With spring on its way, many of us are already looking at buying new sandals and spring shoes. It’s definitely going to feel fantastic to put our winter boots away for good this year! But are your feet and toes ready to be shown off in strappy sandals and open toed shoes this spring?
After months of being hidden in wool socks and boots, many of us do not have feet that are summer-ready. We’ve got some tips to help get your feet and toes looking great in any summer footwear you choose!
Spring Foot Care Tips
Exfoliate Your Feet
Exfoliating feet gently will remove dead skin and help if nails are yellow or discoloured. Using a gentle exfoliate will do the trick, or you can make your own using brown sugar and almond or coconut oil. You can also use lemon juice and a nail brush to exfoliate skin or yellow nails – as long as you don’t have any open cuts or abrasions, since that will sting quite a bit!
Soak Your Feet
Soaking feet is not only good for your foot health and appearance, but also feels great! You can use a foot soak or bath bomb, or simply just Epsom salts and coconut oil in some warm water.
Pumice
If you have calluses on your feet, using a pumice stone is often the best and easiest way to help remove them and soften the skin. After soaking your feet, gently rub the areas of the foot with calluses, usually on the heel or ball of the foot.
You should never clip or shave the calluses off yourself as it’s easy to cut yourself, damage the skin, and get an infection. This isn’t something you want while getting your summer feet ready! If you have calluses or corns that are too severe to be treated with a pumice stone, visit a chiropodist so they can remove them safely.
Always remember, never share a pumice stone with anyone else as this is an easy way to spread bacteria.
Trim Your Nails
Trimming your nails is one of the most important aspects of making your feet sandal-ready, but also important for the health of your foot. You should always trim your nails in a straight line, not curved, to prevent ingrown toenails. File sharp edges without creating a curve in the toenail.
Similar to pumice stones, never share a toenail file with anyone else.
Moisturize
Moisturizing feet is a great way to prevent dry or even cracked feet. When your feet are too dry, this can lead to heal cracking and make you more vulnerable to bacteria and viruses, like warts or athlete’s foot.
A thick moisturizer should be applied to the bottom and tops of feet, not between the toes as this can encourage fungus growth in some cases. If you suffer from dry feet regularly, you can moisturize your feet at night and wear moisture socks overnight to help your feet hold onto the moisture.
Watch Out for Blisters
With new summer shoes often come the inevitable blisters. If you get a blister from those brand new sandals, make sure you allow it to heal properly. Keep it clean and let it breathe away from shoes, socks, or even bandages when possible to avoid further aggravation and infection.
Visit a Chiropodist
A new season is the perfect time to check your overall foot health for any irregularities or assess any symptoms or pain you may be experiencing. If you have any pain or conditions that become more obvious when wearing summer shoes, make an appointment with a chiropodist. We can diagnose and help you treat conditions that may have appeared over the winter.
Yellow nails, fungus, athlete’s foot, and ingrown toenails are some common conditions that become apparent in the spring. Contact Collective Foot and Wellness Clinic in Hamilton today for help with these, and many more foot conditions before you show your summer feet off.
We can help you get your feet ready for summer. With these spring foot care tips, McQuistan has you covered!