How to Get Healthy, Clean and Good-Looking Feet
Guest blog post from Guest blog post by Brigitte Evans, a Cosmetic Skin Care Consultant and an editor for highstylife.com
We often give different amounts of attention to different parts of our body during our skincare routine, and there are some parts that we neglect completely. One of the parts that get neglected is often our feet, as we tend to care more about things that people can see all the time. However, the health of our feet is not just a case of basic hygiene, but having unhealthy feet can make basic tasks like walking or driving harder. So, here are some tips for keeping your feet healthy and pretty.
Keep them dry
You’ve probably heard that the most common health issue with feet is fungus, and the more moisture there is, the more fungus can grow. This is why it’s crucial to keep your feet as dry as possible at all times. After you take a shower, dry your feet well and if needed, apply an anti-sweat product. If you’re applying any kind of cream, whether it’s medical or just a moisturizer, make sure it is completely soaked in before you put on socks or shoes. If your feet can’t breathe, they’ll sweat a lot and the sweat will, again, provide the perfect environment for bacteria to grow, so make sure you’re wearing socks and shoes through which your feet can breathe, and if you’re ever caught in a downpour and your feet get soaked, dry them off as soon as possible.
Wear the right shoes
Of course, nobody likes spending time in shoes too tight or uncomfortable, but with the “beauty is pain” mentality, people are more and more often cramming their feet into bad footwear. This is not only uncomfortable at the time, but it can cause lasting damage to your feet. Your feet will swell during the day, and if your shoes don’t allow for that space, or if they are tailored like that from the start (like pointed shoes), you can get ingrown toenails and calluses. The best thing to do is to find a website that has a wide range of comfortable shoes and pick out something for yourself that you like the look of but that will let your feet breathe and be comfortable throughout the day.
Go to a professional regularly
Having a pedicure isn’t just a matter of aesthetics. Medical pedicures are as important as anything else, and they are even more urgent if you have a problem with your feet. If you feel discomfort, notice sores or fungi, or find that your feet smell bad, you should see a specialist. Depending on your issue, you might have to visit either or dermatologist or a cosmetician. There are things you can fix by yourself – like dead skin on the heels or slightly ingrown toenails. However, if the problem is more serious, you should definitely let a specialist take care of it because you might just make it worse by trying to fix it yourself.
Don’t ignore symptoms
Like with many other parts of our body, people are often ashamed of talking about issues with their feet, and since it’s a spot that is easy to conceal, they’d rather pretend the problem doesn’t exist. This goes for anything from covering up discolored toenails with polish or wearing closed shoes because of dead skin buildup and cracks on your feet. These things, if not tended to properly, can become even worse and make you even more uncomfortable or require more serious procedures to fix down the line. Doctors, pharmacists and cosmetologists have seen everything and there’s no reason for fear or shame since most foot problems can be fixed with painless, non-invasive methods.
Taking good care of your feet and toenails is a part of basic hygiene and once it becomes a part of your routine, you won’t even know you’re doing it, but the changes will be there. We can all do a little extra to help our feet feel comfortable since they’re carrying us around every day and helping us go where we need to.