Beauty does not lie in your face alone. You need to trap it in every detailed part of your body including the ones involved in providing physical labor - your feet. Even the wheels of vehicles need maintenance to keep the distance clock ticking. And it is your foot, a part of your body, with the same blood running through it and formed out of the same bone and flesh extension. Regardless of these "scientific" facts, we can see many beautiful faces with cracked, calloused feet. And in such cases, we may not be poetic enough to comment, "You're beautiful from head to toe".
What does it take to include foot care regime to your daily skin care routine? Just a few extra minutes and a few additional products. That's it. Here's how you can address various foot problems:
- For Tough Calluses: It may mean a challenge to wear open-back shoes for some women. Cracked heels may be the culprit which may be keeping them away from such designs. But they can overcome this problem by gently rubbing a pumice stone or foot file on wet heels and calluses. Natural foot scrubs containing ingredients like sugar or crushed foot pits may also help to remove the dead skin cells. Rich foot creams containing shea or cocoa butters need to be applied to add moisture to the foot skin. The market offers urea or salicylic acid containing foot balms, which have proved to be effective in softening tough calluses.
- For Rough and Dry Heels: You may need to consult a dermatologist or a podiatrist for prescription medications if your heels are experiencing too much of dryness. But if it is not that serious, then you may pay a visit to a medicine shop to look for medical heel pads, a remedy for tough calluses. For soothing your rough heels, you may need to look for heavy moisturizers with ingredients like petrolatum (an emollient) and lactic acid (a humectant that helps preserves the moisture or water content of the skin).
- For Fungal Infections: Women, who have had experienced fungal foot infections like athlete's foot or toe nail fungus, know the other name for embarrassment. OTC solutions like creams, sprays, lacquers and liquids do not show effectiveness in serious cases of athlete's foot. These products contain ingredients like clotrimazole, tolnaftate, miconazole and terbinafine. Some experts opine that mild cases of athlete's foot can also be treated by tea tree oil. Sweaty feet would find a cure in medicated sprays or powders with aluminum chloride hexahydrate added to them while you may need to look for an anti-fungal lotion if you have dry feet. Before applying any anti-fungal formula, just make sure to check whether your feet are dry or not. Remember, fungus grows in hot and humid conditions and hence you should always take care to maintain good foot hygiene especially in the region between your toes.
- For Suntan Issues: The tops of your feet are not suntan proof. The skin may get darkened due to sun exposure. Hence, you need to apply a sunscreen with a minimum of SPF 15 while going out in the beach or while going out in open sandals.
- For Ingrown and Brittle Toenails: Toenails add to the beauty of a woman's feet. And a touch of nail polish on well-maintained toe-nails adds more magic. But clumsy nail trimming may lead to hangnails and ingrown toenails. Aging causes our nails to become brittle and some chemicals in nail polish speed up this process. You should look for nail polishes which do not contain chemicals like toluene, formaldehyde and dibutyl phthalate. Using an alcohol-free nail polish remover is another great idea. Your toenails also need to be moisturized just like your skin. Vitamin E oil, petroleum jelly and cuticle creams are the best moisturizers for your toenails. Spread the formula all over your nail and the cuticle as well and rub it with gentle moves.
Feet have their own beauty and appeal and don't neglect them. Your face may draw the first attention, but your cracked heels may spoil others' impression about you. Facial makeup or paint may hide many flaws and you may use several accessories to draw attention, but there is no such mask or makeup to hide flaws in your feet. They need to look beautiful naturally - the way they are created.
