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5 Easy Foot Scrubs You Can Make At Home For Supple, Smooth Soles

Jamie Schneider
Author:
November 04, 2021
Jamie Schneider
Senior Beauty & Lifestyle Editor
By Jamie Schneider
Senior Beauty & Lifestyle Editor
Jamie Schneider is the Senior Beauty Editor at mindbodygreen. She has a B.A. in Organizational Studies and English from the University of Michigan, and her work has appeared in Coveteur, The Chill Times, and Wyld Skincare.
November 04, 2021
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Did you know that calluses, unwelcome as they may be, actually form to protect you? The skin on your feet takes quite the beating, as it encounters a ton of friction on the daily (from running, too-tight shoes, and the like). As a result, areas that experience the most trauma naturally thicken to shield your skin from those bumps and dings. Neat, no?

The problem arises when you don't tend to those calluses regularly: If left untreated, those rough patches will continue to build up and up, which can cause the skin to crack—and when it's open to the environment, bacteria can easily sneak inside. 

So if you haven't thought twice about exfoliating your feet, well, consider this your sign to send some love to your soles. Below, five foot scrubs that will buff those calluses baby-smooth:

1.

Salt, sugar & olive oil scrub

Gloria L. Williams, Oprah's pedicurist and founder of Footnanny, swears by this simple sea-salt/sugar scrub to buff away calluses. "This is something easy for you to try at home," she offers. 

Ingredients:

  • ½ cup sugar
  • ½ cup sea salt
  • ⅓ cup olive oil
  • Optional: 2 to 3 drops of your favorite essential oil, like peppermint or lavender. "For a kick of aroma," says Williams.

Directions:

  1. Pour the sugar and salt into a mixing bowl and stir until combined. 
  2. Drizzle in the olive oil slowly "and blend to your desired level of thickness," Williams says. The more oil you use, the thinner your scrub. At this point, you can drop in your essential oils, if you so choose. 
  3. Mix until it forms a paste. Use immediately or store in a cool, dry area with an airtight lid.
2.

Baking soda scrub

Baking soda has a slightly abrasive texture that can gently slough off dead skin—that's why it's formulated into many body scrubs, face scrubs, and even scalp scrubs. Here's what you'll need for this two-ingredient wonder: 

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup baking soda
  • 3 to 6 tablespoons oil of choice (jojoba, olive, almond, etc.). 

Directions:

  1. In a mixing bowl, combine your baking soda and oil, adding in 1 tablespoon of oil at a time until you reach your desired consistency. 
  2. Combine well until it forms a paste. Use immediately or store in a cool, dry area with an airtight lid.
3.

Honey-shea butter scrub

Shea butter and honey tend to blend together better than an oil (far less sticky), so it makes a better base. "Honey is a wonderful ingredient to add since it is a natural humectant, meaning it helps skin retain moisture," Jana Blankenship, product formulator and founder of the natural beauty brand Captain Blankenship, told us about a honey body scrub

Use whatever physical exfoliator you have on hand—brown sugar, sea salt, and finely ground flours all make top choices. Might we suggest oat flour, as the ingredient can help soothe inflammation and support barrier function (perfect for more sensitive soles).

Ingredients:

  • ½ cup oat flour
  • ⅓ cup shea butter
  • 3 to 5 tablespoons raw honey

Directions:

  1. Combine your oat flour and shea butter in a mixing bowl. 
  2. Add in a few tablespoons of honey, and mix until blended evenly.
  3. Use immediately or store in a cool, dry area with an airtight lid.
4.

Coffee-coconut sugar scrub

Coffee and caffeine are lauded in skin care circles for stimulating blood flow, which can make your soles appear radiant and bright. Not to mention, the confection smells just divine. Feel free to add a few dashes of vanilla extra for even more of a dessert-inspired scrub. 

Ingredients: 

  • ½ cup brewed coffee grounds (Make sure the grounds have cooled before using.)
  • ½ cup sugar
  • ⅓ cup melted coconut oil
  • Optional: 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

  1. In a mixing bowl, combine the sugar and coffee grounds.
  2. Slowly drizzle in the melted coconut oil until you reach your desired consistency. Add in the vanilla extract if using, and stir until well combined. 
  3. Use immediately, or store in a cool, dry area with an airtight lid.
5.

ACV scrub

ACV is naturally full of AHAs, specifically lactic, citric, and malic acids, which can give your foot scrub a chemical boost. Since you're adding a chemical exfoliator, you might want to go easy with your physical base—perhaps use finely milled oat or almond flour instead of abrasive sea salt. You don't want to irritate the feet, here. 

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup oat flour
  • ⅓ cup jojoba oil
  • Dash of apple cider vinegar. "A teaspoon or even less," Marisa Plescia, research scientist at clean beauty e-tailer NakedPoppy, previously told us about the recipe

Directions:

  1. Mix the oat flour and jojoba oil slowly into a bowl until you reach a paste-like consistency. 
  2. Add your ACV and stir until evenly blended. 
  3. Use immediately, or store in a cool, dry area with an airtight lid.

How to use a foot scrub correctly.

Don't just slap on the scrub and call it a day. Mind these tips: 

1.

Clean and soak your feet. 

To help loosen the top layer of skin, you'll want to give yourself a quick foot bath—that way, the water can penetrate the skin and make dead cells easier to remove. Plus, as board-certified dermatologist Loretta Ciraldo, M.D., FAAD, once told us about lukewarm baths, soaking can actually swell up the surface area of the skin and allow for more penetration of skin-loving ingredients (in this case, those good-for-you oils and butters mixed into your foot scrub). 

Simply fill your tub, sink, or basin with lukewarm water and soak for five minutes; you can also drop in some Epsom salts or add a few drops of a nourishing oil or soap for extra skin softening. 

2.

Apply the scrub. 

Now, the fun bit: Scoop a dollop of your favorite scrub onto those soles and scrub away. Rub the goop in circular motions over cracked, dry areas until they're touchably soft.

Remember: With physical exfoliators, you control the pressure—and while you may benefit from medium pressure on tough heels and calluses, be careful not to scrape up the more delicate skin on your soles. "Rubbing too hard can aggravate your skin," Plescia warns, which can only result in angry, irritated feet. 

3.

Rinse and moisturize. 

The moisturizing step is, arguably, just as important as the exfoliation bit. After scrubbing, you want to seal all those skin-healthy oils and lipids into the skin, as well as the water you just used to rinse. An oil, lotion, or foot cream keeps everything locked in—without it, your skin may appear even drier than it was before. 

"Since the manual exfoliation of the stone can cause microabrasions on the skin, it's important to apply moisturizer to help repair the small cracks in the skin," board-certified dermatologist Purvisha Patel, M.D., founder of Visha Skincare, once told us about using a pumice stone.

Find a foot cream loaded with emollients, which have the ability to sit in between skin cells, fill in any micro-cracks, and soften irritated skin. (Here, our favorites.) Hot tip: You don't need to get a foot-specific cream, if you don't want to. Hand creams effortlessly play double-duty for both your hands and feet.

4.

Use once a week.

The exact number of times to exfoliate differs for everyone, but you definitely don't want to overdo it—yes, even on rough calluses. "The most important tip is that 'less is more.' You want to exfoliate just enough to increase cell turnover and reveal fresh new skin," Ife Rodney, M.D., board-certified dermatologist and founder of Eternal Dermatology, told us about how often you should exfoliate. You don't want to massage in a foot scrub, slather on a foot peel, and sink your toes in an apple cider vinegar soak all on the same day (or even in the same week); your feet may become irritated or inflamed.  

When it comes to any type of exfoliation, a once-a-week cadence is a solid place to start: See how your skin reacts, and work your way up from there. 

The takeaway. 

For soft, supple feet, foot scrubs work wonders. The skin runs a bit tougher (especially on tough calluses), so you can have a bit more freedom with DIY ingredients that wouldn't necessarily work for other parts of your body or face. As always, though, make sure to patch-test before slathering on—painful, tender soles are certainly worse than dry heels.

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