass cracks and bleeds.
    After every shower I use Avon Foot Cream, pop on some cotton socks for an hour or so and let that soak in. It’s the only thing that really keeps my feet nice.

    Sorry to go on and on.
    Portia xxx

  • hajusuuri says:

    Insipid Foot Repair Butter Calendula & Orange – smells great, feels great! Your feet will love you.

    • Ann says:

      I bet that does smell heavenly! Where do you find it and does it come in a tube, jar, etc.? Thanks, dear!

      • hajusuuri says:

        Holy moly, spell check strikes again! The brand is Kneipp. There are only a few stire fronts, one of them at the Menlo Park Mall in Edison, NJ. It comes in a jar. I’m still working through a generous trial size and just bought a full-size jar. I’ll be happy to send you some. I may have lost your email. Please email me 🙂

      • hajusuuri says:

        Peeps, i don’t think you would buy anything from vegan skincare company branded “Insipid”, would you? I wouldn’t either. Stupid autocorrect. The brand is KNEIPP and ir has a winderful line of vegan body care products.

  • CbSutcliffe says:

    I feel the way this reviewer does about the Alpha Hydrox Foot Cream with glycolic acid:
    http://nouveaucheap.blogspot.com/2011/03/review-alpha-hydroxy-foot-problem-area.html
    You can currently find it at Overstocks.com and Amazon, but we buy it directly from Alpha Skincare on autoreplenish since my husband relies on it as well. He uses it as a cuticle treatment too.

    I’m really curious about this new one from CeraVe since it also has alpha hydroxy acide and I like their other products

    https://www.walgreens.com/store/c/cerave-renewing-sa-foot-cream/ID=prod6258828-product?skuId=sku6220473

    And Walgreens.com currently has a 25% off code for Mother’s Day and they offer free delivery over $25 I believe.

    Cara

    • Ann says:

      Oooh, lots of great suggestions there! Thanks so much, and also for the heads-up at Walgreen’s.

  • mikasminion says:

    I second the Baby Foot peel for an emergency beginning-of-summer overhaul. Just remember that it doesn’t always start peeling right away. Takes about a week before I notice anything, then my socks are suddenly full of extra skin (yuck!). I only resort to it if I have been very lazy about daily lotion.
    The rest of the year I rely on the Gold Bond foot cream (the one with the yellow-ish label, not the diabetic one or the minty one, which contains lots of urea for exfoliation and is very moisturizing. When I use it regularly I don’t need to do anything else except the occasional scrub in the shower.

    • Ann says:

      I do really like Gold Bond for other things, so will definitely try this foot one. Thanks!

  • Connie says:

    So this is something I haven’t tried (yet) and it might be a bit extreme for you but the Baby Foot Peel uses a dilute concentration of Lactic and Glycol acids to buff off the dead skin on your feet.
    Here’s a link to it: http://www.ulta.com/original-exfoliant-foot-peel?productId=xlsImpprod15271001
    Highly recommend googling pictures of effects before using it because apparently the dead skin does keep sloughing off your feet for about a week after, which is a bit disturbing.
    But maybe worth it?

    • Spring_pansy says:

      I’ve used this and it is wonderful. Your skin will flake off for about a week so you’ll want to be wearing socks most of the time. Also, use it BEFORE a pedi or it may ruin the polish. It didn’t get rid of all calluses, and it doesn’t promise to, but it definitely improved things!

      • Connie says:

        Definitely need to try it sooner rather than later then- I’ve got serious dancer’s feet happening at the moment

    • Caroline says:

      omg, everyone, please be mindful when using Baby Foot Peel. A few months ago, a woman in my yoga class had used it (yoga is typically done barefoot). All the peeling dead skin coming off of her feet and flying around during class was revolting!

    • merrilyrow says:

      I tried this and didn’t love it. The peeling lasted for more than six (!) weeks, and the final result was nothing special. I probably would not do it again, and definitely not in the summer, as it makes your feet look truly terrible for almost two solid months.

      • Ann says:

        Wow — it sounds like this peel is definitely a love it or hate it product. Maybe I’ll try it on the worst spot on one foot, that way I won’t commit to having two feet-full of peeling skin.

  • Queen Cupcake says:

    I am embarrassed by the condition of my feet–they are always so very calloused. My mother’s feet were the same way. When I got fitted for my orthotics, it was explained to me that, because of the way my foot-bones are arranged (a genetically inherited trait), my gait creates these callouses. Anyway, I’ve always had what I call cave-woman feet by the end of winter. Hah!

    On Saturday, I finally went to the salon for a pedicure. Do I buff my feet beforehand? No, I just tip very generously. 🙂 I chose a nice lavender-gray shade of polish; nothing too bright to bring attention to one of my less attractive features.

    • Ann says:

      I”m with you dear — think I inherited some craggy feet, too! And a big yes to tipping generously because I know he/she got their workout in with me, ha!

  • merrilyrow says:

    I feel you! I’m in L.A. which is sandal weather almost every day, plus I have to look at my feet a lot in yoga, so I like them to be in decent shape. Yet, I don’t make much time for formal pedicures. So these are my two trusty products for great feet most days:

    1. Silkfeet Bladeless Exfoliating Microscreen
    This is a flexible screen which dry buffs far better than any other tool on the market. Inexpensive, comfortable and fast, I use a few strokes of the buffer on rough spots prior to applying my foot cream.

    2. Bath and Body Works True Blue Spa Heel of Approval foot cream
    An effective, emollient glycolic acid cream which gets rid of dry skin and callouses very quickly. It is rich, so I make sure I have time for it to soak in before putting on shoes or going to bed.

    If I use these two products together 2-3 times a week, my feet look very well-kept and feel great. Now toenail polish is another story, for that I call in the pros!

    • Ann says:

      Bless your heart — you don’t get much chance to cover them up, do you? I’m heading to BBW in a few days so I’ll check it out. Is there a potential for cutting too close to your skin with the Silkfeet thingy? Thanks!

      • merrilyrow says:

        The Silkfeet tool is a flexible mesh screen, with a rubber edge for easier gripping. It is abrasive, but not uncomfortable. I suppose it would be possible to over-do it, but not accidentally. You can see and feel the progress, so it is easy to monitor.

  • morejasmineplease says:

    I can totally relate to this! Both the “fix my feet before a pedicure” and the “clean my house before the cleaners come” thing!

    For your tootsies: Nordstrom sells these amazing products by a German brand called Gehwol (maybe they’re available elsewhere but this is where I first discovered them) – they’ve got a foot cream that’s quite good for calluses, and their foot file thing is excellent. I bought a bundle of their products during Nordstrom’s anniversary sale in the summer a few years back and am still working through my stash. You can’t go wrong with anything from this brand.

    Here’s a link – hope it’s OK to include it (not affiliated with either of these companies):

    http://shop.nordstrom.com/c/gehwol?origin=productBrandLink

    Or, just get some 100% shea butter and slather that on at night – your feet will be super smooth in the morning! Shea butter doesn’t necessarily dissolve or remove the calluses but in my experience it’s amazing at softening them up. Cocoa butter, or a blend of the two, is also quite nice. Some people aren’t crazy about the smell of these but I think they’re worth it!!

    • Ann says:

      So glad I’m not alone in thinking that! Thanks so much for the recs, will have to go have a peek at Nordstrom now.