If you’ve resolved to project a more polished image this year, make sure you look good from head to toe. Being well coiffured, beautifully made-up and stylishly togged won’t cut it if your toenails are dirt-encrusted and your heels cracked.  

Even if you can shove your feet into a pair of stockings or shoes, you can’t hide them forever! You’ll surely be tempted to slip them into all those pretty, fashionable sandals. When you do, make sure they don’t let you down!

Take steps to care for your feet

If you don’t indulge in regular foot spas and salon pedicures, you can still keep your feet nice, soft and pretty simply by practising good grooming habits.

• Establish a ritual of cleaning your feet whenever you take a bath. After the skin on your feet has softened, slough away calluses and the build-up of dead cells on the soles and heels with a pumice stone.



• After your bath, dry your feet thoroughly and apply a generous amount of moisturising foot cream. It’s best to do this before you go to bed; wear a pair of cotton socks to allow the moisturiser to work more effectively.



• Keep your toenails in good shape – clip them regularly and buff them with a nail brush. Pretty them up with nail polish.



• Treat your feet to a good soak and massage occasionally.

Cracked heels and calluses

Most common foot problems, such as cracked heels and calluses, arise from neglect.

The thick layer of skin around the heel is more likely to crack when it becomes drier and less elastic because of ageing, dietary deficiencies, ill-health, and physical wear and tear.   

Calluses usually form on the ball of the foot, the heel and the underside of the big toe, as the frequent pressure and friction exerted on these areas cause the surface layer of the skin to thicken.

Wearing shoes that fit properly, and regularly keeping your feet clean and moisturised will help prevent such problems. If they do occur, tackle them early. They are more difficult to treat when the condition worsens, as regular moisturisers won't be able to penetrate the thick layers of dead skin. And if the fissures in cracked heels deepen and start to bleed, you should seek medical treatment quickly, as infection may set in.