Dry feet--on one very heterosexual male....

What to do about dry feet (off a comment I received on chapped lips and hands):

"OK, so this isn't exactly the topic of this post, but it's pretty close...I have this friend...he's in his mid-thirties, extremely heterosexual, and completely secure with his masculinity. Completely. He normally would care less about moisturizers, creams, estringents, exfoliators, etc. It's just not his thing...and besides, there's really not much there to dress up. Poor guy...not really blessed with good looks...his face alone tends to scare animals and small children.
Anyway... he's got a small problem that he wanted me to ask you about. He was telling me (in the locker room after we were playing something we call "death rugby") that he's recently noticed that his heels are becoming a bit dry and a little cracked. Don't know if it's the weather or age (though he's quite sure that he's still very young). Anyway, he was wondering what you would recommend for such a problem? Again...he wanted me to assure you that this is not a vanity issue, but rather a maintenance issue...like a broken carburetor or a piece of steel that needs to be re-welded. You know, manly stuff like that. "

Hmm, a heart-to-heart about dry heels between two men in a locker room...I reserve comment on that one....I have no clue what a carburetor does, only that it is connected to the car somehow, but I do know what do do about this foot maintenance problem....


1. Soak. He needs to soak his feet in warm water for at least 15-20 minutes...this softens up that skin on the bottom of his feet that is so coarse and hard it could cut glass. You could add a foot soak, but I have found that good ole Epsom Salts that you can buy at HEB do the trick.

2. Pumice. Get a good pumice stone. He can buy them in stone form or or attached to a wooden or plastic handle. He'll want to pumice his heels, the balls of his feet, and even the bottom of his big toe, which I suspect is quite hairy, gnarly, and full of calluses. The pumice works as an exfoliater, sloughing off the excess dead skin that's been softened by the foot soak.

3. Foot creme. And socks. I would suggest Burt's Bees Coconut Foot Creme--it works wonders and smells great. It's available in just about every grocery store now, and both men and women can use it. Not that it matters, since he is so secure in his masculinity. Just have him slather it on his feet at bedtime, paying particular attention to the heel area, and put on cotton socks. In the morning his feet will be oh-so-soft. If he has a problem with stinky sweaty feet, which I suspect he does, try using the dri-fit socks that runners use that won't trap the excess sweat in.
Another option for foot creme would be The Body Shop's Hemp Foot Protector. I have never used it, but I was told that is great for cracked skin---

If his heels are cracked and bleeding, I wouldn't use the pumice stone right off the bat...use the foot creme at nighttime for several days to at least add a little moisture back.

Well, hopefully that'll pretty up his feet--what should we do about his face??