Advice on dry & cracked heels for Anonymous.

A reader was asking on how she can solve a dry and cracked feet problem even after moisturizing twice a day.  If the skin is not getting rehydrated even after moisturizing, I'm thinking there might be a barrier that is preventing your skin to rehydrate, most commonly it would a layer of dead skin cells and even a build up of calluses.

For any moisturizer to be absorbed in your skin, exfoliating with a foot file or a pumice stone is always a good idea to prepare your foot properly. If you are going to use a foot file, usually it's 2 sided with the grain of the file coarser on one side than the other. You want to use the coarser side first to remove the larger dead skin cells than transfer to the finer side of the file to smooth out the job. The trick is using the foot file on dry skin.

The pumice stone is used on wet skin and it should be used in a similar manner by rotating the pumice from one side to the other. Depending on the shape of the pumice stone, it's sometimes more useful to get in the nooks and crannies that are harder to reach than with the foot file to remove the dead skin. Keep in mind to do this always in moderation. The fact is you don't want to overdo anything when it involves your skin and this type of quick maintenance can be done once a week depending on the severity of your cracking and dryness.

Dry and cracked heel

The best time to apply your moisturizer is once you're done with exfoliating your clean foot. Not all moisturizers are created equal either and it's not always the expensive creams or foot balms that work the best. The trick is finding the one that works for you. If you see moisturizer that contains urea, that would be a good choice since this ingredient will help draw the moisture to a deeper layer of skin. To those that suffer from food allergies, avoid the same ingredients in your moisturizer. My mother has celiac disease and has to stay away from some products containing oatmeal and wheatgerm, it will make her skin extremely dry.

A few things I'm really curious about this type of problem is what is causing it. A few factors to keep in mind is if you wear a lot of colored/dark or black type of socks. The dyes and chemicals that are used for them might be detrimental to the moisture of your skin. Natural fibers such as cotton, bamboo or hemp material.
Also, what kind of physical activities that your feet perform for you on a regular basis? Is there an area of your foot that is more dry than the rest of your foot?

So many questions to really get at the sole bottom of this, yes, the pun is intended. The more information you can provide me with, the more accurate my answer. If any of you have trouble explaining a foot problem in particular, you might want to consider sending me a picture by email if that's more convenient and you can find my address on my contact page.

I hope this information will help some of you sooth your dry skin and put your best foot forward.

Functions of the skin

Today I will cover what the skin, our largest organ, really does for each and every single one of us when it's healthy.  This information will help you better understand the world of aesthetics later on,  why certain problems may appear with our skin and how it matures later on in life.

The 8 roles of your skin are:

1. The skin provides protection against injury and invasion of bacteria.

2. It prevents the loss of fluids, in other words, it holds every in the body. I imagine we would be not as nice and dry as we are without it. Just a tiny bit juicy we are on the insides!

3. It regulates heat. The internal body temperature is 37 degrees Celcius, when the external temperature changes, the blood and sudoriferous (sweat) glands heat or cool the body to maintain it's internal temperature.

4. It responds to external stimuli, meaning the nerve endings in our skin allow us to respond to stimuli such as heat, cold, pressure, pain and touch.

5. It secretes an oil called sebum that is made in the sebaceous (oil) glands. Sebum is responsible to maintain the moisture in your skin by slowing down the natural moisture of your skin from evaporating and keeping excess water out.

6. It excretes salt and waste from the body through the sudoriferous pores, in other words, that's when we sweat!

7. It absorbs small amounts of cosmetics, drugs and chemicals. For example, the way a nicotine replacement patch function is by absorbing the drug through the skin.

8. It breaths, no word of a lie here, through the pores where oxygen is absorbed and carbon dioxide is expelled.

By taking care of our skin through healthy habits, nutrition, hydration and providing it with protection from harmful uv rays, your skin should love you back for a lifetime.

Remember when your mother told you not to make faces because your face would stay that way? Well there's a lot of truth in that one, so better start smiling once a day in the mirror and to be kind to yourself and it's way better than frowning. Your skin will forever be grateful for it. 

Friday foot facts

Week 8

With all this talk on bones and joints in the latest Friday foot facts, I thought I would introduce you to the 4 main arches of the foot. Arches help support the body's weight and they provide flexibility for shock absorption.

4 main arches of the foot

Arches are also what determines if you have high arches or flat feet. If you have one of these, your feet will have different problems because of these arches but they can also affect different parts of the body too.

A flat foot can lead to knee pains right up to your hips and back. Meanwhile a high arch can lead to stress fractures. It's important to go see a foot specialist when you have these problems, wearing shoes that properly fit you and being aware of how your feet can impact your life in the long run.

Thank you for reading, have a great weekend and remember to put your best foot forward!

Introduction to your largest organ: the skin

The skin is the largest organ of your body. Rarely do we think of it as an organ but it's functions and abilities are wonderful. Without skin, let's face it, we wouldn't be able to contain ourselves, literally! The fact is, it maintains our bodies temperature, it's semi impermeable and it sheds constantly.

Basically our skin renews itself just about every 28 days. Where does it go? Well if you look around you will see it as dust. Anyone that has worn dark nylons on dry skin will see the white skin flakes being rub off through them. 

Before I go any further though, I want to show you the anatomy of the skin. When you see it in it's many layers, you can better understand it. It sweats when we work out or get nervous, it breaks out when we are hormonal and produces hair in very unsightly places where we, gents and ladies, put a lot of money into removing hair.

Skin anatomy

1. Sudoriferous gland (sweat gland)

2. Sebaceous gland (oil gland)

3. Hair follicle (hair cavity)

4. Arrector pili muscles (responsible for goosebumps)

5. Hair

6. Papilla of the hair 

7. Blood vessels

8. Capillaries

9. Sensory nerves

10. Touch receptors

11. Collagen fibers 

The skin has layers within layers. The epidermis is the outermost part of your skin, this part contains 4 layers. The epidermis is in constant shedding, contains no blood vessels, has many nerve endings, produces cells named keratin and is responsible for your skin being waterproof. It is also in these layers of the epidermis that a dark skin pigment called melanin. Melanin is what gives skin it's color and it's role is to protect the sensitive cells underneath it from u.v. rays. Ultraviolent rays are produced from the sun and u.v. lamps, meaning tanning beds. You do not want to compromise the protection melanin gives to our bodies. It has more serious consequences than just sun spots but also melanoma, meaning skin cancer.

Next week I will cover the layer underneath the epidermis, the dermis and it's functions.

How you treat your skin today determines the health of it in the futur. What we usually look at is the outer layer of our skin but health and beauty is really skin deep.  Toes2U is more than just footcare, it's about skin too. 

Friday foot facts

Week 7

I've been talking about the joints of the foot in my last few posts. But what is a joint actually? Well a joint is where 2 or more bones meet and it is the point where articulation is situated. The 33 joints in the foot are all synovial joints which means there's a capsule that is surrounding the base and head of the bone.  Within this capsule there is a synovial membrane that is attached to the cartilage of the bone. This membrane produces and contains synovial fluid.  This raw egg like textured fluid is what lubricates the joints.

Synovial joint

When this synovial fluid thickens, it could be the first signs to the beggining of rheumatoid arthritis, an inflammatory disease of the joints. Rheumatoid arthritis is very commonly associated with painful bunions. Hence the importance of taking care of one's feet and putting your best and healthiest foot forward in life.

That's my Friday foot fact, I hope you enjoyed this post and have a great weekend everyone.

Friday foot facts

Week 6

I'd like to introduce you to a joint most of us have already encountered, it can leave us in shear and swearing agony in the middle of the night as your toe meets the corner of your bed, waking up only to find your toe 'knuckle' is bruised black and blue. Those toe 'knuckles' are called interphalangeal joints and they allow your toes to flex and extend.

Interphalangeal joints

Sometimes these joints become compromised during your lifetime, resulting in some abnormalities like hammer, mallet and claw toes. It almost sounds like your friendly handy man's toolbox doesn't it? They are structural abnormalities that can affect you a lot more than you think as we mature in our lives, creating discomfort and can hinder a person's quality of life.

A lot of us are health conscious but don't forget the underdog of your body, your feet! Put your best foot forward in your best life!

Even da Vinci knew....

A little quote I stepped upon today I'd like to share, no pun intended.

The human foot is a masterpiece of engineering and a work of art.
 -Leonardo da Vinci

Anatomy of a foot by Leonardo da Vinci c. 1485

Friday foot facts

Week 5

A few weeks ago I was talking about how the foot had 33 joints. The one I want to show you is the metatarsophalangeal joint. This joint is situated in between the phalanges and metatarsals. The function of these joints in particular allow you to flex and extend the spaces in between your toes. In other words, when you are flexing, you are squeezing your toes together. The opposite would be extending your toes apart, creating space in between them.

Metatarsophalangeal Joints

The metatarsophalangeal joints are also responsible for the movement of an adduction, by bringing your foot towards the middle of your body. When you are moving your foot away from the middle of the body, it is called an abduction.

This is Friday's foot fact and I wish you all a great weekend!

Gift Certificates for St-Valentine's Day!

Is it me or did I just blink and we are in February already! In a few weeks time, St-Valentine's Day will be here and some of us, gents and ladies alike, will be scrambling for last minute but fabulous ideas for their loved ones. The whole chocolate, roses and dinner thing is always good but how about a gift certificate for a couples pedicures?

It's a good idea for the ladies that have been looking at their husband's feet and think "How can I get him to do his feet without dragging him to the spa?" Toes2U has the solution & mobility to come to you! Why not get treated at home at the same time as I fix those claws of his that have been scratching you in the middle of the night? It's a win-win gift certificate if I do say so myself.

Happy St-Valentine's Day

For the next two weeks, Toes2U will be offering the His & Hers Pedicure Combo for 90$ and that's with polish applications included. Last but not least, you don't have to even wait for the nail polish to dry to go home!