The body parts with hairless skin are prone to dryness, and the skin of the feet may be the most susceptible one, considering the fact that the skin covering the feet area has no oil glands, making it naturally dry. Excessive friction and pressure on the area can easily cause the skin are to harden and if these friction and pressure persist, callouses are likely to occur all over the skin. Although do not usually cause pain, calloused feet may trigger embarrassment and discomfort while wearing high heels and shoes. Although callouses on feet may not be able to be dismissed overnight, it is possible to soften dry and hard calloused feet in order to minimize the resulted discomfort.

Softening dry and hard calloused feet

1. Soaking

Why? Soaking your feet in warm or hot water is an effective way for softening dry foot skin affected by calluses. Soaking helps softening flaked skin and hardened part quite quickly. It also helps promoting good circulation. In addition, soaking foot is also a relaxing activity that may reduce tiredness all over the feet muscles.

How? Prepare warm water in a shallow bucket or basin enough to soak your feet completely. You can add baking soda, vinegar, or salt into the water to help soften the hardened, calloused foot skin. Soak the affected foot for 20 to 30 minutes, changing the water if necessary.

2. Exfoliating

Calluses are basically resulted from formed protective barrier by your skin, in order to deal with excessive friction or pressure. Exfoliating hardened skin of the feet will be helpful in softening the area. When done properly and regularly, exfoliating calloused area will gradually minimize the effect, so that you will find less calluses on the foot skin. To effectively fade calluses on the foot skin, exfoliate them with a fine pumice stone after soaking them in warm water. This will get rid of dead skin cells as well as the hardened skin.

3. Moisturizing

Moisturizing is the simplest yet effective technique for softening the skin all over the body, especially the hairless one. There are various creams and home ingredients that can be effective in nourishing the body skin and help you soften callous-affected foot skin. Applying moisturizing cream and covering the affected feet with socks overnight will be really helpful in softening the area affected by calluses.

Basic practices to reduce hardened feet skin

Other than the three most common ways to soften dry and hard calloused feet, there are some basic daily practices you can perform in order to minimize the effect of friction and pressure—the main cause of calluses, on your foot skin. Although treatment and medications can be effective in softening calloused feet, eliminating the main cause is the most essential part to restore your foot skin’s smoothness. If you are suffering from extremely dry and hard calloused feet, do these practices to minimize the effect:

• Change your footwear

Shoes that do not fit properly is one of the most common causes of hardened calluses on feet, since it put more pressure and friction on the foot skin. If you are to spend the time outside, it is better to wear flats than heels, as flats put less pressure on your foot skin.

• Wear gloves

Many people experience calluses on their hands as a result of excessive pressure they get from riding a bike or motorcycle. To soften your hardened calluses on hands, start applying moisturizing cream on the affected area and cover it with breathable gloves before riding a motorcycle. You are also advised to wear these gloves while gardening, as this activity also makes the skin prone to calluses.

• Pad the high heels

If you insist on wearing high heels, pad the shoes with shoes pads to lessen pressure and friction on the area near the toes. Padding the heels does not only make the feet sit comfortably but also helps improving callus-affected foot skin area. You can choose any shoe pads that are the most comfortable for you. Pad the shoes whenever you are going to wear the heels or shoes for a quite long period with minimum rest.