Over the last few years, self-care has slowly started becoming more entwined with skincare, and now, we’re treating our faces and bodies more than ever before. Whether it’s the use of a bi-weekly face mask or you’re investing in a luxurious body scrub, these areas are seeing a lot more love than one of the slightly less glamorous parts of your body: your feet.

Despite the fact the UK weather feels anything but summer right now, and even if you’re not on a beach in sunnier climes, it’s still important to look after your overall foot health all year round – yes, even during the winter. 

So, we asked podiatrist Dr Bharti Rajput to break down the best way to treat hard, dry skin on feet to ensure they’re looking and feeling their best, both in and out of socks.

“The skin on our heels cracks for various reasons but mainly cracked heels develop due to a mixture of dryness and pressure.

“Sometimes, if you’re spending a lot of time indoors or the heating is on, the foot’s skin texture can become a little bit drier and that can often lead to cracks.

“Wearing open-back shoes in the summer time may cause the skin to crack as your bare heels are always hitting the back of the shoe, which can cause a lot of pressure and, consequently, cracks.

“Cracked heels can also be caused by lack of vitamins in your diet, such as iron and zinc, which both play an important role in the regeneration and repair of both the hair and skin (which are made up of the same chemical components).”

“To prevent getting hard skin on feet, you should use a specialised moisturising foot lotion or heel balm regularly. Many people just use any kind of moisturiser, but the skin on your feet is six times stronger than anywhere else on your body, so you need a specialised cream that can penetrate the layers.”

“The best type of tool for getting rid of hard skin is a foot file, which resembles sandpaper on a stick. I find it better than an electric foot file because you are more in control of the amount of pressure you’re using. There is a fine line for how much you can take off and people tend to overdo it when they try to remove hard skin – they usually scrub too hard back and forth, especially with one of those metal cheese grater type of files, which is a definite no-go.”

“I always recommend a cream that contains urea. Urea is a naturally occurring element in the skin that improves hydration by increasing the water uptake from the dermis. So, for those with skin that can be dry and lack natural moisturise, it’s an effective way to replicate the hydration process.

“Also, have a good foot file to hand. There are a lot of different types of foot files, ones that look like cheese graters, electrical ones, or natural pumice ones, which will help remove some of the dry skin. This combined with a urea-based foot cream will help hydrate feet while reducing cracks and dryness.

“During the summertime, feet can get a bit sweaty, so I would recommend using a good foot powder for in-between your toes. This helps to prevent moisture build-up in-between toes, which can lead to conditions such as athlete’s foot.”

“You can get rid of dry skin on your feet by using a foot file but you should always use it on a dry foot, never on wet. When skin is wet, it tends to become more rubbery, but when it’s dry, you can actually buff the skin down. Put a piece of kitchen towel or newspaper on the floor and you’ll get great pleasure in seeing white, powdery hard skin coming off your feet.

“Then, soak your feet in some water. You can add a bit of lemon or some salt, then, I recommend following up with a urea-based foot cream if you have really dry skin on your feet.”

“The best approach is to cut your toenails straight across and try not to get all the white edge off because it is there to protect the area of your nail which acts as a protective seal for the skin. Also, if you cut them down too short you can start to get ingrown toenails.

“To do this, use toenail clippers and then an emery board to get rid of any sharp edges.”

Images: Getty; courtesy of brands