How to care for your feet to keep them smooth and healthy

Your feet carry you up and down every day. Learn how to take good care of them and show your gratitude for all the support they give you!

Your little feet may spend most of their days hidden away inside a nice sapato casual masculino, but you certainly want them to be in top condition when you show them off in a sandal. For that, you need to know and follow some foot care. Check it out:

1. Use comfortable shoes and rotate models

One of the main foot care is to choose shoes that provide the support and cushioning necessary for day-to-day use or for sports, that are comfortable and adapt to the shape of your feet.

Thin-toed shoes favor friction in the corners of the nails and can cause microtrauma, leading to ingrown and callus formation. Therefore, it is important to take turns with the models, avoiding always compressing the same points.

2. Know how to choose the heels

High heels are a detail that make all the difference in a look and make women look confident and powerful. If you are a fan of shoes that make you stand tall, know that you need to follow some tips for models that do not harm your feet.

For work and other day-to-day events, the ideal is to choose heels with a maximum of 4 cm. Higher heels should be reserved for special occasions, because they increase the risk of pain and sprains, in addition to damaging the spine by impairing balance.

3. Avoid walking barefoot

Taking off your shoes at the end of the day can be very relaxing, but the habit of walking barefoot can favor the appearance of cracks in the heel due to the friction of the feet with the ground, especially sand.

The cracks can be only superficial, or they can reach deeper layers, causing bleeding due to the thickening of the skin. This problem is even more common in people with diabetes, because the feet tend to be drier.

4. Take care of your nails and cuticles correctly

The care of the feet to keep them beautiful and healthy also includes the correct treatment of nails and cuticles. The main tips for this are:

• Trim your nails every two weeks and keep the square shape, which prevents them from ingrowns;
• Do not remove the corners, as this habit encourages nails to become ingrown or infected;
• Keep the cuticles moisturized and only push them with the spatula, without removing them completely. Remember that they are a protection against the entry of microorganisms;
• File only the tips of the nails to remove any roughness, without going over the surface of the nail, as this removes the keratin layer and causes deformation;
• Carry your own instrument kit when going to the pedicure to avoid the transmission of diseases.

5. Exfoliate your heels

If your feet are dry, the tip is to do an exfoliation to remove dead cells and leave them smoother, especially in the heel area. This procedure should be done at most once a week and without applying exaggerated force.

6. Use specific creams for your feet

Another tip to keep your feet smooth and soft is to invest in moisturizing with specific products for this region, such as creams based on 20% urea, glycerin, or karite butter.

As these creams have a thicker texture, it is recommended to use them at night, to prevent your feet from getting slippery during the day. To potentiate the moisturizing effect, put on a sock right after applying the product. If you have calluses, apply the cream and wrap plastic film around your feet for about 3 hours. After that, sand the callus, but without exaggerating.

7. Don’t forget the sunscreen

When you go to the beach or the pool, don’t forget to apply sunscreen on your feet. Many times this region is neglected and, as their skin is sensitive, they can suffer severe sunburn.

8. Know how to care for your feet to avoid bad odors

The suffocation caused by closed shoes favors the proliferation of microorganisms that feed on sweat and can cause unpleasant odors on the feet. To avoid this problem, it is important to follow some precautions:

• When bathing, wash your feet thoroughly using a natural scrub and moisturizing soap to remove all residues and microorganisms;
• Dry your feet very well, especially the spaces between your toes, in order to prevent the appearance of chilblains (mycosis between the toes);
• To avoid bromhidrosis on the feet (the popular “chulé”), use talc or deodorants suitable for this part of the body;
• Do not use the same shoes two days in a row, because this habit favors the emergence of unpleasant odors. The ideal is to let the shoes “rest”, preferably in the sun;
• Always use slippers when going to swimming pools, saunas, locker rooms, public showers and foot washing, because these places are prone to mycosis transmission.

9. Take care of your feet and relax

After supporting you all day long, your feet certainly deserve some “pampering”. For this, it is worth putting your legs and feet up, which improves circulation and fights swelling.

You can also prepare a foot scald with warm water and a few drops of essential oil or liquid soap. This care opens the pores and potentiates the effect of moisturizers, besides being an excellent way to relieve stress.