Waking up with the callus after hours of walking or participating in other physically demanding activities can be painful. Foot care is something that should be taken seriously. It is important to keep your feet healthy and free from any problems such as calluses. Calluses are thick and hardened layers of skin that form on the feet over time due to friction and pressure. They can be painful and cause discomfort during activities. Fortunately, there are a simple tools and gels that you can use to keep your feet healthy and free from calluses.
A good callus remover will not only assist to eliminate the tough crusty buildup, but it will also help to maintain feet smooth and flake-free all around, all the time. This is because it will help to remove the hard skin that forms throughout the summer.
Best Callus Removers in UK
PurSources Urea 40% Foot Cream 4 oz – Best Callus Remover
You can literally feel this cream moisturizing your feet and softening your skin from the minute you put it on. It’s formulated with therapeutically potent ingredients such as Tea Tree Oil, Aloe, Chamomile Extract, and urea 40% cream, which effectively soften and remove calluses, exfoliate dead skin, and promote new growth. Urea is an important element of the maintenance of the skin since it serves as both a natural moisturising element that binds water and draws it into the skin, where it belongs, and as an exfoliating agent that gets rid of broken, dead skin cells.
The product is refreshing and pleasantly fragranced. Imagine having the skin on your feet feel as healthy and as nourishing as the skin on your face! One of our favorite aspects of this product is that it is 100% guaranteed. This product is made in the USA in a facility that is FDA registered and is not tested on animals. This product comes with a free pumice stone and brush to help the cream do its job.
Microplane Colossal Pedicure Rasp Foot File
We knew we wanted to compare a simple, manual-style callus remover and this rasp fit the bill perfectly. It has thousands of positive reviews, so we included in this guide.
Its large surface area could reach all areas of our feet and sloughed away our calluses with ease. We found it to be especially effective after soaking our feet in Epsom salts and using a pumice stone. Alternatively, you can soak for 30 minutes in Tea Tree Epsom salts AFTER exfoliating for beautiful, soft feet. Other than using natural materials such as pumice, this is the oldest and most tried-and-true method for cleaning up your feet to reveal baby-smooth skin.
DynaBliss Electric Rechargeable Callus Remover
The DynaBliss electric callus remover has an rpm of 2500 which means it can offer more exfoliation versus slower models. It has a built-in 2000 mAh battery that can be recharged more than one thousand times during its lifetime, which means this product will last many years. It provides two speeds to choose from, and since the speed is customizable, it can even be more effective than a manual rasp.
DynaBliss electric pedicure equipment may polish away rough, dry, hard, and calloused skin in a gentle and effective manner in a matter of seconds, resulting in skin that is notably softer, smoother, more refined, and more attractive. This model also offers a LED light that can illuminate your feet which can help you see calluses and rough patches clearly. The water-resistant design provides easy washing, so it’s ready to go the next time you want to use it. In the box you will receive, 1 Electronic Callus Remover, 4 sanding rollers, usb charger and a cleaning brush.
DIOZO Electric Foot File
The DIOZO foot file gently and effectively buffs away thick, hard skin to produce beautifully-soft, smooth feet. The roller head is battery operated and made with diamond crystals that effectively smooth your feet. The coarse roller head spins 360 degrees for a beautifully smooth clean and is refillable once the roller wears down. Two aspects of this roller that we loved were the ergonomic handle, and the fact that the roller head curves out beyond the handle to easily reach all spots that need attention.
In the beginning, we were using it twice a week and eventually only needed it once a week. Of course, individual results will vary based on the condition of your feet. The box include3 roller heads (fine, regular and coarse) head for different callus conditions.
BeautyPro FOOT & CALLUS PEEL Mask
This product is a bit different from the others we tested, and it is more like a chemical peel that works slowly over time. We loved this product and felt that its results were amazing despite it being a bit strange to watch your skin flake off for a week or so. This also found that nearly 100% of the other people who tried it, loved it. The only reason this product is at the bottom of our list, is the time it takes to complete – up to two weeks. We know that many of us are cleaning up our feet the day before vacation and only because of this advance planning did we choose this product as our last choice.
BeautyPro supplies with a booties that you wear for 60 – 90 minutes as you wait for the ingredients to begin the process of sloughing away dead skin. Before applying, make sure your feet is clean and dry. The gel inside the booties contains mild acids that work together as mild peeling agents to penetrate and exfoliate your different layers of skin. You will see results in two to three days, and the process will be complete in one to two weeks.
How Do Calluses Form?
Our feet are subjected to a significant amount of stress and strain as we walk, which ultimately results in the development of calluses. To put it simply, a callus is a layer of skin that has become thicker and more rigid over time. This occurs because the body is attempting to protect the delicate skin that lies below from being harmed by the frequent rubbing that occurs when shoes are worn.
Calluses may also form when we use the same portion of our body regularly in a way that causes our skin to rub against a rough surface. This is the second method that calluses can form. Machinists, guitar players, mechanics, carpenters, and other people whose jobs need them to work with their hands are all good examples of this trait. In addition, athletes who participate in activities such as ice skating, hockey, and other sports are at an increased risk of developing calluses on their feet and even their ankles due to the friction caused by their skates and shoes.
There are a few different approaches one may take to prevent calluses from developing. The first step is to put on some socks. The friction that occurs between your foot and your shoe is one of the primary factors that contributes to the development of calluses. Imagine that the layer of protection that is provided by your socks when you put on your shoes.
Another way to deter calluses is to wear shoes that fit properly and, unfortunately for many beach lovers, not going barefoot or wearing flip flops. Any friction against your skin can lead to calluses.
Basic Foot Care
No matter where we go, or what we do, our feet are right there with us – usually taking a beating as they help us make our way to our destination. Summer can be especially brutal on our feet as we are often barefoot or in flip flops. Taking care of our feet is not difficult, but it does take a bit of time and effort, and unfortunately, many of us overlook our feet.
Here are some simple steps to keeping your feet in tip-top shape:
Wash Your Feet
This may sound simplistic, but sometimes it’s easy to forget to reach down and actually scrub the sweat and dirt off of our feet. Don’t assume that the water from the shower will rinse it all away without a bit of elbow grease.
Trim Toenails
Be sure to trim your toenails regularly. It is important to trim them straight across to avoid ingrown nails that can occur if your nails are rounded. Smooth them with a file if they’re rough or jagged.
Examine Your Feet
If you have an illness that can affect your feet, such as diabetes, be sure to examine your feet every day. Otherwise, check them out once a week or so to be sure there are no issues. Some of the things to look for would be
- Dry Skin – Be sure to use moisturizing soaps and creams to keep your skin soft, but be sure not to put creams between your toes where fungus can grow.
- Blisters–Avoid blisters by wearing shoes that fit properly. If you do have a blister, don’t break it open as that could cause infection. Clean it and cover it with a bandage until it heals.
- Cracked Skin – Dry skin can lead to cracked skin which can be quite painful. Be sure to use a healing cream and keep the affected area covered.
- Plantar Warts – These can sometimes look like calluses but are much more painful. Check with your doctor for the best treatment.
- Ingrown Toenails – Ingrown toenails can cause pain, redness and even infection. They are caused when the edge if your toenail grows into the skin and cuts into it. Check with your doctor for the best treatment.
- Discolored Toenails – Discolored toenails can be a sign of a fungal nail infection. Especially if they are yellow, thick, and brittle. You might need a long-term, topical medication to treat the infection.
- Blue or Black Skin – This can be cause for serious concern and might be signs of a blood flow issue. Call your doctor immediately.
- Calluses – These occur in areas where the foot is continually rubbing against your shoe. You can usually remove them over time by using an emery board, pumice stone, or any other type of callus remover. Do not try to remove them all in one go as you could damage the healthy skin that’s underneath.
How We Selected
With over 1,000 different callus remover products on the market, we needed to weed out quite a few to come up with the five products that we tested in this guide.
First, there are so many types of callus removers that we wanted to test more than one type to compare the results. We knew that we wanted at least one each of a cream product, a hand-help rasp-style remover, an electric/battery operated style and all-natural remover, such as a pumice stone.
From there we read heaps of online reviews to see which products other people were using and liking. We didn’t want to bother reviewing a product that wasn’t already loved. Additionally, we felt it important to keep the price below $25 as we felt that this price range would be the best for most consumers.
The final push for our top five choices came as we read through renowned beauty sites such as Self.com and Vogue.com to investigate their views on which products work well.
How We Tested
With so many ways to deal with calluses, we wanted to be sure to test the best products on the market to give you the most conclusive “low-down” on each.
Most importantly, we wanted to be sure that the callus removers we tested could perform their job without too much hassle. We weren’t interested in products that took more time than was worth it compared to the results they produced.
Additionally, we tested each product to be sure that you could easily achieve good results without much effort. For example, having to manually slough away for hours is not what we would expect from a great product.
Conclusion
When the summer season rolls around, we all tend to find ourselves more attune to our feet and hoping that we can smooth them to a baby-soft finish. However, because of the amount of “wear and tear” they receive, they often have the thickest skin on our bodies and therefore need the most attention. We tested and reviewed five of the top callus removers to see which styles and models work the best.
We tested everything from a simple rasp-style callus remover to a weeks-long chemical peel that’s all the rage. Because we did all the leg work for you, you’ll only need to read the above guide to know which is the best choice for your situation. You’re sure to have beautifully happy, “vacation feet” in no time at all!