How do you usually get the dead skin off your feet? Washing them gets them clean. A scrubbing may exfoliate. However, dead skin has a reputation for sticking hard to feet. Do you file it off? Take a razor to them? Sandblast them? That could cut into healthy skin and lead to an infection.
Filing the feet is only a temporary solution that can even lead to more dead skin building up. Since 1997, a product called Baby Foot has been available to safely and effectively exfoliating feet. It is so-called because it leaves the feet as soft and smooth as a baby’s skin.
What Is Baby Foot Peel?
Baby Foot’s exfoliating foot mask is like an exfoliating mask for the face. It is for the most part two plastic booties lined with a gel made with alpha-hydroxy acids (AHAs), or fruit acids.
These acids are blended with seventeen types of organic extracts such as lemon, chamomile, grapefruit, watercress, sage, camel grass, and ivy. They work together to penetrate the layers of dead skin cells and decompose the desmosomes (cell structures) that keep the skin together.
According to Debra Jaliman, MD, a dermatologist at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City, “It basically acts as a very strong exfoliant,” The extracts have moisturizing effects as well. This aids in keeping your soles baby soft.
When To Use Baby Foot Peel?
People who have rough, dry skin or just old, dead skin on their feet they want to get rid of can use Baby Foot Peel. They recommend using the peel once every two months. Of course, some people may need it more often. Baby Foot suggests waiting at least two weeks between treatments.
How Does Baby Foot Peel Work?
You put the plastic booties on and the chemical exfoliant gel they are lined with breaks down the fibers that hold dead skin together. The gel is infused with a number of mild acids that will break apart the cellular membranes keeping dead skin on the feet. A few skin-softening herbs add to the process.
After you’ve had this on your feet for an hour, you wash your feet and wait. In the next few days, the skin will start sloughing off. Your feet might look like gross zombie feet for awhile.
That’s just the dead skin breaking loose. Peel it right off, throw it away and forget it. It will be like a reptile shedding old skin to reveal new skin underneath. The exfoliated feet will be soft and smooth like it was brand new.
Is Baby Foot Peel Safe?
For most people it is. It is not for pregnant women or diabetics. If you have any other foot problems such as corns, warts, open sores, or just hypersensitivity in this area, a foot peel may not be for you. If you are allergic to any of the ingredients in Baby Foot Peel, you may want to try another product.
Baby Foot Peel Ingredients
Besides the water and alcohol used as a base, the peel contains lactic, citric, salicylic, malic, and glycolic acids. It also contains Phenoxyethanol, Hydroxyethylcellulose, O-Cymen-5-Ol, and castor oil.
It also includes the extracts from sixteen different fruits, herbs, and flowers. The sixteen are orange, grapefruit, lemon, chamomile, clematis, chameleon, sage, soapwort, meadowsweet, seaweed, hedera helix ivy, tea plant, watercress, burdock root, camel grass, and horsetail herb.
All of these ingredients are fairly non-toxic to humans, though castor oil can cause diarrhea or nausea if ingested. However, it is an effective moisturizer and conditioner if used topically.
As chamomile is toxic to dogs, cats, and horses, the product should be kept out of their reach. (Granted, not many people keep beauty products where a horse can get them, but let’s cover all the bases.)
Baby Foot Peel Instructions & Tips
- First, you give your feet a good washing.
- Then you apply the booties and wait.
- Wash your feet again and go about your business. In a few days, the dead skin will be peeling off.
- After washing your feet, you should have a fifteen-minute soak before putting on the booties.
- The booties come with some tape so you can close them securely around your feet.
- When you have the booties on, it’s a good idea to just lay back and relax but put some socks over the booties just in case you have to walk anywhere.
- Some people find they need an extra twenty minutes or so more than the recommended hour.
- You can use it if you have cracked calluses but not on open wounds.
- A nightly soak will help things along.
- Baby Foot recommends using lotion, but that seems to slow down the process. Save it for the baby soft skin you’ll have once all that necrotic skin has come off.
How Often Should You Use Baby Foot Peel?
Every two months is recommended but if you live somewhere very arid you might want to do it more often. Don’t worry about damaging your feet. This product only affects dead skin.
What Should You Do Before Using Baby Foot Peel?
You need to clean your feet with soap and water first. Then give them a good fifteen-minute soak. Dry them well before putting the booties on.
How Long Does It Take For Baby Foot Peel To Work?
The results will vary. Some people just have more dead skin to be rid of than others. The peeling usually starts somewhere between three and seven days. Some people may need a couple of weeks.
How To Speed Up Baby Foot Peel Action?
Giving your feet a daily soak will help. After you take a bath, rub your feet with your hands (no lotion) to get the skin to loosen up.
How Long Can You Leave Baby Foot Peel On?
An hour is recommended but you can go with an hour and a half if your skin is particularly tough. Leaving it on much longer can cause skin irritation and rashes.
What Should You Do After Using Baby Foot Peel?
After the treatment, you need to wash your feet again. Rinse them off completely. Do not use lotion until all the dead skin is gone. You may use an oil-free moisturizer every once in a while if your feet feel uncomfortably dry.
Does Baby Foot Peel Hurt?
It shouldn’t. Some people who own reptiles will tell you not to pull shedding skin off them. That’s because it annoys them and reptilians tend to bite when they’re annoyed. (Your scaly friend is probably not venomous, but bites hurt anyway.)
The box says not to pull at the skin, but once it starts separating that seems the only way to be rid of it. It’s no more painful than pulling off some glue or paint that has dried on the skin. If you experience pain while pulling, the skin isn’t quite ready. Be patient. It will loosen up in time.
Does Baby Foot Peel Work On Calluses?
This is a selling point. Baby Foot Peel recommends using their product to soften up callused feet.
Does Baby Foot Peel Work On Cracked Heels?
If it’s just some cracking of a dry callus, that’s fine. It should not be used on open wounds or sores.
Does Baby Foot Peel Help Athlete’s Foot?
It claims that it can help the athlete’s foot. It causes the dead skin to peel off, which takes the fungal infection with it. As long as your feet aren’t bleeding you can use Baby Foot Peel.
Can You Use Baby Foot Peel With Toenail Fungus?
It may sting a little, but it will take the fungus right off. Just don’t use it with broken skin.
Can You Get A Pedicure After Using Baby Foot Peel?
You might want to wait a while. Wait until the peeling process is nearly done. Be sure to tell the person giving you the Pedi knows what you’ve been putting your feet through.
Can You Use Baby Foot Peel If You Have A Cut?
This is not a good idea. Never use a fool peel if you have an open wound on your feet. Wait until it heals.
Can You Swim After Using Baby Foot Peel?
Many consumers find that exposing their feet to chlorinated water sped up the skin shedding process. You might want to skip the pool if your feet are super sensitive as the chlorine may make them itchy.
Can Baby Foot Peel Be Used On Hands?
You can, but that doesn’t mean you should. For one, peeling zombie’s feet can be put in shoes so no one has to look at them. You won’t have that luck with your hands.
Consumers who have tried it found their hands uncomfortably rough and numb while using the product. Hands are also more likely than feet to have small nicks and other wounds. You are better off using ointments and lotions.
Can Baby Foot Peel Be Used On Face?
Are you looking to do a zombie cosplay? There are easier ways to do it. While Baby Foot does have natural ingredients and many of the same ingredients can be found in other face peels, the percentage of the acid solution is surely not the same since the skin on the feet tends to be thicker than the skin on the face. Most importantly it’s a product that is supposed to be used on your feet, how come you use it on your face!
Can You Reuse Baby Foot Peel?
No, the booties are for a single-use and then must be disposed of. You may want to wrap them up first or put them in a covered can. The fruity and floral fragrance can be pleasant, but it’s a bit intense,
Can You Use Baby Foot Peel After Expiration Date?
If unopened, Baby Foot Peel is good for two years. It’s possible the chemicals will fizzle out after that long. Once opened, it should be used immediately.
How To Get The Best Results From Baby Foot Peel?
Start with clean feet. Your nails should not have any polish on them. Soften your feet with a soak before you put the booties on. Have another soak after you’re done. A moisturizing foot mask will keep your feet hydrated between treatments.
What To Do If Baby Foot Peel Gone Wrong?
To start with, you should do a spot test to make sure you don’t have a bad reaction to the gel. If you do have a reaction, rinse it off and see a doctor. Don’t be alarmed if some skin peels off. It’s supposed to.
Who Can’t Use Baby Foot Peel?
It is not recommended for people with eczema, psoriasis, or other dermatologic conditions. Diabetics and pregnant women should not use it. If you are sensitive to salicylic or glycol acid or allergic to any ingredients in Baby Foot you should not use it. Smokers and the immunocompromised may not want to try it either.
Can You Make Your Own Baby Foot Peel?
You can make your own foot peel mask at home. You will require a small bottle of non-coated aspirin, the juice of one lemon, a small container or bowl for mixing, a dish large enough to soak your feet in, some plastic wrap, and a very thick and rich moisturizer.
- Pour some aspirin in a small bowl and set aside.
- Soak your feet in hot water for twenty minutes.
- While your feet soak, pour the lemon juice over the aspirin until paste forms. Mix this paste really well.
- Dry your feet with a towel.
- Apply this paste to your feet and use a good-sized amount of plastic wrap to cover both feet completely.
- Wait two hours and wash it off.
- Dry your feet well.
Since this mixture is not as strong as Baby Foot, you’ll have to use it a few nights in a row to really see results.
Conclusion
Sometimes, to make your feet pretty, you have to start by making them ugly. The peeling, flaking skin might look gross at first, but once you get rid of it, you’ll have perfectly smooth feet perfect to show off in sandals.
And in case you’re wondering, yes, they make one for men! It is essentially the same formula only the booties are big enough to cover a men’s size 14. Now everyone can have nice feet!
References:
- https://www.babyfoot.com
- https://exfoliatingfootmask.com
- https://www.self.com/gallery/baby-foot-peel
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52dSXkyTiKo
- https://bellatory.com/skin/Do-It-Yourself-Foot-Peel
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MgfVUWFM5GQ
- https://www.onemedical.com/blog/live-well/baby-foot-safe
- https://stacypetersonmd.com/2013/09/baby-foot-exfoliant
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castor_oil#Traditional_medicine
- https://www.bayareafootcare.com/blog/the-baby-foot-challenge
- https://www.thecut.com/2018/07/why-didnt-baby-foot-work.html
- https://hellogiggles.com/beauty/skin/how-do-asian-foot-peels-work
- https://www.influenster.com/article/things-to-know-about-foot-petals
- https://www.ulta.com/original-exfoliant-foot-peel?productId=xlsImpprod15271001
- https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/beauty-products/a38129/baby-foot-peel-safety
- https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/animal-poison-control/toxic-and-non-toxic-plants/chamomile
- https://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/healthy-at-home/diy-beauty/foot-peel-mask-treatment-a4211491.html