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Getting Rid of Hard Calluses on Feet: Tips That Actually Work
I have very large, rough calluses on the sides of my feet and on the balls of my feet. I currently use a pumice stone after showering every day, but it doesn’t seem to make much difference. These calluses are thick and have been building up over several years. I’m looking for the most effective ways to get rid of them. Calluses form from repeated friction or pressure, and long-standing calluses can be extremely thick and resistant to simple at-home exfoliation. While pumice stones help, they are often not enough for deep, old calluses. Here are some strategies that can improve results: Soaking Before Exfoliating: Soak your feet in warm water for 10–15 minutes before using a pumice stone or foot file. This softens the thickened skin and makes removal more effective. Chemical Exfoliants: Products containing salicylic acid, urea, or lactic acid (found in foot peels or creams) can help break down the hardened skin over time. Apply daily to the affected areas and follow instructions carefully. Moisturize Intensely: Thick calluses often develop from dry skin. Use a rich, occlusive foot cream or balm, ideally with urea, twice a day to keep skin soft. Protect and Reduce Pressure: Wear cushioned insoles or padded socks to prevent further friction. Reducing pressure is key to preventing calluses from returning. Professional Care: For very thick, persistent calluses, a podiatrist can safely debride the skin using professional tools. This is often the fastest and safest solution. Consistency is crucial callus removal is a gradual process, especially for long-standing thick calluses. Combining softening, chemical exfoliation, and protective measures usually provides the best results. submitted by /u/Valuable-Visual1660 to r/BeautyGear [link] [comments]
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r/BeautyGear |
Valuable-Visual1660 |
Mar 10, 2026 |
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OOP notices friend's bare feet, asks for skin care regimen, and discovers that he had a skin infection for more than 30 years.
I am NOT OP. Original post by u/takatori in r/tifu ETA - Random cute pic of a dog & cat for mobile users who don't want to see feet. Hope this helps. ORIGINAL POST + UPDATES - 28th June 2021 During puberty, the body goes through many changes as a boy becomes a man. The voice deepens, musculature increases, genitals grow and gain hair, a beard and moustache come in, and the feet develop a hard, protective crust. All natural physical development. Or so I had assumed until this weekend, when our "pod" got together at the beach for a little summer fun. I've always enjoyed walking barefoot on the beach, as the gritty sand tends to wear down the thicker calluses and slough off shedding skin layers. Sometimes I would even use a pumice stone to sand them down thinner so that they wouldn't tear up socks as badly as when left natural. Now, I've never really paid attention to feet, never really looked at them closely or had a fetish for them like you hear about, so even with partners playing with their feet just wasn't something I ever did. I've seen women's feet in movies like the toes scene in The Big Lebowski, but assumed women just have softer feet than men. I probably had plenty of opportunities to see other mens' feet at the pool or gym showers, or wherever, but without having really any interest in feet, I can't say I've looked closely at anyone's feet, ever. But on this day, one of my guy friends was wearing bright purple nail polish. It caught my eye, naturally, and it occurred to me that somehow his toenails were long and flat, like fingernails, not white and bunched up like toenails. And his protective calluses were almost missing! Not the sanded-down smooth appearance from walking in sand or using a pumice stone, but virtually absent altogether! I wondered if this meant he didn't often walk barefoot, and so never developed them, or if he had some method better to sand them down. So I asked, "Hey, I noticed your nail polish, your new style?" "Ha, no, my daughter wanted to practice, and couldn't say no!" "I couldn't help notice how flat your toenails are, and you have almost no calluses -- do you use some sort of special cream or trimmer to get them to look like that?" "No, they're just normal feet." "But you don't have any calluses on the bottom. Normal feet have calluses to protect them when walking on hard or rough surfaces." And showed my foot as an example. "Um, wow," he said, "how long have you had that? Are you taking any medicine?" "Taking medicine? For what? These are just normal feet with normal calluses." "No, no they're not, that's like the worst case of athlete's foot I've ever seen. How long have you had it?" "I don't know what you mean ... my feet have always been like this ... this is just how feet are. ... isn't it?" "No, not at all. That's foot disease. It's some sort of fungal infection. There's medicine for it. Have you never heard of athlete's foot?" Yes, I had heard of athlete's foot. From TV commercials advertising creams to treat it. But they never showed pictures of it, nobody had ever told me what it was, and nobody for over thirty years after I went through puberty mentioned that there was anything at all wrong with my feet. Never has a doctor mentioned it to me. Never has a partner mentioned it to me. Never has a coach mentioned it to me. Never has anyone mentioned it to me. I just thought that's how feet are. Epilogue: with the obligatory "this happened two weeks ago," I immediately visited a dermatologist the next business day, got a diagnosis and medication, and my feet are already halfway through a magical transformation. It's incredible. TL;DR: While going through puberty my feet developed thick calluses and I thought this was a normal part of growing up. Nobody ever told me my feet looked strange, I never compared my feet to others, and I never realized anything was wrong with my feet until asking a friend how they made theirs so smooth and they told me I had athlete's foot for thirty years. UPDATE: Since everyone is asking for photos, I've uploaded in-progress treatment photos here. The first photo is of my toenails, the second of my heel. All toenails used to look like my little toe looks now. They are growing in flat and translucent now. The pinkish areas on my heel and side of foot were also covered in the same white-yellow callus three weeks ago before seeing the doctor. And the callus was MUCH thicker and flakier. For illustration, the top picture in the Wikipedia article and the "side of foot" photo on the Mayo Clinic site are almost exactly what my feet looked like before. UPDATE 2: The medicine prescribed was Terbinafine, a prescription daily oral anti-fungal pill. It is apparently quite strong, requiring regular blood work to monitor liver function. The doctor expects it to take six months to be completely cured including new toenails growing out cleanly. The doctor took skin samples and ran tests to confirm it is indeed Athlete's Foot, not other similar conditions people have mentioned. NOTE: This is apparently a very powerful medication which as noted can affect liver function, and many pharmacists and others have commented to note that people taking it are not supposed to take paracemetol/acetaminophen or drink alcohol during the treatment. UPDATE 3: The kind redditor /u/berneealf wrote out a lengthy comment detailing a care regimen that mirrors a lot of the other good advice given in the various comment threads. Hopefully it helps! ETA the amazing comment by u/berneealf Alright my man, I have some advice you should read. I have fended off athlete's foot since I can remember and I have never had to use any ingested medicine. I think you should follow your doctor's advice, but that medicine may trash your liver. DO NOT take any other medicaments during this period without consulting with a doctor. Painkillers (ibuprofene, paracetamol, aspirine) are all synthesized in your liver. Combining them with Terbinafine can be really dangerous. Alcohol is also synthesized in your liver, I don't know if your doctor told you to suspend alcoholic beverages, but at least take it easy on the drinking. Now on to my personal treatment. Your feet look like a pretty advanced micotic infection, dermatrophyte fungi like the one you have require a damp environment to thrive. This may mean you have a case of hyperhidrosis AKA you're a sweaty bastard. Most people never develop micotic infections up to this point. The problem is, after you are done with your treatment and are dishcarged by your doctor, your feet will still be sweaty bastards, therefore you are prone to developing an infection again. That is not the only problem. Fungi spread through spores like plants spread through seeds. Spores are microscopical and airborne so they are likely everywhere in your closet (specially your shoes and socks). Sweaty feet + spores = relapse. How to combat it: This will not in any way hinder the treatment prescribed by your doctor, on the contrary, it is likely to accelerate your healing so you may drop the Terbinafine sooner. About 6 years ago, I read that the US army treats athlete's foot with vinegar. Soldiers have little choice for footwear and socks, so they repeat often and end up with damp feet, add that to comunal showers where spores spread from one foot to another and you end up with an institution that knows how to handle athlete's foot. Fungi cannot handle a strongly acidic or basic PH. Mix 1 part of white cooking vinegar and 1 part of water, soak your feet for 10 min daily and dry thouroughly. This treatment has worked wonders for me and it's easy and cheap. Purchase an over the counter anti micotic cream. There are many avaliable and they work well. Apply it once a day on clean feet. Spend as much time as possible barefoot. Airing prevents dampness. Last step: rub your feet with a callous remover once or twice a week, this will help you remove the dead skin that provides a perfect environment for fungus, and your feet will recover faster. That is it for my treatment, but you might want to think about addressing the spore situation (the fact that there are spores all over your closet). I'll be honest with this one, it hasn't worked for me. I enacted a very thorough closet cleanup twice in the past when I was sure I had no present infection. In the end the infection returned after some time (granted, a lot of time). So I ended up with a halfway solution. As I said, spores are microscopic and airborne so I wasn't able to eliminate them entirely (or I might have caught them soewhere else). The solution I came up with was using vinegar to kill the spores in my shoes and socks. Make a stronger mix than what you use on your feet (2 parts vinegar for 1 part water). And soak your shoes and socks everytime you wash them. Voila! You have succesfully hindered their reproductive cycle. Prevention of future infections: The most important step is to cycle your shoes, and have a wider assortment of shoes so you don't repeat often (hey you will also devolop a more fashionable closet). Overusing the same shoes leads to accelerating fungal development. Don't store your shoes in your closet when you take them off, give them one day to air-dry before storing. Prevent dampness by spending as much time as possible with bare feet, and applying talc on your shoes before putting them on. Check your feet: The fungus is very likely to return, but it will be very easy to get rid off if you catch it early. Early signs of infection are bad smell, itchyness, small lumps and redness in the skin. Keep one of those anti micotic creams and some white vinegar at hand. Once you notice an infection, you can effectively treat it in under a week with those 2 things. Keep an eye for itchyness on other parts of your body. Crotch-itch is caused by the same fungus as athlete's foot. In my case, I noticed that by using a special sponge just for my feet (I used to use 1 for all of my body) I greatly reduced breakouts on my face. Fucking fungus was givind me some acne. Well my friend I put some effort into writing this for you in hopes you will find it helpful. I'm thinking of turning this into a lifeprotip post where more people can share their treatments and tips. If you need any further sweaty bastard advice, I'm only happy to help. Reminder - I am not the original poster. submitted by /u/raredontstare to r/BestofRedditorUpdates [link] [comments]
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r/BestofRedditorUpdates |
raredontstare |
Jan 21, 2023 |