A Five-Minute Foot Care Routine for People Who Are on Their Feet All Day

Feet get ignored until they start complaining. A short, unglamorous routine prevents most of the complaining.

Feet are the least-considered part of most people's daily routine, right up until something goes wrong with one. Then they become the only thing you can think about. The irony is that the maintenance which prevents most of that trouble takes about five minutes and requires nothing you don't already own.

Dry properly, especially between the toes

This is the least interesting advice on this page and probably the most useful. Skin that stays damp all day, particularly in the gaps between toes, gets soft, splits easily, and stays irritated. After a shower, take the extra fifteen seconds to dry between each toe rather than giving the whole foot one pass with a towel. If you are prone to damp feet, let them air properly before socks go on.

Cut nails straight across, and not too short

Curved cuts and aggressive trimming are the two most common causes of a nail growing into the skin at the corner. Cut straight across, leave a little length past the nail bed, and smooth the corners with a file instead of digging them out with clippers. Do it after a shower when nails are softer and less likely to split.

Moisturize the heel and the ball, not between the toes

The thick skin on the heel and the ball of the foot benefits from moisturizer, particularly in winter or if you spend the day in hard shoes. The skin between the toes does not, for the same reason as above. Cracked heels that get ignored can turn into splits that are genuinely painful to walk on, and they take a long time to settle down once they get there.

Rotate your shoes

Shoes need longer to dry out than most people give them. Wearing the same pair every day means putting your feet into damp material each morning. Two pairs alternated is a meaningful improvement over one pair worn constantly, and it makes both pairs last longer as a side benefit.

Look at them once a week

Give your feet an actual look every so often, including the soles and between the toes, which most people never see. Changes to skin or nails tend to happen slowly enough that you will not notice them day to day, and they are much easier to deal with early. Anything painful, bleeding, or changing quickly is worth a conversation with a doctor rather than a home remedy, and that goes double if you have diabetes or circulation problems.

None of this is exciting. That is rather the point. Five minutes of unremarkable maintenance prevents most of the things that would otherwise turn into a genuine nuisance.