A Listerine Foot Soak… does it work as a pedicure to soften feet?
I am usually pretty anal about foot care because I can’t stand crusty alligator feet. But between having a huge pregnant belly (and not being able to reach my toes) and then having a newborn to care for, my feet have been sadly neglected this summer. So when I saw the Pin about a foot soak that was so good, “the dead skin practically falls right off,” I knew I needed to test it out.
So I followed the directions.
Listerine Foot Soak
- 1/2 cup Listerine
- 1/2 cup vinegar
- 1 cup warm water
Soak feet for ten minutes.
Ten minutes of soaking, a quick rinse so my feet wouldn’t smell like mint pickles, and here are the results:
Meh. It helped. A little. But the dead skin did not “practically fall right off.” It just sort of took off the top layer. And the Listerine made my toes tingle/burn. That was a little strange. I’ve also heard from other people who have tried this that they used blue Listerine and it made their feet turn blue!
I think there are much more effective ways to soften my feet. I have had great success applying plain old Vaseline to the dry areas before bed, then wearing socks to sleep so the Vaseline doesn’t rub off.
If you are struggling with athlete’s foot or foot fungus, this Listerine foot soak might be a good thing to try since vinegar and Listerine are both antibacterial and might help kill some of those pesky germs.
But as far as a miracle solution for dry feet, I think this one is just a Pin Between.
Comments & Reviews
I just saw this tip on Pinterest yesterday and was hoping you'd review it. You must have read my mind! Thank you for saving me from the tingly footed awkwardness 🙂
If you wipe each foot with a Stridex pad before the Vaseline and socks, your feet with thank you.
Something that I do to combat dry feet is to liberally apply Nivea (Vaseline works too) to my feet, cover in saran wrap or ziploc bags, put them in socks and wear for about an hour. Your feet are left silky smooth and last for a while. Last time I did this was 3 weeks ago and my feet are still silky smooth.
Thanks for trying this – I've been wondering how it would be
I tried this over summer, I didn't get the results they said I would. I also tried the egg mayonnaise hair and scalp moisturiser and that did work, soft and silky hair. I did this every month over summer and I was happy.
I tried this last week and i agree it wasnt any better than soaking in just water alone.Im still looking for a solution for my poor dry feet.They get too hot to keep socks on at night.
Thanks for all the great tips, ladies!
doodlebugmom… I had to Google what a Stridex pad was. 🙂 That's quite a tip! I'll have to try it!
And maybe I'll combine that with Bekah's tip of using saran wrap.
Cambric cotton, pins and needles…did the mayo make your hair smell funny?
My friend's mom tried it with the blue listerine and all it did was dye her feet blue! haha I used pedi peel pads from Avon, they seem to work the best without shredding the skin on my toes.
@Shelby DeSoto That is TOO funny! I'm glad all I had was some tingling tootsies!
I have really calloused and dry feet as well. I use Mary Kay Satin Hands on my feet in the tub. I use the softener first and then apply the scrub part and then scrub with a pumice stone. After I just slather my regular lotion on it and it works wonders. I can get a week out of wearing flip flops before needing to scrub again.
Try the spa sox that are infused
with Aloe. I think it helps…not a cure but an improvement. Much easier than a lot of the other methods.
I just pinned this same thing the other day and was anxious to try it! So glad I didn't! However, I literally discovered the best, absolute GREATEST, solution this weekend when visiting my brother (who has always had HORRIBLY DISGUSTING feet). We went to Busch Gardens with our families and walked for 12 hours Saturday, and my dry heels just cracked wide open in my tennis shoes and have caused lots of pain. My older brother let me try his solution and it has performed absolute magic on my feet the past couple of days. O'Keeffe's for Healthy Feet! I would describe it as spackle for your feet (seals up the cracks and then leaves them smooth). You can get it at Lowe's, but I ordered mine today on Amazon.com – http://www.amazon.com/OKeeffes-Healthy-Feet-Creme-3-2oz/dp/B0002QB9NE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1374695718&sr=8-1&keywords=o%27keefes+healthy+feet You will not regret it! He uses the pedicure foot rasp in the shower, then puts the O'Keeffe's on his feet after his shower every day. If you wear sandals in the summer like I do, just do it at night before bed, or in the morning when you have time to let it dry. These other suggestions sound good, too, but definitely pick up some O'Keeffe's next time you're in the home improvement store! It's heavy duty serious stuff! 🙂
Yeah, I dyed my feet blue using the blue listerine too. I soak my feet in water and hydrogen peroxide. It's cheap and works really well.
I used cool mint Listerine and it turned my feet and toenails green. I scrubbed with soap and it still will not come off. I won't be doing this again.
While its not an immediate results kind of thing I'm not so sure it's completely worthless. I tried this about a month ago and had horrible looking feet. While it didn't seem to do much immediately, I did notice tonight that I don't have the callouses anymore and I haven't had the time to do anything to my feet. So I'm thinking that if used regularly just like alot of other solutions, it will work. Just not a quick fix as it's proposed to be. 🙂
I did this every week for my 82 yo mom who had horrible dry, dry, flaking & peeling feet & bad toe nails. Noticed results the first time & major improvement each week she soaked. Instructions i found said to use original listerine, not with color. I also use soft pumice from my salon to rub off dead skin each soaking. Works for me.
I did try this about a month or so? ago. The recipe called for soaking your feet for 10 minutes. I used the brown/amber listerine. The dead skin WASN'T falling off after 10 minutes, and I actually soaked for another 10 minutes, and that time there was quite a difference. Still not falling off, but I usually use one of those metal foot graters in the shower once a week anyway.
HOWEVER, just to really test it, about 2 weeks after doing the listerine/vinegar soak, I used my $10 tiny bottle of foot scrub bought from Sally's, and what I noticed is the listerine actually made my feet SOFTER much longer than my $10 waste ever has!
I'll keep looking for the miracle cure (and no, it wasn't miracle foot repair either…), but until I find it, I'll keep a foot brush in the shower and keep listerine & vinegar on hand 😀
Well this would have been a nice cheap solution, had it worked. I have actually found something that does work though. I bought this stuff called Footner (at Shoppers Drug Mart in Canada, not sure where they carry it in the U.S.) and they are these horrid little plastic booties that don't quite sit on your feet right and you really can't move one they are on. They go on for an hour and then rinse your feet and it looks like absolutely nothing has happened… until you shower the next day. For the next 3 days of foot hell, since you aren't allowed to put any cream on your feet, they will be the equivalent of velcro and stick to everything they touch (so wear socks to bed or you will attach to the sheets) but as you wash your feet, layers and layers of skin scrub off each time, and after 4-6 days…. OMG they looked like normal feet! I have severely cracked skin and the deeper cracks were still there, but apparently you can use this stuff again after 3 months to help solve those.
I just tried the Listerine foot soak and it wasn't any better than soaking my feet in warm water. I still had to use my foot rasp after.
I just tried the Listerine foot soak and it wasn't any better than soaking my feet in warm water. I still had to use my foot rasp after.
Try a coconut scrub!
1/2 jar coconut oil warmed till liquid
1 tble spoon lemon juice
1/2 cup of castor sugar (regular baking sugar) or "to taste" (more sugar just means more abrasive)
Sit on the edge of the tub with a towel under you. Scrub your feet with the mixture. The longer you scrub the better the results.
Rinse feet and pat dry. Make sure to wipe out your tub! The oil might make it slippery. Now your feet AND hands are amazingly moisturized!
It worked great for me! I soaked and then used Mr. Pumice from Sally Beauty Supply!
This foot soak worked great for me also! I read reviews beforehand so I knew a little extra help was needed in removing the dead skin. After the 10 minutes I used my foot file (large emery board type file) and lightly rubbed my feet and they were so smooth for many days without any moisturizer! Even my husband was impressed! I used the green listerine and all was well for me, no green feet here.
Yes, the amount vinegar, Listerine and water us too little to cover feet. I had doubled the the amount, soaked feet for about 20 minutes. Yes, feet turned blue as, but I used a pumice to rub away dead skin.
well.
I have the worst heels ever and have tried many home remedies so I thought I would give this one a try as well. Couldn't hurt. I didn't measure, but used approx 1 cup each of white vinegar and no name yellow "listerine". I put in enough hot water to cover my feet. Soaked until water cooled then scrubbed with sponge type pumice. My feet were so soft, callouses and dry skin softened and scrubbed off quite a bit. I slathered on vaseline and put on aloe infused socks. Feet have never been so nice. Looking forward to flip flop season!!!
The trick is to scrub your feet considerably after the soak. I used a foot rasp, stiff brush and manicure stick under warm running water and the dead skin did come off very easily. Much easier than just soaking feet in hot water or after a bath or shower. I was able to remove as much built up dead skin in one sitting than I usually can with 3 times of soaking/scraping and a powered manicure grinder. It seems to be effective at loosening all the thick layers of skin, making it easier to remove but you have to do something to remove it.
Gena makes a fantastic sloughing lotion that I use on my feet when they are bad… I found it through Sally Beauty… at first it doesn't seem like it is doing anything, but if you keep rubbing, the dead skin will start coming off… good luck!
It worked great for me!! I use it all the time. Depending on your feet, you may have to soak longer and use a foot file or pumice. It can also be used two or three times a week. I highly recommend it!
I used to have dry cracked skin on my feet, until I started using body lotion. After every shower and at bedtime. Have never had a problem since.
Just a thumbs up for listerine ,have used on feet for odor works well ,but works great for blemishes one dab at night will make most go away (it’s the salicylate) Sorry a little off topic
I used this and my feet turned Blue!
1. original recipe calls for 1 cup of each, not 1/2. 2. they make Listerine without blue dye. and if you use blue dye , it wears off in couple of days. only a problem if you only wear saddles which i dont because i need ankle support with arthritis.
I just did this listerine/vinegar/water soak for the first time! Feet are blue! This was no better than soaking in plain water! Waste of time!
You have to use the Listerine with peroxide or it doesn’t work. Also use apple cider vinegar with water as hot as you can stand it…4 cups. I soak for 20 minutes and use a pumice stone afterwards. The dead skin comes right off. I apply a foot scrub from Sally’s, rinse and apply a foot lotion. My feet are as soft, including cracked heels as when I get a professional pedicure.