Our feet have fewer oil glands than other body parts, which is the primary cause why our feet feel dry most of the time. Your body weight and what kind of shoes you wear also affect the hygiene and health of your feet. 

You can get rid of dry skin on the feet by following some simple but intelligent home remedies and extra TLC.

• Our feet have fewer oil glands, making them naturally prone to dryness.
• Moisturizing immediately after exfoliation locks in hydration effectively.
• Vinegar soaks can disinfect feet and combat athlete’s foot.
• Wearing ill-fitting shoes in hot weather accelerates foot dryness and cracking.
• Gel-lined or cotton socks overnight boost foot hydration.
• Pumice stones or steel files are ancient but effective tools for removing calluses.

This article discusses the common causes and home remedies for treating dry skin and cracked heels.

There are many reasons people suffer from dry feet and cracked heels. The reasons can vary from everyday habits to serious medical issues.

Having dry feet, especially heels and soles, is expected because of fewer oil glands. But if you won’t keep them hydrated and moisturized. The dry skin can lead to flakiness and skin thickness.

if you wear ill-fitting shoes in hot weather, you are causing harm to your feet. The humidity draws the moisture from the feet, leaving them dry and cracked.

With time, our skin loses collagen and its ability to store water, and as a result, it becomes thin and saggy. People of growing age are more likely to face this condition.

Eczema is an inflammatory skin condition. It can rise anywhere on bodies and cause itchiness and crusty patches on the skin.

Most people grab a bottle of lotion when they see their feet are getting drier or heels are cracked. You need to moisturize your feet, but in most cases, it is something else. It is an Athlete’s Foot infection.

Athlete’s Foot is a fungal infection that usually grows on the soles of the feet and between the toes. You may feel itchiness, dryness, and skin scaling. However, blisters and inflammation can also occur in rare and severe cases. 

Damp socks and sweaty feet inside the shoes can provide the desired environment for this fungal infection to grow.

Naturally, our skin gets rid of dead skin cells, and new cells produce in their place. But sometimes, dead cells do not fall off, compiling on the skin and making the skin thick and dry. Thus, dry patches and cracks appear on the skin, especially on the heels. 

Cracked heels with thick calluses make our feet vulnerable to fungal infections and make our walk difficult.

Here are the best of the best home treatments to deal with dry skin and make it soft and clean.

To exfoliate means removing the dead surface skin. There are many physical as well as chemical exfoliators available for this purpose.  Some of the physical exfoliators are foot scrubs and brushes. You can also make your scrub at home by mixing water with sugar and honey.

The chemical exfoliators include different drug store liquids and mixtures, including glycolic acid, alpha-hydroxy acid, lactic acid, and more.

Then this is foot peel,  an affordable foot chemical exfoliator also famous for working efficiently on cracked heels. However, ensure it does not have any artificial fragrances that can irritate your skin.

Soaking the feet in the warm water not only soothes them but also softens the dry skin by improving the blood circulation around the feet area. You can also add white vinegar to the water to treat the athlete’s foot.

Vinegar has potent antimicrobial properties that help remove the odour and disinfect the feet. Besides vinegar, you can add rock, Epsom salt, honey, lemon juice, and essential oil.

Moisturizing your feet regularly helps keep the skin healthy and avoids the accumulation of calluses. And most importantly, moisturizing the feet right after exfoliation helps lock the moisture in.

Besides that, lotions and creams with fragrances and alcohol are best avoided. Such products do nothing well but worsen the skin.

Humectants, emollients, and occlusives are the ingredients you should look for in your lotion or any moisturizer.

Either you can buy gel-lined socks from the market. Or, take a good amount of moisturizer and slather on your feet, and upon that, wear cotton socks before going to bed. And in the morning, wash your feet. This way, you are providing your feet with an extra dose of hydration which they will love thoroughly.

It is better to contact a podiatrist in case the cracks on the heels are deep, and you feel pain and discomfort in practicing your daily chores. Otherwise, a thick moisturizer can help make your feet plump and soft.

Dry feet and cracked heels can be caused by different factors and lead to various uncomfortable symptoms. Moreover, they can sometimes lead to fungal infections and an athlete’s foot. Thus, it would help if you took measures to prevent these conditions. 

The first step is regularly applying moisturizer and cuticle oil to the feet. A moisturizer that is free of alcohol and fragrances is best. Apart from preventing dry skin and cracks on the heels, it can help keep them soft and smooth. He can first determine the nature of your problem and then give you the necessary advice to treat it.