Our feet and heels are prone to dryness and cracking because they are responsible for supporting our bodies daily. They make sure that we reach our destinations safely. Due to the frequent use, they may dry and eventually crack. The main cause of dryness and cracked feet include poor hygiene and nutrition, wearing wrong kinds of shoes, standing or walking barefooted, aging and other conditions. Dry skin around the heel may cause infection and develop painful cracks. Home remedies are safe and effective because of the natural ingredients present in them.
Care Your Feet with Following Home Remedies
1. White Vinegar
The acetic acid in white vinegar softens and moisturizes the feet.
Procedure:
- Mix white vinegar with lukewarm water and then saturate your feet in it for at least ten minutes. You should not go beyond this time limit because doing so may cause the feet to dry.
- Soaking your feet inside the mixture for the advised time limit allows the vinegar to be absorbed in the skin.
- Scrub your feet while still soaked in the water and then rinse with clean water.
- Dry your feet with a dry cotton or towel
- Apply a natural moisturizer.
- Repeat the same procedure three times a week to improve and eventually cure your cracked feet permanently.
2. Fruit Mask
Nearly all the fruits contain enzymes, which clears off the skin dryness and cracked feet. Mask fruits include avocados, bananas, papayas and pineapples.
Procedure:
- Before applying the thick paste, soak your feet in water to make them soft and wet.
- Apply the mashed fruit paste on your dry feet and heels.
- Leave fruit mask on the dry section for at least fifteen minutes. This gives the remedy the time to penetrate the feet deeply.
- Rinse off with clean water and dry them with a dry towel.
- Use the remedy at least three times a day everyday for better results
3. Olive Oil
Cleaning the feet before using this remedy is mandatory. The remedy is best for use at night, mostly before going to bed.
Procedure:
- Wash your feet with warm water and then dry off completely.
- Apply or massage the oil on the cracked heels.
- Wear socks then go to bed.
- Leave it over night
- When morning comes, take off your socks and wash off the oil with warm water.
- Use this remedy on a daily until you realize results.
4. Paraffin Wax
Paraffin wax gives fast relief form bad and painful feet.
Procedure:
- Melt a teaspoon of paraffin wax and blend it with coconut oil or mustard oil in a bowl.
- Heat the blend thoroughly until the wax dissolves properly.
- Leave the blend at room temperature to cool until it forms a thin layer at the top.
- Apply this on the feet and or heel during the day or at night before you retire to bed. If you are applying the remedy at night, cover the area with clean soft socks and leave it over night then wash thoroughly in the morning.
- Alternatively, soak your feet in the mixture several times until many layers of the wax built up at your feet.
- Cover your heel with plastic and leave it for 30 minutes. When you remove the plastic, the wax will peel off from your skin.
5. Lemon Juice
You can use this remedy effectively by following these steps:
Procedure:
- Cut lemon into two parts.
- Squeeze lemon juice inside the cracked heals.
- Leave it for some time for the juice to penetrate deep inside the cracks and then wash it off with water.
6. Honey
Did you know that honey is purely antibacterial? This makes it a perfect moisturizer for dry feet and cracked heels.
Procedure:
- Mix a cup of honey with water.
- Soak your feet inside the mixture for at least fifteen minutes, or you can soak up to the twentieth minute.
- Remove the feet from the mixture and then rinse the feet carefully remove the layer of honey.
- Use the remedy daily before going to bed.
7. Oatmeal
Procedure:
- Mix jojoba oil and a tablespoon of oatmeal to make a paste.
- Apply the paste on the cracked parts of the feet.
- Leave the paste on the area for about 30 min, and then rinse with cold or warm water.
- Dry it using a towel.
8. Rich Flour
Procedure
- Start by mixing two teaspoonful of rice with 2 spoonful of honey and ACA (apple cider vinegar).
- You can also blend this paste with olive oil or sweet almond oil if your cracks are severe.
- Saturate your feet in water for twenty minutes.
- Scrub your heels with the paste to eliminate dead cells from skins.
- Rinse your feet with warm water.
9. Aloe Vera
Procedure
- Extract the fresh leaves of Aloe Vera plant.
- Grind or crush the leaves to make a paste.
- Apply the past on the cracked heels and dry feet.
- Rinse the paste off after ten or twenty minutes.
10. Pumice Stone and Hydrogenated Oil
Procedure
- Scrub your feet smoothly with pumice stone. Note that the stone will cut off loose cracks and will remove dead cells, which cause cracking.
- Do the scrubbing daily to prevent the existing cracks and stop new ones from forming.
- Apply it before going to sleep and cover it with socks for moisture locking.
- Leave it over night and in the morning wash off the oil.
11. Vaseline and Lemon Juice
- Wash your feet and pat them dry.
- Blend a teaspoon of Vaseline with one whole lemon.
- Apply the mixture on the dry parts and cracked heels. Make sure you use the entire batch of the mixture before going to sleep in order to prevent movement, which may interfere with the treatment.
- Wear your pair of wool socks, socks will lock in the moisture thus making the oil penetrate deeply and prevent any sheet stains.
- Wash off the feet in the morning.
Note: Doing this daily will make the dry areas soft causing quick healing.
12. Eat Food Rich in Omega-3, Zinc, Iron and Calcium
One of the causes of feet dryness and cracked heels is the deficiency of food rich in Omega-3, Zinc, iron and calcium.
Procedure:
- Eat foods rich in Omega-3, Zinc, iron and calcium. This will reduce dryness and prevent your feet from being vulnerable to cracks.
13. Milk
Procedure
Mix one cup of milk with five cups of water.
- Soak your feet for at least five to ten minutes inside this footbath.
- Use a pumice stone to scrub your feet while soaked in milk. This cuts off loose bits of cracks.
14. Herbal Neem-Tulsi
The neem leaves are rich anti-fungal and anti-bacterial remedies essential for healing cracked heels.
Procedure:
- Crush the leaves and mix with little water to make a paste.
- Apply the paste on the cracked parts of your feet.
- Leave the paste to rest for half an hour.
- Rinse off your feet with warm water and dry it with a soft cloth.
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