Did Your Flip Flops Do A Number On Your Heels This Summer?

1 min

Dry weather, prolonged standing and walking, and some types of footwear such as flip flops and other open-heeled shoes can all create cracks (also known as “fissures”) in the skin of your heels. These simple, protective steps can help prevent further damage and promote healing:

1. Exfoliate. Use a wet pumice stone in the shower and gently rub your heels and calluses. This will help reduce the thickness of the calluses and allow lotions to better penetrate these areas. If there is still quite a bit of thick skin left, consider a warm water soak prior to exfoliating.
2. Moisturize. Moisturizers can help resolve most small fissures, but if you have serious cracks, look for a product designed for feet and heels that has glycolic and/or salicylic acids, which may provide deeper penetration of the skin as well as help breakdown the thicker parts. Slather it on before bed, and then cover your feet with a pair of cotton socks.
3. Choose appropriate footwear. Open-backed shoes such as flip-flops allow the skin in the heel area to expand and crack. Opt for closed-back shoes with solid support at least until your feet heal.

And one other option to try is super glue on heel cracks – I’ve applied it before and found it to work well on heel fissures. Just be cautious not to make a mess and get into a sticky situation!

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