If your skin gets super dry, then it might lead to cracking, and this can be quite uncomfortable. Cracked skin can lead to cuts and infections, particularly on the heels, where your skin is frequently exposed to dirt and potential contagions.
In this article, we’re going to outline some of the best quick home remedies for anyone suffering from cracked heels. These remedies are quite simple and in most cases, you’ll be able to try them out without even having to leave the comfort of your house.
Sure, there are tons of salves and lotions that you can buy at the pharmacy. But nowadays, people are beginning to remember that natural medicine and folk remedies exist for a reason: because they work. Not only that, but they tend to have far fewer side effects than typical pharmacy products.
Home remedies might not be as intense and immediately apparent as some pharmaceuticals, but hey – they’re healthier, they’re more holistic, and they’re better for the planet. Here are the best home remedies for your cracked heels.
1. Sunflower Seed Oil
Sunflower seed oil has actually been subjected to a number of studies in terms of how effective it can be for helping to treat dry skin and cracked heels. One study that was released in 2013 actually found that sunflower seed oil was more effective than olive oil in helping to hydrate the skin and improve its overall health.
2. Coconut Oil
Another natural oil that’s known to be very good for hydrating the skin, in addition to other things, coconut oil is certainly something to keep around for those cold winter months. Coconut oil has been shown to be as helpful as petroleum jelly in regards to helping rehydrate the skin.
It also helps to increase the levels of lipids – neutral fats – on the skin, which helps to balance moisture levels in the long-term. Coconut oil acts as an emollient, which means that it actually fills up the gaps and cracks in the dry skin to smooth it out.
3. Oatmeal Baths
Oatmeal, despite being dry when it’s uncooked, can actually be made into a great medicine for cracked heels. If you grind up and powder a bunch of oatmeal and put it into your bath, it can help you to moisturize your cracked heels. Oatmeal contains numerous antioxidants and anti-inflammatories that further help to improve the health of the skin.
4. Banana and Avocado Foot Masks
Banana and avocado foot masks are a great way to moisturize any part of your body, not just your heels. Just mix the two ingredients together, perhaps with some vegetable oil, and smear it all over your feet. Not only will this moisturize your body but it will help to ensure that your feet smell good.
5. Vaseline and Lemon Juice
Vaseline is well-known for being quite hydrating, but the lemon juice adds a bit of a natural twist. The lemon juice helps to add nutrition to your skin and will also enhance the smell of the vaseline. The best way to go about this is to apply it to your feet and then put on a pair of wool socks to retain the moisture.
6. Paraffin Wax and Coconut Oil
If you mix some paraffin wax and coconut oil in a pan and melt them together, you can put this on your feet after it cools a bit. Both paraffin wax and coconut oil act as natural emollients that will help to moisturize and soften your skin. Do this a couple of times a week before you go to bed.
7. Honey and Hot Water
On its own, honey might just make your feet sticky. However, if you dilute a half-cup of honey in a half-gallon of water and soak your feet in it, you’ll soon find them delightfully moisturized. You’ll probably want to scrub the residue off to avoid having your socks stick to your feet, though.
8. Rice Flour, Honey and Apple Cider Vinegar
These three ingredients combine together to make a powerful moisturizing foot scrub. Mix about two tablespoons of ground rice or rice flour with a couple drops each of apple cider vinegar and honey.
This should make a thick paste which you can apply liberally to your heels. If it’s too thick, you can add some other vegetable oil into the mixture. It’s best to do this before bed and after you’ve soaked your feet in warm water.
9. Sesame Oil
Sesame oil is agreed to be one of the most nourishing and moisturizing oils around. You can apply this to your feet before going to bed and you’ll wake up feeling a lot better.
10. Avocado Oil
Avocado oil is rich in vitamin E, one of the most important nutrients for the health of our skin. By applying avocado oil to your feet not only do you moisturize them, but you help to enhance the health of the skin and fight off oxidation that might contribute to further issues.
11. Listerine and Vinegar
Listerine might not be the most natural remedy on the list, but many people have some kicking around their house. Little did most of us know, Listerine can actually be mixed with vinegar and a bit of water to make a great moisturizer. If you mix a quarter cup of Listerine with a quarter cup of vinegar and a couple of cups of hot water, you can soak your feet in it for a few minutes.
Take your feet out and scrub them with a pumice stone and you’ll find that you shed many of the dead skin cells that were causing you irritation. The Listerine helps to soften up any hard, resilient skin cells so you can get rid of them easier.
12. Baking Soda
Baking soda is something of a cure-all and has been used as a folk remedy to treat problems ranging from infections to sore feet to cracked skin. A really simple recipe to help you manage your cracked heels is to mix about 3 tablespoons of baking soda with a bucket full of warm water.
You can simply soak your feet in the bucket for 10-15 minutes and relish the feeling as they feel much better. Afterward, scrub your feet with a pumice stone. The baking soda should have helped to loosen up any cracked and difficult skin while moisturizing the healthy skin beneath.
13. Epsom Salts
Epsom salts are widely known for their ability to help moisturize and exfoliate the skin, and there’s no reason that this won’t work for your heels. There are a couple ways that you can do this. You can just set up a bath with some Epsom salts in it and take a soak for a while.
This will exfoliate your whole body, not just your heels, and you can scrub any dead or damaged skin off your heels afterward. Alternatively, you can just make yourself a foot bath with some Epsom salts. All you’ll need is a bucket full of warm-to-hot water and about half a cup of Epsom salts. In this instance, just soak your feet for a while and then scrub off any residue.
14. Milk
Some research has suggested that doing so might actually be useful for helping you manage the moisture levels in your skin. Milk contains phospholipids, which have been shown to help enhance the strength of the barriers in our skin so they can retain moisture.
15. Petroleum Jelly
Petroleum jelly, which is more commonly referred to as mineral oil, is one of the oldest and most tested folk remedies for helping people maintain their moisture levels. It has been shown to enhance the strength of the skin barrier in people who are using it to manage moisture levels. This makes it great for treating cracked heels. All you need to do is apply it once or twice a day, preferably before bed, and you’ll be able to experience all of its benefits.
16. Aloe Vera
Aloe vera gel has been used for many, many years in traditional cultures where the plant grows for treating a wide range of ailments. Nowadays, it’s gaining popularity throughout the world for its ability to help people improve their health, specifically in regards to their skin. Many studies have been done that have proven aloe vera to be quite effective.
One simple way to help yourself manage your cracked heels is to apply a layer of aloe vera to your skin and then put a sock on top. Doing this before bed is the best.
17. Tea Tree Oil
Tea tree oil has gained quite the reputation for being a great thing to help people retain the moisture levels of their skin. It’s most often used on the face and is included in a number of soaps and different topical preparations that are helpful for improving the look of the face. However, it’s just as useful on the feet.
One of the easiest ways to apply tea tree oil to the feet is to mix it with a carrier oil, like coconut oil or olive oil. Mix about 5-6 drops in with the carrier oil, which will dilute it enough that you can spread it on your heels. Massage the mixture into your heels and put your socks on and you’ll soon find your heels are a lot more comfortable.
18. Vitamin E Oil
There are various types of natural oils that are sold with vitamin E included. Vitamin E is one of the most important nutrients for maintaining the health of the skin. It also functions as an antioxidant and can help fight oxidation that leads to skin damage.
Massaging any type of vitamin E oil into your cracked heels will help to moisturize and condition them to prevent them from cracking again. You will feel smooth and soft immediately after the treatment, and it should last quite a while. However, it’s still recommended to do this several times a week for chronic skin cracking.
19. Shea Butter
Shea butter has gained popularity in recent years for its ability to moisturize, hydrate, and nourish the skin. It provides the skin with a fair few nutrients and has been shown to help ward off symptoms of some fairly serious skin problems.
All you have to do is massage the butter into your heels until it absorbs, then return your socks on. It’s best to do this before going to bed so the butter can work its magic overnight. The vitamin A and vitamin E will help to ensure that your feet retain moisture throughout the next day.
20. Jojoba Oil
Jojoba oil is an oil that is actually very similar to sebum, which is the natural type of oil present in our body. This means that jojoba oil can be incredibly useful for helping people to treat all manner of skin problems. All you have to do is rub it into your heels at night before going to bed to reap the benefits.
21. Argan Oil
Argan oil is another oil that’s very similar to sebum, and thus similar to jojoba oil. The same principle applies – just apply it to your cracked heels at night and see how good they will feel in the morning. Both of these oils will help to fight against inflammation and oxidation.
22. Lavender Oil + Olive Oil
Lavender oil has been known for quite some time to be very useful for helping to treat skin ailments. However, it’s generally wise to mix your essential oils with some sort of carrier oil because they are usually too potent on their own and can actually cause problems.
However, mixing lavender oil with olive or coconut oil gives you a chance to spread this healing oil on your heels. Do so before bedtime to experience these impressive benefits.
23. Almond Oil
Almond oil isn’t always the easiest to find, but it’s got a lot of vitamin E in it. As we have mentioned, vitamin E is one of the most important nutrients for maintaining the health of our skin. Spread it on your heels at night to experience its benefits. It can also be used to help prevent eczema.
24. Mustard Oil
Mustard oil is another useful oil that many people don’t see very often. There are numerous fats present in mustard oil that can help to make your skin soft and make it easier to scrub off any dead skin that might be causing problems.
25. Hemp Oil
Hemp oil is one of the most nutrient-dense oils on the planet. This makes it very useful for helping to improve the health of your cracked heels. Just like many of these others oils, you can just apply it in the evening before putting your socks back on.
26. Kumkumadi Tailam
Kumkumadi Tailam is a very important Ayurvedic medicine. Saffron is the main ingredient, and they used this for helping to maintain the health of skin all throughout the body. Applying it to your skin will help to fight dryness and flakes, restore pigmentation, and can even smooth out wrinkles.
27. Glycerin and Rose Water
Glycerin is a great supplement for helping people manage their dry skin. However, it doesn’t have much of a smell. Mixing it with rose water can help to provide some antioxidant benefits and also make your heels smell good – should anyone be smelling your feet.
28. Watermelon Juice and Honey
You might think it’s weird to put juice on your feet, but it can actually be useful for helping to restore moisture and strength to cracked heels. Just mix a couple of tablespoons of pure watermelon juice with a teaspoon of honey and apply this to your feet.
Let it sit for about ten minutes before rinsing it off and you’ll probably be happy that you did. Do this a couple of times a week for the best benefit.
29. Calamine Lotion
Calamine lotion can be bought at the pharmacy or online, but it’s also one of the healthiest lotions that you can use on your skin. It’s designed specifically to help dry skin, and while it’s often used on the face, it can help the feet like nothing else.
It can also help to suppress any inflammation that might be experienced on the feet in addition to their cracks and dryness.
30. Multani Mitti
You can make a clay mask with Multani Mitti. This is generally recommended for people with oily skin, but it can also be useful for people suffering from dry and irritated heels.
This is because the Multani mitti has a cooling effect and can soothe the uncomfortable symptoms of skin cracking. You can mix a couple tablespoons of it with a tablespoon of cucumber juice or water, and a teaspoon of honey, to reap the benefits.
In Conclusion
As you can see, there are tons of different remedies that you can use to heal your cracked feet. These are some of the most popular ones, many of which are backed by science, and all of which are backed by tons and tons of anecdotal reports.
