Winter can bring up skin issues such as eczema, psoriasis, and dry skin. Cracked heels can also be one of them. In fact, it is one of the most frequent podiatry issue (Mohammed et al, 2017). The fissures on the heels can show breaks, cuts or crevices in the skin, which can aggravate, become sore and hurt (Wadekar et al., 2021).
Cracked heels are linked to lack of foot care and moisturising so with some care and attention this situation can be something from the past.
What can be done with cracked heels?
Foot bath
Soaking your feet in warm water with a small addition of apple cider vinegar helps to soften the skin. Scrubbing gently the feet with a pumice stone after the foot bath helps in dislodging old, dried skin.
Moisturise
Following foot bath and scrubbing, comes the moisturising. This is done with beneficial ingredients such as:
Beeswax has emollient properties.
Coconut oil is recognised as having anti-bacterial, antiseptic, wound healing properties.
Almond oil is known for its fatty acids, assisting in speedy healing of heel crevices minimising skin's water loss.
Olive oil is reported having anti-oxidant, and anti-inflammatory benefits supporting repair of the skin. Applying a skincare containing olive oil act as skin barrier facilitating the the skin's integrity process.
Jojoba oil has known anti-inflammatory effects (Lin et al., 2017).
Calendula officinalis has been used since the beginning of the humanity (Riffat, et al. 2017). Research has reported that calendula cream use repaired achilles tendon attributed to the the increase collagen production alongside the non-collagen protein, and arranging the proteins of collagen (Aro et al., 2013). This is quite impressive results. We can imagine the repair properties calendula hold.
When choosing a skincare to apply onto cracked heels I suggest to read carefully the complete list of ingredients and keep some guiding principles in mind:
The shortest the list of ingredients the better the product. The simplest composition with wholesome ingredients can bring excellent results with less risk of adverse reaction. In our blog on "What does natural skincare means" we mention some ingredients to avoid while the blog "7 mistakes when choosing a skincare" contain informative elements regarding the selection of a suitable skincare for your needs.
Our soft skin balm contains many beneficial ingredients with many clients reporting excellent results for their feet, and dry skin.
With spring around the corner, now is a great time to look after our feet.
Refrerences
Arora D, Rani A, Sharma A. A review on phytochemistry and ethnopharmacological aspects of genus Calendula. Pharmacogn Rev. 2013 Jul;7(14):179-87. doi: 10.4103/0973-7847.120520. PMID: 24347926; PMCID: PMC3841996.
John, Riffat & Jan, Dr. (2017). Calendula Officinalis-An Important Medicinal Plant with Potential Biological Properties. Proceedings of the Indian National Science Academy. 93. 10.16943/ptinsa/2017/49126.
Lin TK, Zhong L, Santiago JL. Anti-Inflammatory and Skin Barrier Repair Effects of Topical Application of Some Plant Oils. Int J Mol Sci. 2017 Dec 27;19(1):70. doi: 10.3390/ijms19010070. PMID: 29280987; PMCID: PMC5796020
Mohammed, Faisal, Sreekant Vishnu Joshi, and Shridhara Bairy Tantrady. "Clinical efficacy of Vrukshamla Beeja Taila (Kokum Butter) in the Management of Padadari (Cracked Heels)." Journal of Ayurveda Medical Sciences 2.2 (2017).
Wadekar, Puja Haridas, and Vaishali Potnis. "A Review on Heel Fissures and its Management." International Journal of Research in Engineering, Science and Management 4.2 (2021): 96-98.