Homemade Remedies for Dry Feet and Cracked Heels – Find the Link Between Vinegar and Soft Skin

When it comes to hard skin or cracked heels, the obvious solution is to rush to the local convenience store and help yourself to creams and lotions. This sounds great on paper, but when you have to pay the bill, the enthusiasm turns to sadness.

Add to this that not all creams are just as efficient and most of them only work on short-term, and you’ve got several reasons to be in a constant search for homemade alternatives.

Even if you are on the right track and fully immersed in the exploration of do-it-yourself remedies, there is a good chance for vinegar to never cross your mind.

More sympathetic I can’t be, as my first reaction when hearing about the beneficial effects of vinegar on the hard skin in general and cracked heels, in particular, was a silly smirk.

My doubts were amplified by my visceral dislike for vinegar smell, but I am not ashamed to admit that I was as wrong as one can be.

Soften Tough Calluses + Pedicure Soak

To start with, rice vinegar is higher in vinegar content but less acidic and not so intense in flavor plus it has the ability to change the PH value of the skin and acts as a softener.

It can tackle the issue of cracked heels when being regularly used. Moreover, rice vinegar has anti-bacterial properties so it makes a great foot treatment because it can help to prevent and get rid of any nail fungus.

The commercial alternatives deliver similar results, but since this is not a problem likely to go away in a short period of time, costs also mount.

For the Soak:

You’ll Need:

• 1 part rice vinegar
• 1 part warm water

The first step in this treatment requires softening the calluses and removing the dead skin. Just use equal parts of warm water and rice vinegar and soak your feet for about 30 minutes. This will help soften the hard skin on your heels at the same time.

Then put your feet in cold water so that the blood circulation in your feet gets better. Pat dry your feet and exfoliate using the ingredients below, or you may apply petroleum jelly and wear a pair of socks immediately to lock in the moisture.

You’ll Need:

• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp course salt (I used the epsom salt)
• 1 tbsp rice vinegar
• 1 tbsp olive oil

Take the Dead Skin Off – Soften Your Feet

After the soak, try mixing the ingredients mentioned above and make a watery paste and use it to scrub the cracked heels and hard skin on your heels.

I noticed my heels are a lot softer even after the first soak + the scrub, and if you do this regularly for about few weeks, the improvement will be visible.

The honey helps the skin rejuvenate, and olive oil provide moisture to the feet while salt and vinegar have exfoliating properties that keep dryness at bay while scraping away the top layer of the dead skin.

I keep this combination in a small jar in the bathroom. The honey helps the skin rejuvenate, and the rice vinegar helps balance the skin’s alkalinity.

Vinegar is a key ingredient in homemade skin care remedies, but you have a lot of freedom in choosing the rest, with anything from olive oil to salve, being appropriate.

Another Option:

Petroleum jelly/ Vaseline does the trick for me as well if I don’t have much time to soak my feet.

After a hot bath or shower, while I’m cooling off, I rub some Vaseline into my dry as corn husk heels, put on a pair of bed socks or foot warmers (washable, of course) to lock the moisture in. Works wonder for me each time.