Cracked heels tend to show up in autumn. Over a Tashkent summer the skin on your feet dries out from heat, dust and open shoes, and from October feet go into closed footwear while indoor heating dries the air further. Here is why it happens, what you can do at home and when it is time to see a specialist.
Why heels crack in autumn
The soles have no oil glands, so the skin there can barely soften itself. Once it dries out it thickens and loses its stretch, and under your body weight small splits open along the edge of the heel.
- A summer in sandals and flip-flops. With no back to the shoe the heel spreads sideways at every step, the skin thickens and dust works its way in.
- Dry air. In summer the heat draws moisture out; in autumn and winter radiators and heaters do the same.
- Hard water and hot showers. Together with harsh soap they wash away the skin's protective lipid layer.
What you can do at home
- A urea foot cream every day. For regular care 5–10% is usually enough. Apply to clean, dry skin in the evening, or better still twice a day.
- A warm foot bath, not a hot one. Ten to fifteen minutes will do. Afterwards go over the heels with a gentle file, without pressing, and dry your feet thoroughly, including between the toes.
- Shoes with a closed heel. At home as well: slippers with a back rather than slides.
What not to do
- Cutting the skin with a blade or grater until it is pink. The skin responds by thickening even faster, and any cut is a way in for infection.
- Soaking your feet for a long time in very hot water. Waterlogged skin is easily damaged and dries out more afterwards.
- Putting stinging folk remedies or acid plasters on cracks. You can give healthy skin a chemical burn. Exfoliating socks are not suitable for cracked heels either.
When to see a podiatrist and when to see a doctor
If two or three weeks of regular care have not softened the skin, or the cracks are deep or make walking uncomfortable, you need machine treatment. A specialist carefully removes the hardened layer, smooths the edges of the cracks and suggests care to continue at home. At BOSCO this is done at a podiatry appointment, and instruments are sterilised in a dry-heat cabinet.
Go straight to a doctor rather than a salon if a crack is bleeding, if there is redness, swelling or pus around it, if the skin between your toes is peeling and itching, or if your nails have changed. This can be what a fungal infection looks like, but only a dermatologist can diagnose it. If you have diabetes, show any damage to your feet to a doctor and do not try to treat it yourself.
What a medical pedicure includes and what it costs is on the podiatry page, and how a podiatrist differs from a pedicurist is covered in Podiatrist or pedicure.
Frequently asked questions
Why do my heels crack even though I use cream?
An ordinary body cream does little for the thick skin on the heels: you need a foot cream with urea, applied every day. If nothing improves in two or three weeks, dryness may not be the only cause, so have your feet looked at by a specialist.
Can I have a pedicure if my heels are cracked?
With shallow, dry cracks, yes: tell your technician, who will treat the skin with a machine, without a blade or long soaking. If the cracks are bleeding or inflamed, see a doctor first.
How often should heels be treated in autumn and winter?
Professional treatment every three to five weeks is usually enough; if you are prone to cracks, your technician will suggest a schedule. Between visits, use cream daily and a gentle file no more than once a week.
Book at BOSCO
15 Elbek Street, Tashkent — we will get your feet in good shape before the cold season.
- Address: 15 Elbek Street, Tashkent (Yashnabad district)
- Opening hours: daily, 10:00–20:00
- Phone: +998 95 120 70 20