Should I be Sanding My Feet!

[joebartels]

Okay I realize I'm setting myself up for some classic one-liners

:verymad: Keep 'em to yourself! :verymad:

What do you do for big ol' calluses on your feet?

[Snick33]

Yet another thread gone astray

GeorgeAZ, I'm sorry, but I'm placing you on double secret probation for even bringing up the "Hot Wax" thingy.

Joe . . . . try gluing some 80 grit on the soles of your Tevas. I don't know why I didn't think of this before.

[ck_1]

This is a perfect example of why I come to this site...

everyone is so darn helpful!


Consider yourself lucky Joe...all this free advise.

[snow22_5150]

Ha you guys crack me up!

[joebartels]

Yeah! That's what I'm talkin' about :!:

I knew I wasn't the only nut hiding away in the squirels cheek pouch.

This is gonna be HUGE! They'll be sanding their feet from Mission Beach to Halifax!

I gotta get on the phone with Makita & DeWalt

[olesma]

Joe - you will, of course, let us know what treatment has the best effects. If I have everything right you should do the following:

1. Have your significant other liberally apply whipped cream with feathers to the calused portions of your feet - let stand till you feel "tickled"
2. Remove cream, begin "pre-sanding" caluses with 80 grit, move progressively to 200 wet
3. Check calus levels, if more care is needed...
4. Attempt a belt sander dipped in hot wax. (avoid hitting "high" speed as the wax could splatter)
5. Grind random pharmecuticals into petroleum jelly, apply liberally, cover with steel wool, wait 3 days (avoid gang-green)
6. Peel off remainder of feet
7. Get a prosthetic limb - problem solved.

If all else fails, just open that can of worms and let it take care of you...

[azhiker96]

I guess I should check the site more often. I've hit this topic a little late in the game but what the heck. Joe, I also "sand" occasionally. My wife bought a pink handled, plastic, two sided foot rasp. It's made by Dr. Scholls. One side is course and the other fine. I interpret them as "gentle" and "no discernable effect". I'd guess she bought it at Bath and Body or Sally's or some other bath/hygiene/beauty store. It works best right after I step out of the shower. Some of the other suggestions sound good but I'd pass on the toe paint though. My stepdaughter put some clearcoat with glitter on my toes for fun a couple of years ago. I forgot about it until later that day when they attracted attention at the apartment complex's swimming pool but THAT's another story.

[Snick33]

My stepdaughter put some clearcoat with glitter on my toes for fun a couple of years ago. I forgot about it until later that day when they attracted attention at the apartment complex's swimming pool but THAT's another story.

Reminds me of of many years ago when I was getting dressed in a golf club shower room and I glanced over at my golfing partner and noticed he was wearing pink, frilly, silk panties. I asked him how long he had been wearing those things and he said ever since his wife found a pair of them in the glove box of his truck. Badda Bing, Badda Boom . . . . . . . .

[GeorgAZ]

So it's the HAZ foot fetish site-now the truth be known!! 8O What a hoot!! Yes the Hawaian pedicure dips are awesome with scented wax-it realllly helps+feels great! Seriously,there is a sander available at Sally's Beauty Supply that is one of the best dry foor sanders on the market(don't forget I'm in the industry) It's called Sof'feet callous reducer, about $7.99,is a screen-type mesh (removable),on a 5"plastic handle. It REALLY gets the stuff off without damaging the tender tissue beneath! (Sally's sells to the public) Check it out!!

[Pellegrino]

Geez - wanted to post a thread on these damn callouses I'm fighting only to find out I missed this two day extravaganza back in June.

I've tried all the treatments you all are talking about and a few more. So my daily routine includes pouring liquid bandage down my Grand Canyon size crater; then covering the entire callous with those new big cushy "skin" type bandages then wrapping tape around the foot to hold it all in place. My employees have begun calling me "Flashdance girl." At least this enables me to exercise and hike.

I have made some progress but if I don't stay on top of it, it gets worse and worse. My neighbor did say to go to the Dr. but I haven't. I LOVE pedicures (I like little daisies painted on my big toe) but avoid them altogether when the Grand Canyon is present. Don't think its a good idea to put an open wound in the community foot bath.

Dr. Scholls does have some great products, but it appears to me the best thing you can do is sanding (I also cut), oiling up at night and wear socks and shoes. Something I refuse to do in the summer due to "hot feet."

BTW ~ does anyone else have "hot feet"? Sometimes in the evening the botom of my feet are on FIRE :twisted: 8O ~ Avon has a great cool feet spray that is a godsend.

Thanks for listening to my toes ~ I mean my woes.

[evenstarx3]

Kelly, make sure all the soap has been thoroughly rinsed out of your socks; that may be the cause of the burning feet.

[Donald]

Heel cracking tends to increase with age. (This is not based on a scientific study, even if there is one.) It must be relatively common, Dr. Scholl's sells "Cracked Heel Cream" and I imagine it has the right chemicals, including things to minimize chance of infection and reduce pain.

My Doctor suggested pure Lanolin. If you apply Lanolin concientiously, it works. A small to medium size tube is about $3 and lasts a long time, if you can find it. (One pharmacy had it, but has been sold out for months. It was in the general chemicals and ointment shelf.) Good for your hands too as you apply it. It is also available in the section for nursing mothers, to treat sore/cracked nipples, from nursing. I presume from this that it is also safe on one's lips. The problem with buying from this section is that the price is too high.

I wonder if the special sanding screen mentioned in this thread is like the one for wallboard joints/plaster sanding?

Since cutting has been mentioned: As a knifeknutt, who does not hunt, I couldn't justify spending more money on a special trimming device :roll: have to use the sharp edges for something, but I would not try it on someone else.

A Porter Cable finishing sander works great, just move it around to avoid friction burns.

Back to 100% Lanolin. Since no one had mentioned it, I thought I would. It is somewhat thick and as it warms in your hand and on your foot becomes more spreadable. Also useful on those dry areas around nails, finger or toe, especially if you have been using some strong cleaners/solvents or the like.

[Wiz]

Wow, I wish I'd seen this thread before! Made to order for me!

Lanolin: I don't know much about these things, but I believe Goop hand cleaner (available at Checker auto, etc) is made from lanolin. Do not take this as authoritative - it may contain something harmful to your feet. Anyone else know?

The rest of you guys: What a bunch of preeverts! I knew there was something I really liked about this site! Whipped cream - sheesh!

[joebartels]

a rotary pumice stone is probably the ticket these day

just a friendly fifteen year update
Back at the turn of the century, thick dry skin cracking on my feet was a mild concern. Despite all the intriguing advice above I just kept sanding my feet. Dead skin build up tapered about ten years ago when I started hiking locally on a daily basis. After my recent hiatus and return to hiking the ol' issue resurfaced. Several 2-3 mile walks on blacktop went fine. One local hike pushing off odd angled rocks had my baby soft feet cracking to the oldies. That was last Tuesday, sanded 'em down and they're holding fine.

[RedRoxx44]

SIgh, I miss Wiz and Snick33

[Sredfield]

Mom's Stuff Salve, google it. A big hit with river runners who are in and out of the water constantly.

[neilends]

This is what I use. Use with care. It can hurt if you're careless.

https://www.amazon.com/Tip2Toe-Professi ... ikearizona

[Paintninaz]

Several 2-3 mile walks on blacktop went fine. One local hike pushing off odd angled rocks had my baby soft feet cracking to the oldies.

Look at you! Hiking enough to get callouses again!

[Al_HikesAZ]

Are you talking sandpaper? I've used a Pedi Egg.https://www.walgreens.... This is more like a file. Also helps to use https://www.walgreens....

[outdoor_lover]

I just use a Razor Blade....

[amy1300]

Yes, Joe, loads of women "sand" their feet, though we generally use more "feminine" kinds of tools for the purpose. The best ones collect the skin cells rather than let them hit the floor - which could save your relationship.

On a more serious note, I recommend looking at "The Trigger Point Therapy Workbook" by Clair Davies. It's found on Amazon at this page: https://www.amazon.com/Trigger-Point-Th ... ikearizona
But I imagine it's also in many libraries. Davies has a section (I think at the back of the book) about a callus pattern that is associated with "Morton's Foot" -- the condition where your 2d toes may be longer than your Great toes. Even if they don't look longer at first glance, if you bend down the first 2 toes on your foot and the joint where your 2d toe attaches to the foot is farther out than the same joint of your great toe, you have a Morton's foot. The callus pattern is a callus on the inside of your great toe, a callus on the side of the joint where your great toe attaches to the foot ("ball" of the foot), and a skinny callus on the bottom of the foot, that runs in a short line between your 1st and 2nd metatarsals. The solution, according to Davies, is to cut out a piece of moleskin about the size of a quarter and glue it to the underside of the footbeds you use in your shoes, right under the great toe joint. This will make your great toe joint do its job better and take more of the stress of each step, rather than allowing the 2d toe joint to take on too much. (Incidentally, if I recall right it can also help prevent bunions of the great toe joint - or stop them from getting worse.) I tried this on my recent 8-day hiking trip and did not notice much of a difference, so I'm getting ready to add something thicker to the right place on the footbeds, to see whether it helps.

So there's my 2 cents worth on calluses -- FWIW.