There’s a purpose why slugging—aka the apply of slathering your pores and skin in a thick occlusive because the final step in your nighttime skin-care routine—has re-entered the sweetness dialog now that temps are hovering close to freezing in lots of elements of the nation. By making a form of seal on the floor of your pores and skin, slugging locks in moisture and permits the remainder of your merchandise .. which is strictly what we’d like throughout these dry winter months. On TikTok, you’ve doubtless seen individuals slugging their faces, their nails, and even their hair, however in response to Lindsey Zubritsky, MD, a board-certified dermatologist whose greatest identified on social media as @DermGuru, should you’re not doing it to your ft, you’re significantly lacking out.
“I’m a dermatologist, and that is the number-one hygiene hack I give my sufferers with tremendous dry, cracked ft,” she stated of foot slugging in a latest Instagram publish. “I promise you that is going to work—it really works on nearly all my sufferers.”
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Based on Dr. Zubritsky, you’ll need to begin the foot-slugging course of by soaking your ft in water for 5 to 10 minutes, “till they’re good and comfortable,” she says. In case your ft are actually dry and cracked, you’ll be able to deal with them with a chemical exfoliant—like lactic acid, glycolic acid, or urea—to eliminate any lifeless pores and skin, however should you’re coping with run-of-the-mill dryness, you’ll be able to skip this step and transfer straight from the soaking to the slugging.
“Then you definately’re going to coat these dangerous boys within the thickest ointment that you’ve—AKA your Vaseline—and actually lube up [your feet],” says Dr. Zubritsky. From there, you’ll need to seize two pairs of cotton socks so that you’ve one pair for every foot. “One of many socks [on each foot] must be damp, the opposite one must be dry,” says Dr. Zubritsky. “Put the damp sock on first, then cowl it with a dry sock. That is known as the ‘Soak and Smear’ methodology.” Your greatest guess is to do all of this at night time earlier than mattress—that method, you’ll be able to go to sleep along with your ft slathered and wrapped and get up with baby-smooth tootsies by morning.
As NYC-based podiatrist Suzanne Levine, DPM, beforehand advised us, “It’s important to deal with your ft such as you deal with your face.” This appears like an A+ strategy to do precisely that each one winter lengthy.
One other strategy to cope with dry, cracked ft? The fan-favorite Babyfoot Peel ($25). Watch it in motion beneath.
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