Podiatry isn’t the most stimulating of topics, and often scares people away before it can entice them with the promise of perfectly smooth, velvety soft feet year-round.
What’s more, some people avoid engaging in proper foot care altogether – after all, who really cares what the bottoms of your feet look like?
Whether you care about the arrival of sandal season or not, forgoing proper foot hygiene can lead to other issues such as painful corns and calluses. When left untreated, these patches of hardened skin can damage the underlying structures of your feet, leading to ulceration or even infection. This may also affect posture, which can lead to additional aches and pains beyond your feet.
What are calluses and why do they form?
Calluses are large patches of rough, thick skin that form when the skin is working to protect itself against abrasive factors such as friction, pressure, or frequent irritation. This abrasion can be caused by anything from small shoes to frequent exercise in the form of walking, hiking, and running.
How do you prevent calluses?
First and foremost, double-check your shoe size. Feet can swell and become wider with age, and you might simply be wearing shoes that are too small – leading to uncomfortable irritation and unnecessary friction.
Nevertheless, the best way to prevent calluses is by employing proper foot hygiene. This doesn’t mean paying for an expensive pedicure every weekend, but rather ensuring you’re engaging in the simplest forms of foot care: filing, exfoliating and moisturising.
What’s the best way to maintain smooth feet?
Develop a simple foot care routine for yourself. If you struggle with chronic calluses, pair a high-quality foot file with a dedicated foot polish or scrub and a strong moisturiser developed for hard or rough skin. Make sure you’re avoiding products with drying ingredients, such as alcohol or fragrance, and soak your feet in warm water after dry filing before embarking on the nourishing stages of your at-home pedicure.
Chronic sufferers might also want to invest in a foot peel at least once every three or four months to maintain the utmost smoothness and prevent further pesky calluses from forming. Foot peels function a lot like chemical peels for the face, employing exfoliating acids to break down the very top layer of the skin.
Do foot files really work?
Yes! Foot files are a fantastic way to ensure you’re maintaining proper podiatric care. Not only do foot files help to improve circulation in your feet, but they also help to prevent painful fungal infections by removing dead skin build-up – thereby reducing the potential for moisture and sweat to collect at the bottom of your feet, or even in between toes.
How often should I use a foot file?
Using a foot file once or twice a week, depending on the severity of your calluses, should be enough to maintain velvety smooth feet. Just don’t go overboard, or you risk drying out your feet, or even removing too much skin.
Get started on your podiatric journey with a selection of the best foot files on the market. Sandal season has never felt so good.
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Starskin VIP Fab Feet Instant Foot Peeling Treatment
This three-piece set from Starskin makes a fantastic addition to any podiatric repertoire and comes equipped with just about everything you need to maintain proper foot care. Firstly – and the reason you clicked through to this article – Starskin’s signature foot file is uniquely valley-shaped, moulding to the contours of your heels for fuss-free filing that won’t leave your arms and back feeling sore. The flattest, outer edge of the file also works perfectly for the outer corners of the feet, especially the big toe – where calluses often form.
Filing, however, is step two in Starskin’s fabulous five-minute saviour. First, spray the Fab Feet Peeling Mist, a chemical exfoliant powered by a brilliant cocktail of AHAs. This preps your feet, making the removal of dead skin easier than ever. Finish up with the Fab Feet After-Care Foot Cream for buttery soft feet in a flash.
Buy now £18.90, lookfantastic
Riorre Professional Foot Files for Hard Skin
Another three-piece set, this time full of foot files, and foot files alone. Though you’ll have to invest in aftercare elsewhere, at under £10 this set is a great value-for-money option for those with hard-to-treat calluses and dead skin patches. It contains a pedicure foot file, a pumice foot scrubber with a handle, and a hardcore scraper for the toughest of calluses.
Buy now £6.69, Amazon
Silk'n Vacupedi Callus Remover Suction System
A hi-tech option for those who take podiatry very seriously, the Vacupedi machine by Silk’n works with the help of an electric rotating filing disc which files away tough skin before immediately suctioning away all that nasty dead skin in a matter of seconds.
In fact, the spinning, abrasive disc completes up to approximately 1,550 rotations per minute to ensure you’re able to achieve smooth feet at lightning speed. One set comes with three filing discs – thin, medium, and thick – and three filters wish can be washed and reused. Cordless, rechargeable and equipped with a full battery life of up to 110 minutes – mess-free foot care has never been easier.
Buy now £67.30, Amazon
Spongeables Pedi Scrub Foot Buffer
If, despite your best efforts, your feet are simply too sensitive to use abrasive foot files – look no further than the Spongeables buffer for all your callus-curing needs. This quadruple-action piece of kit cleanses, exfoliates, massages, and moisturises your feet with the help of soothing olive oil, shea butter and anti-bacterial tea tree oil. Smooth feet combined with a relaxing aromatherapy session? Sign us up. Suitable over 20 washes.
Buy now £16.99, Amazon
Nails Inc. Tootsie Tamer
Perhaps the most attractive foot file we’ve ever come across – a sentence we never thought we’d type – this ergonomically-shaped, rose gold foot file from London-based Nails Inc. will blend seamlessly into your perfectly curated bathroom aesthetic.
The professional-grade foot file features a unique, micro-exfoliating surface peppered with larger raised circles for ultimate all-over smoothing. The tapered design allows you to effectively buff away at even the most awkward angles while applying minimal pressure. Carpal tunnel sufferers rejoice.
Buy now £10.00, Cult Beauty
Scholl Velvet Smooth Electric Foot File
With over 10,000 ratings of four or more stars, it’s fair to say that Scholl’s Electric Foot File certainly works. After all, with over 100 years in the podiatry game, we’d be greatly concerned if this product by Scholl wasn’t effective. The self-rotating coarse crystal head rotates at 360 degrees at three different speeds and comes with an extra, contoured roller for use on cracked heels. Easy peasy.
Buy now £33.56, Amazon
Margaret Dabbs London Professional Foot File +2 Replacement Pads
Designed by world-renowned chiropodist and podiatry expert Margaret Dabbs, this professional-grade foot file may look small, but it’s most definitely mighty. Powered by compressed crystal technology, this handy file buffs away the toughest calluses with surprising ease – leaving your feet velvety soft. Follow up with the Margaret Dabbs Intensive Hydrating Foot Lotion for the best results.
Buy now £26.00, Cult Beauty
Eco Bath Natural Pumice Foot File
Suitable for use both wet and dry, a pumice stone is a naturally exfoliating alternative to classic grater-style files. Due to their gentler approach, you can use a pumice stone daily if you so desire, just make sure you follow up with a moisturiser.
Buy now £8.55, Amazon
Flowery Swedish Clover Foot File
Perfect for targeting smaller problem areas such as the outer corners of big toes, this narrow, tapered foot file is made from waterproof and – according to the brand – entirely unbreakable materials so you can really put it through its paces.
Buy now £19.00, Amazon
