In order for moisturizers to really work their magic, you first have to get rid of calluses -- the buildup of dead skin cells caused by constant rubbing and friction. The key to making them disappear: regular exfoliation. "Because your feet are more difficult to exfoliate than your body [and less sensitive], you can use a scrub on them a few times a week," says Patricia Martin, director of marketing for Topical BioMedics, Inc., who prefers natural salt or sugar scrubs to slough away dead skin. An editor favorite -- Glominerals Smoothing Salt Scrub. This Dead Sea salt scrub works for your whole body, but I love the lavender mint scent for at-home pedicures.
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Post-Summer Savior: Intense Exfoliation
To buff away calluses without scraping or sanding, Martin recommends a pedicure gadget like the Clairisonic Pedi (a TotalBeauty.com Award winner). It comes with a smoothing disc to use on dry feet and rough patches, and a wet/dry buffing brush head to rub exfoliating products into the feet. Once I got over the tickling sensation, I couldn't get enough of this device, which almost makes me look forward to a foot care routine.
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Post-Summer Woe: Painful Blisters
Sweaty, swollen feet and shoes that rub can cause blisters to form. Even though sandals may seem more comfortable than other options in your shoe closet, they aren't the best for your feet. According to Martin, strappy shoes and flip-flops move with every step you take, causing blisters, chafing and other foot pain.
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Post-Summer Savior: Tender Loving Care
The most obvious way to make blisters do a disappearing act: Take a break from the shoes that are giving you blisters or chafing. The best approach is to let a blister heal naturally, says Martin. Clean the chafed area with water and dry it thoroughly before applying a natural, soothing powder without talc or other chemicals, such as Burt's Bees Baby Bee Dusting Powder, or a pain relieving cream like Topricin Foot Therapy Cream. "Wear a sterile gauze pad that allows the area to breathe until it's healed," says Martin.
But if you really, really need to wear those strappy sandals for one event or another (sometimes beauty really is pain), Elle suggests Band-Aid Advanced Healing Blister Cushions. A short-term numbing product like Sole Serum can also relieve pain temporarily. Our New York editor used the product throughout Fashion Week to cool and refresh her tired feet.
Sandals -- they're stylish, they're easy, they're so much more comfortable than a pair of stilettos. But a long summer of open shoes and flat soles can leave your feet in need of serious T.L.C. We spoke to celebrity manicurist and Dermelect's color curator Elle (who's prettied the feet of celebs like Blake Lively and Jennifer Lopez) and Patricia Martin, director of marketing for Topical BioMedics, Inc., to get the details on caring for our not-so-cute, end-of-summer feet.
