Well, it’s summer and that means sandals. I normally do a good job of exfolidating my feet, especially the side of my big toes and heels all winter with a pumice stone so by the summer they look ok. I didn’t this year and on memorial weekend those big toes looked awful. Hard, calloused and cracked. Even lotion wasn’t doing much. ekk.
So I got online to try to find a quick fix. I did and it worked in 6 days!! Truly.
In the mornings, I wiped my big toes and heels with 2% salacylic acid (think stridex pads). Before Bed, I started by using my ped-egg and then moisturing. The next morning, the pads again and then the following night I used a pumice stone and moisturize.
I kept this up religiously since last Tuesday and meet feet look 100% better. As as matter of fact, they look great.
So…if you need a quick fix…those pads word amazingly.
I use the ped-egg and moisturizer, but had never thought of the pads. Thanks, conmama!
So what is the purpose of the pads? Do the chemicals in the solution somehow soften the area??? Or dry it out?
???
I have special socks I wear after moisturizing my feet at night (I use Burts Bees) It kept my feet nice and smooth all winter - but you do have to do it all the time.
To be honest, not sure how or why the pads work. You would think it would dry it out, like it would one’s face that had acne. Instead, it makes it softer and the dried out looking cracked look is gone. The acid must slowly eat that dried stuff away along with exfoliating. I’ve used the ped-egg and pumice stone for years, and my feet look better in a week using the pads along with them than they ever have.
Amlactin Ultra contains Alpha Hydroxyl Acid. This lotion is a bit pricey but it is amazing. I think it probably does what your combination of salycic acid plus lotion accomplishes.
Salicylic acid is used to “burn off” warts (in much higher concentration) and as an exfoliator. So yes, it does help to break down dead skin cells.
http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/5919712
I’m telling you, try Baby Foot 
I am going to share my somewhat related and probably tmi foot beauty tip. I was getting this weird powdery itchy spot on my toenail, and I looked up what product to put on it. But none of the products had great reviews. So I saw a tip to use Vicks vapor rub (or store brand equivalent) directly on it and it worked like a charm within a week!! So hopefully that will help someone else out there
Wow, that’s INTENSE! So you have used that product PG??? “Sheets” of skin!!!
I think I read that Baby foot is not good on nail polish
i typically don’t wear nail polish on my toes so I don’t know if Baby Foot affects it. I don’t particularly have dry skin or cracked heels or any of that - but I have a client who makes beauty products (brand names you’d all know) and she clues us in to the most effective stuff.
I’ve done it twice. It takes a week and peels off like a sunburn. Doesn’t hurt at all but you are shedding.
^^It is a chemical burn in fact. Without the damaging effects of UV rays.
^^^
lol…where else can we use it???
It comes in little booties that you slip your feet into. It’s not like it’s a jar or bottle.
Thanks Bunsenberner for that link…explains nicely how the pads work and why. I’m not ashamed of my big toes now…haha!
I tried Baby Foot last summer - read about in a magazine, discovered our local diabetic shoe store carried it. Warning: until your feet are finished peeling, you don’t want to wear sandals. So the timing of the application is important. Probably best to use it in late spring (if you are in a climate that is still chilly in the late spring) so your feet are presentable when it’s summer.