Fashion

Beauty Call: Get your feet flip-flop ready

It’s easy to keep your feet in good condition

Illustration: Thinkstock

Aisling McDermott
Wed Jun 4 2014 - 01:00

Flip-flop season makes me shudder – between cracked heels and long yellow toenails, I die a little on the inside.

Irish men rocking that classic socks-and-sandals look on holidays are totally acceptable in my book: at least this way I don’t have to catch a glimpse of hooves that haven’t been acquainted with nail clippers in 20 years.

It’s so easy to keep your feet in good condition. If your trotters really need sprucing up you can take yourself off for a medi-pedi, where someone will make light work of the most stubborn hard skin and scaly bits.But for most of us, a DIY job at home with one of the myriad foot-shaving gizmos on the market will more than suffice.

Follow it with a good scrub – salt mixed with oil works a treat – and a strong foot cream. Choose one with urea – don’t worry, this kind is synthetic and odourless – to dissolve away dead skin. Plaster it on before bed and seal with a pair of socks to let the cream work its magic during the night.

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Finish the job off with nail varnish – classic pinks and reds look great with sandals – and maintain it with Scholl Velvet Smooth Foot Serum (see below). Enriched with hyaluronic acid and other softening ingredients, this gives an instant moisture boost to cracked old trotters.

Aisling is on Twitter @aismcdermott

THE PRODUCTS

Eucurin Plus Intensive foot cream

(€15.29)

With 10 per cent urea, this formula gives it socks (sorry). Dry and rough feet will feel much softer and smoother.

1000 Hour Softsole Foot Treatment

(€19.99)

Within a week of using these foot wraps, hard scaly skin begins to peel away. Disgusting? Sure. Enjoyable? Absolutely.

E45 Dermatological Foot & Heel Cream

(€9.99)

Contains urea, ceramides and lipids to give dry skin and cracked heels continuous moisturisation.

Scholl Velvet Smooth Foot Serum

(€8.29)

Enriched with hyaluronic acid and other softening ingredients, it gives an instant moisture boost to cracked old trotters.

AISLING LOVES . . . Party Package from LA Creative

(€45)

Get your hair and make-up professionally done and enjoy a complimentary glass of bubbly while you're at it. LA Creative Salon, Chatham Street, Dublin 2