Help for dry, rough & wrinkly feet - Reader's Query

Saima asks:
The skin on my feet is very rough and dry with a few wrinkles also. I'd say that it almost resembles a granny's feet. BTW, I'm only 25 years old. I always wear footwear that cover my feet completely and avoid wearing open-toed sandals and such.

I so envy other girls / women with dainty, lovely feet and wish I too had feet that were soft and smooth.

Please suggest a suitable home-remedy to improve the texture of the skin on my feet.

I'd also like to add that I do not have a problem of dry skin on any other part of my body.  In fact, I have super-smooth skin on my arms and my hands are quite lovely.

Also I don't have acne, blemishes or anything of that sort. It's only my feet that I'm worried about.

Response:
Why this obsession with your feet, my dear?  You have lovely hands and a practically trouble-free skin. You should be thankful for that.

Not many are blessed with blemish-free skin, Pay more attention to your positive features and learn to ignore your imperfections. You  will be more happy that way. Learn to present yourself in a way that showcases your best features.

Now to answer your query, always clean your feet properly while bathing. Use a small brush to whisk off all the dirt and grime from your feet. As your skin is very rough and dry, you should also exfoliate it at least twice a week.

For that you can use a homemade scrub such as this one. Take around 2-3 tsps of rava /sooji (medium size) (buy from here & here), 1 tsp multani mitti (buy from here), 1 tsp Besan, 1 tsp honey and milk.

Mix all the ingredients and milk to get a pasty consistency. Gently rub this all over your clean feet. 

As the skin on the feet is quite tough, you can even use this sand body-scrub (a Middle-East DIY beauty recipe).

After that, apply aloe-vera gel all over your feet. You can either use a store-bought aloevera gel or fresh aloe-vera pulp extracted from the plant.  Also rub aloe-vera gel regularly on your feet before going to bed; it makes your feet soft and supple and your toe-nails strong and healthy.

If you have cracks on the soles of your feet, a mixture or glycerine and Rose water or even an application of pure ghee helps to heal them. You can find more such home-remedies for cracked soles here.

Also if you want to exfoliate the skin on the soles of your feet, you might try bare-foot sand-walking. By any chance if you have a problem of corns and calluses, check these home remedies too.

Once in a week or fortnight pamper your feet with a pedicure. Once in a while, it's fine but each time you need not  visit a beauty parlour / spa just for a pedicure.

It proves to be quite an expensive affair and moreover many insiders have spilled the beans about the unhygienic conditions under which these spas and parlours operate, their posh & regal ambience notwithstanding.

On the contrary, an at-home pedicure is not only hygienic but will cost you nothing and will save your time too.  BTW, you can find more awesome tips on feet care & some easy exercises for your ankles and feet in the post Put your best foot forward.

Image: photostock / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

One more thing... Sometimes, ill-fitting shoes are also the culprit - tight shoes often cause improper blood circulation and also take a toll on your foot skin. So you should always wear footwear that fit you well.

Also make sure that there is no shoe-bite, pinching and soreness. And at the end of the day, if your tootsies are feeling tired, relax with a hot foot bath or pamper them with these terrific foot soothers.