A medieval beauty would certainly have envied a modern woman – to her services a gigantic beauty industry that allows her to look well-groomed at any age. True, in conditions of mega-employment, it is not enough time to turn to a beauty-specialist, and if there is at least some time left for the hair or hands, then the legs are often overlooked. Meanwhile, care for them is important not only for reasons of aesthetics of the body but also for its health. Why is it so important to watch the feet, what to do if they have become imperfect, and how to clean hardened skin on the feet if you can not make a pedicure in the salon?
What will hardened skin on the feet tell?
The condition of the skin of the legs reveals a lot of secrets about a person, for example, about the nature of his work, habits and even diseases. So, from corns and corns most often suffer those who, by the nature of their activities, have to stand or walk for a long time – hairdressers, cooks, salespeople, couriers. Doctors even have an appropriate term – professional hyperkeratosis. If such a diagnosis is made, simply cleaning the heels of the formations is not enough.
The development of the disease is due to the fact that regular mechanical pressure on the heels in the same places forces the body to protect them with a kind of “armor”. By analogy, hardened skin of the feet appear in the following cases:
- the constant wearing of tight, cramped and uncomfortable shoes;
- abuse of high heels;
- playing sports and frequent walking barefoot;
- bad posture, weak muscular corset;
- lack of regular hygiene procedures.
It is not uncommon for hyperkeratosis to be a local symptom of individual diseases — osteochondrosis, flatfoot, metabolic disorders, and ringworm. It is possible to judge what exactly led to the appearance of corns, having carefully examined the soles before cleaning them:
- The presence of nodules, corns or peeling on their entire surface indicates a common ailment, for example, fungal infection;
- If calluses appeared on the outside of the heel, you need to look for the cause of a change in the motor stereotype in order to exclude diseases of the spine;
- Coarsening on the back edge of the heel usually occurs in lovers of tall heels and platforms;
- Lesions of the anterior and inner part of the foot appear actively with flat-footedness and/or overweight.
Attempts to get rid of plantar hyperkeratosis without addressing the root cause are likely to be in vain. It is also unacceptable to allow a solution to the problem of drift – there is a big risk that instead of hardened skin, bleeding painful cracks will appear. If all of the above reasons are excluded, you can try to remove the ugly growths on the soles with the help of one of the proven home remedies, the benefit is that there is a whole arsenal of them.
Ways and stages of getting rid of corns
Heel care is recommended throughout the year, and not just on the eve of the holiday season. If there are no contraindications, pedicure at home should be done every 3–4 weeks, and in summer it is best to switch to a 2-week regimen. Before cleaning the coarsened heels, they should be moistened and softened, and only then proceed to remove or smooth the corns. To moisturize the hardened skin, a variety of baths are used, and the direct removal of roughness can be carried out mechanically or chemically.
Physiotherapy at home – recipes softening foot baths
In order to effectively cleanse the hardened skin of orogost and at the same time not cause harm to it, professionals recommend to steam it thoroughly at first. Foot baths are the most pleasant way to achieve this. To hold them you need a basin of a suitable size, a comfortable chair and warm, by no means hot, water. Its optimum temperature is 35–40 ° C and the duration of the procedure is from 15 to 30 minutes.
The procedure of taking a foot bath is simple: it is enough to immerse them in water up to the lower third of the legs and then enjoy the pleasant sensations. To maintain a constant temperature, occasionally you can add a little hotter water. To enhance the effect, it is worth using various additives (their number is indicated on 10 liters):
- soda – 30 g;
- sea salt – 100 g;
- potato starch – 30 g;
- beer yeast – 40 g;
- hydrogen peroxide – 5 tbsp. l .;
- mustard – 15 g
It is also advisable to add plant-flower infusions to the bath – they not only help to relieve corns, but also eliminate other possible problems. Thus, sage promotes healing from microcracks and hyper-ability, lime blossom relieves puffiness and heaviness in the legs, and spurge counteracts the development of fungal infections. To prepare a healing broth for 1 liter of boiling water, 1 tablespoon of dry raw material, boiled and steamed for 20 minutes is sufficient.
Herbal gatherings have been and will be popular because due to the complex effect they allow getting rid of coarse sites faster. The following recipes are considered the most proven:
- in equal proportions mix coltsfoot, nettle, St. John’s Wort and 15 minutes to cook 5 tbsp. l mixtures in 2 l of water;
- oak bark, rowan leaves, and wormwood pour boiling water (1 l – 2 tbsp. of each type of medicinal raw materials) and insist a quarter of an hour;
- 2 tbsp. l mix nettle and hypericum add to a liter of boiling water and cool.
The resulting product should be poured into the pelvis and put his feet in it for 15-30 minutes. After steaming, the dead cells turn white and they become easy to clean. In the case of a small horniness at this stage, you can stop by going straight to the peeling and applying a cream or mask. But if the natoptysh are many, they will have to be cleaned due to coarser intervention.
Quickly and decisively – how to remove the horniness with a knife
No need to be frightened – no one advises to cut off the corns with a knife, or a razor, or with any other household appliances. To do this, there are special tools and cosmetic compositions that help to clean the heels of growths:
- soft peels and scrubs with abrasive particles in the composition;
- brushes, metal scrapers, natural pumice, ceramic files;
- Pedicure machines (not to be confused with shaving) and milling machines.
Scrubbing refers to the gentle treatment of the heels. It allows you to clean only the invisible eye education, but you can contact him more often – once a week after taking a bath or shower. Moisturizing scrub can be done independently:
- To 10 ml of shower gel add 10 ml of coconut oil.
- In the resulting liquid pour 25 g of ground dry coffee (you can sleep).
- Knead and apply the product on the hardened skin of the heels.
After application, rub your feet with massage movements for 5–10 minutes. You should not expect a tangible result right away – it will manifest itself after a few weeks of regular use of the product.
Applying hard brushes and scrapers, it is important not to overdo it – movements with them should be confident, but not too strong. Their rougher side is designed to remove bludgeons, and they can not rub areas with delicate skin. For them, there is a fine-grained side of the file, which is also used for “finishing” grinding feet.
As for the machines for trimming pedicure, in order to avoid injury and infection, it is important to use them correctly:
- not to lend the tool to strangers and even relatives;
- for each trimming operation, use a new, just-printed blade;
- in extreme cases, before cleaning the coarse heels with a previously used blade, it must be disinfected;
- it is necessary to clean the cornified layer carefully, with minimal pressure, moving from the edges of the heel towards the center;
- to take any painful sensation as a signal to weaken the zeal, or even stop the operation.
At first, doing trimming pedicure at home seems difficult, but with the advent of dexterity and a long-awaited effect, it begins to give pleasure.
Purification of harsh heels in the home chemical laboratory
Much more evenly to clean the coarsen heels can be acid peeling or so-called keratolytic. In the fight against hyperkeratosis, various alkalis and acids are effective. Their action is based on the dissolution of keratin and the destruction of the bonds between the cornified cells, which leads to their active exfoliation.
Some folk remedies show keratolytic effects:
- apple cider vinegar, apple juice, and onion juice;
- celandine, urea, some essential oils;
- a mixture of soap and baking soda.
To obtain the effect of vinegar, juice or a mixture should be applied on the heels, then wrap them with plastic wrap and leave to warm for 20 minutes. Then use sawing to clean the hardened skin on the feet.
Purchased preparations based on salicylic or carboxylic acids act more pronounced. They are presented in different forms – gel, liquid, solid. The method of use must comply with the instructions of the manufacturer. Means it is important to use with all the necessary precautions – if the heels are cleaned carelessly, dermatitis, ulceration, weakening of skin pigmentation often occur.
Having achieved the result, you should not stop – it is better to clean the feet once more with pumice stone than to start all the work over again. As a preventive measure for relapse, it is recommended that the feet be made moisturizing baths, a soft peeling is done, and appropriate creams and masks are applied. It is important not only to clean the feet of hardened skin in a timely manner but also to control the process. If ogrubelis cannot be removed with the help of folk remedies and corns appear, again and again, it’s time to think to consult a podologist, orthopedist or dermatologist.
