You don’t need pedicures to have healthy feet, but adding some moisture to dry, cracked heels would be a good start.

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You don’t need pedicures to have healthy feet, but adding some moisture to dry, cracked heels would be a good start. You probably don’t pay much attention to them, but your feet work hard for you, even if you usually neglect them when it comes to daily hygiene. You wash them — isn’t that good enough? It’s a start, but it takes more to keep your feet healthy. You don’t need to get pedicures, but you do need to think about more than just keeping them clean. Healthy feet aren’t dry, callused or cracked, UV water sterilizer so they need a little care beyond a simple lather. We have five tips to help you make moisturizing your feet part of your daily routine, beginning with how to choose the right cream.

How to Moisturize Your Feet

Prevent Blisters

Treat Cracked Heels

Exfoliant and Moisturizer: Dynamic Duo

5: The Right Moisturizer: Does It Have to be Foot Cream?

There are a lot of moisturizing options, so do you have to use foot cream to soothe dry, cracked feet? Yes and no. If you want to buy one do-it-all moisturizer and use it on all your dry body parts (including your feet) you’ll still be better off than not using any moisturizer at all. However, lotions, balms, creams and serums are often specially made with a specific skin area and type in mind. Eye creams, for example, will have ingredients that won’t sting the delicate skin under the eyes. It’s similar with foot creams. They tend to be thicker than body lotions, and many contain ingredients that can penetrate thick soles like other moisturizers can’t. Wash your feet in warm, not hot, water to avoid additional moisture loss from your skin — a good tip for your whole body, not just your feet — and use a moisturizer that’s alcohol-free.

Take note: Be sure to keep the spots between your toes dry. Moisture between the toes, whether it’s lotion or water left over from your shower, RO membrane housing a swim or sweat, can attract bacteria, which increases your risk of developing fungal infections like athlete’s foot. Dermatophytes are part of the normal flora living on your skin, but when they encounter a warm, humid place — such as the damp spots between your toes — they can begin to overgrow. Problems with dry skin. Athlete’s foot? Look for antifungal lotions instead of powders.

3: Prevent Blisters

While powder keeps your feet dry, you’ll need a lubricant like petroleum jelly to keep blisters at bay.

©iStockphoto.com/Mhjerpe

If you’re a runner or if you spend a lot of time walking or hiking, you have additional foot considerations, such as blister prevention. Blisters can become a problem if there’s friction in your shoes (make sure both your socks and shoes fit properly), and the problem can worsen with sweat and heat.

While a powder can help reduce the sweat factor, you’ll need a product to prevent blisters. Popular blister-preventing lubricants include petroleum jelly. Stick-formatted products such as Body Glide. Apply them to your feet before running (or whatever your activity may be) to help prevent blisters from forming, and note the same lubricant can be used to temporarily ease the pain of a blister before you’re able to treat it. This super-dry skin is a condition known as xerosis. You’re also upping your risk of cracked heels if your shoes don’t fit properly — anything that rubs on the heel can cause problems.

Aside from looking unpleasant, cracks and fissures in your heels pose a health concern if you don’t treat them. They’re an open invitation for bacteria to invade, causing potentially life-threatening infections. Regularly slathering on foot cream can help prevent — and treat — cracked heels. How is the disease linked to xerosis? Because of how diabetes affects the body, nerves in your legs and feet aren’t able to interpret properly the messages communicating how and when to replenish the natural oils and moisture in the skin on your feet.

1: Exfoliant and Moisturizer: Dynamic Duo

Keeping your feet well moisturized should be part of your daily routine, just like your shower, but an occasional exfoliation will help to remove dead skin cells and smooth rough patches.

After — or during — your shower, rub the bottoms of your feet and heels with a pumice stone to remove dead skin and patchy spots, and follow up with a thick moisturizer. Don’t have a pumice stone? Sandpaper will do the trick. A good exfoliation a few times a week — don’t overdo it — can lessen the need for thick creams to heal calluses, dry heels and soles. Skip the pumice stone and pick up a foot cream that lists salicylic acid, lactic acid or urea in its ingredients — these are all known to make skin smoother and are tough enough to handle even the thickest spots on feet in just one step. American College of Foot. Ankle Surgeons. “Cracked Heels.” Dec. 18, 2009. (Dec. 23, 2010) http://www.foothealthfacts.org/what-is/ns_cracked-heels.htm

American Diabetes Association. “Living With Diabetes: Foot Complications.” 2010. (Dec. 23, 2010)http://www.diabetes.org/living-with-diabetes/complications/foot-complications.html

George, Rebekah. “For Feet’s Sake.” Prevention. July 19, 2008. (Dec. If you have any questions regarding in which and how to use UV water sterilizer (blip.fm said), you can make contact with us at our site. 23, 2010) http://www.prevention.com/health/beauty/quick-fix-beauty-tips/healthy-foot-care/article/1d0358dda8b3b110VgnVCM10000013281eac____/

Grebot, Alice. “How cracked heels can let killer bacteria invade your body.” Daily Mail. Oct. 6, 2009. (Dec. 23, 2010)http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1218403/How-cracked-heels-let-killer-bacteria-invade-body.html

Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. “Athlete’s foot.” Nov. 23, 2010. (Dec. 23, 2010)http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/athletes-foot/DS00317

National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse. “Prevent diabetes problems: Keep your feet and skin healthy.” May 2008. (Dec. 23, 2010)http://diabetes.niddk.nih.gov/dm/pubs/complications_feet/#hurtfeet

Orr, Tamara B. “Heel Fissures: Practice the art of ‘heeling’.” Nailpro. January 2005. (Dec. 23, 2010) http://www.nycfootcare.com/Media/Media-Docs/HeelFissures_NailPro.pdf

Pham, Hau Trung et al. “A Prospective, Randomized, Controlled Double-Blind Study of a Moisturizer for Xerosis of the Feet in Patients with Diabetes.” Ostomy Wound Management. 2010. (Dec. 23, 2010)http://www.o-wm.com/article/460?mobify=0

Smith, Walter P. “Epidermal and dermal effects of topical lactic acid.” Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology. September 1996. (Dec. 23, 2010)http://www.eblue.org/article/S0190-9622(96)90602-7/abstract

Sports Injury Clinic. “Blisters – Treatment and Prevention.” 2010. (Dec. 23, 2010) http://www.sportsinjuryclinic.net/cybertherapist/front/foot/blisters.htm

The Walking Site. “How to Prevent Chafing and Blisters.” (Dec. 23, 2010) http://www.thewalkingsite.com/blisters.html

Waldrop, Sheridan. “Diabetic Food Care.” Advance for Nurses. 2010. (Dec. 23, 2010) http://nursing.advanceweb.com/article/diabetic-foot-care-html.aspx