DIY Foot Peel: 5 Ways To Smooth Rough Feet

Excess skin can build up on the bottom of your feet from them becoming too dry, or from excess friction on your foot from rigorous exercise or ill-fitting footwear.

And, while a thicker layer of rough skin on your feet is pretty normal, if you want to get your feet silky smooth, there are some things that you can do at home.

In this article, we will go over 5 ways to help remove the buildup of rough skin on your feet.

What NOT to do for a foot peel

To get started, we need to let you know what things you should not be doing at home without the help of a professional.

First off - if you have wounds on your feet, nerve damage, or you are a diabetic, leave all foot scrubbing and peeling to a professional to make sure you do not accidentally injure your feet in the process.

If you do have one or more of these conditions, save all of the dead skin removal on your feet to a professional.

Also, all forms of razors or intense bladed scrapers should never be used at home due to the risk of injury when these tools are not used by a professional.

Check with your podiatrist before starting on a foot peel routine.

1. Salt foot scrub

After a shower or a bath, when the skin on the feet is soft, mix together some salt, coconut oil, and essential oils of your choice.

Scrub your feet with the salt mixture in gentle circular motions to help exfoliate off some of the rough skin.

Rinse your feet afterward to wash away any sloughed-off skin.

2. Lemon juice foot peel

Lemon juice not only smells great, but it contains acids that can help break down layers of dead skin.

Fill up a foot bath with warm water and squeeze the contents of one lemon into the bath.

Soak feet for 20-30 minutes and let the lemon juice do its thing.

After removing your feet from the soak, use a gentle exfoliating foot brush in circular motions to help slough off the loosened skin.

Moisturize feet afterward to make sure the skin does not dry out.

3. Epsom salt foot soak

Epsom salt isn’t just great for sore, aching muscles, it may help loosen up dry dead skin on the bottom of your feet too.

Fill up a foot bath with warm water and let ½ cup of epsom salt dissolve into the water.

Let your feet soak in the water for 30-60 minutes, mixing in additional warm water if necessary.

After your feet have been soaking for a while, you can also massage some dry epsom salt into your feet to help to really loosen up that dead skin.

After the soak, dry and moisturize your feet.

4. Shea butter foot scrub

This shea butter also uses epsom salt, and with the addition of the super-moisturizing shea butter, your feet will feel silky smooth.

Gather some shea butter, epsom salt, cornmeal, and rolled oatmeal.

Mix some of each ingredient together in a small bowl until it is easy to apply to your feet, the ratios are not important.

Gently massage the mixture into your feet focusing on the areas with lots of dead skin.

The epsom salt, cornmeal, and oats will be scratchy enough to start sloughing off the dead skin, while the shea butter soothes and moisturizes the feet.

Wash feet off well, and then dry and moisturize if needed.

5. Vinegar foot soak

While the smell of vinegar may be a little intense for some, vinegar contains natural mild acids that may help loosen dry dead skin on the bottom of your feet.

Find either apple cider vinegar or white vinegar and a foot bath for this foot soak.

Fill the foot bath with warm water and vinegar, making the solution 1 part vinegar to 2 parts warm water.

Soak your feet in the footbath for 10-20 minutes at a time to allow the natural acids to start breaking down the dead skin.

After soaking, exfoliate the feet with a gentle foto brush or scrub to remove the layers of dead skin.

Vinegar may be slightly drying to the skin, so be sure to apply a moisturizer to the feet after drying.

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*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.