I’ve never even thought of my heels as a part of my body that needed special attention, but I received a sample of HeelTastic Intensive Heel Therapy and decided to try to heal one of the under-appreciated parts of my feet.  HeelTastic comes in a cylindrical stick similar to deodorant and has a strong fragrance with hints of lemon and ginger.  The stick is really soft like butter, so I applied it with the stick and then massaged it into the heel until it is absorbed completely.  HeelTastic is made from Indian Neem and Karanja oils, which have been used in ancient medicines for their restorative properties.

I like to pamper my feet once in awhile, so I like the new idea of using a special product designed just to treat my heels.  The heels definitely get a ton of damage from rubbing against the back of your shoes, so it’s a good idea to use an intense moisturizer that has special oils for healing this type of skin.  I have definitely tried regular body lotion on my heels for years and never had any results, so I was excited to find a product that was actually strong enough to treat this rough and calloused area.

HeelTastic is available at most drugstores or online at www.heeltastic.com.

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Review: HeelTastic Intensive Heel Therapy

Image: sxc.hu

• Soak – Prepare a nice hot bath that will cover your feet and ankles.  Make the temperature pretty hot so that it will stay toasty while you sit and soak.  Sometimes I drop a couple drops of peppermint oil or bubble bath in the water just to add a little aromatherapy to the experience.  Soak for about ten minutes.

• Scrub – Use a gritty body scrub (exfoliant, body polish, etc.) and a sponge to exfoliate your feet.  Give them a pretty intense scrubbing to remove dead skin cells.  You can also use a pumice stone or buffing pad to scrub calluses and extremely rough skin patches.  After you’re done scrubbing let the exfoliant sit on your feet for about one minute and then rub off with a warm washcloth.

• Moisturize – Massage moisturizing lotion all over your feet, include around each individual toe and in the arch.  Spend extra time moisturizing the callused areas and use more lotion than you think your skin will be able to absorb.

• Relax – Put your feet up for at least 15 minutes to let the moisturizer soak in completely.  Put on a pair of softening socks, foot warmers, or cozy slippers.

Here are some products to help you with your foot treatment:

Image: Bliss

Bliss Tempt Feet $68

Image: Bliss

Bliss Softening Socks $48

Image: The Body Shop

The Body Shop Peppermint Cooling Pumice Foot Scrub $14

Image: Walgreens

Feet First Spa Complete At-Home-Pedicure Kit $34.99

Image: Walgreens

Dr. Scholl’s Classic Series Foot Spa with Soothing Heat $22.99

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How To Pamper Your Dry, Tired Feet

Image: Nordstrom

This rich, luxurious cream is perfect for a foot massage. It contains lavender essential oil (know for its calming and anti-inflammatory properties, along with nourishing, hydrating shea butter. It leaves your feet relaxed, so soft and of course, slightly scented with lavender.

This L’Occitane foot cream also contains a little bit of refreshing mint. This cream is available at many retailers, including Nordstrom. The cream is priced at $20 for a 2.6 oz tube.

What foot cream do you use? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

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L’Occitane Lavender Relaxing Foot Cream

Fish pedicures, done by one-inch long garra rufa and chin chin fish, imported from Turkey, have been deemed by several states as being unsanitary. The fish don’t seem to mind sucking the dead skin from people’s feet however.

Fish Pedicure Wikimedia Commons

The main issue is whether the fish, also known as doctor fish, reddish log sucker and nibble fish among a few other names, present a health hazard to customers because grooming tools used on salon clients are required to be disinfected. There’s really no way to disinfect a fish.

Apparently the fish pedicures are ticklish, and can feel like a mild electrical current on your skin, and the purpose is to smooth the feet and relax the cutomer.

Washington, Texas, Massachusetts, Florida and New Hampshire have also banned the practice.

There is, of course, several animal rights groups up in arms about the fish in general, but the overall concern has to do with how sanitary the practice is. Personally, I can’t see how fish can be unsanitary, and wonder if it should be up to the salon clients who should make the decision rather than the Health or Cosmotology boards.

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Fish Pedicures

Wear it like  regular boots to go to the salon. Get all the feet fixings (rubbed, scrubbed, filed) done. Press the front cap of the Bootie Pies Pedicure boots down. Slip your feet back into the boots. Go through the painting the toes process. When that’s done, you pay your bill and off you go. No waiting for the newly-painted toenails to dry. How fabulous does that sound?

The boots itself is made of suede while the front cap is made of patent leather. Bootie Pies Pedicure boots are available in colors blackberry, boysenberry, coconut creme (pictured), and Bayberry. Each pair is regularly priced for $128 each. The Coconut Creme and boysenberry are currently on sale for $98.

So, are you willing to pay that amount for convenience? I’d pick for giving myself a pedicure at home to save me money especially in this economy but if you think it’s something that could save you something in the long run, hey, go for it. It’s your own little time investment .

(Images:BootiePies)

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Bootie Pies’ Pedicure Boots

The feet just might be one of the body parts most taken for granted and abused. Walking around high heels kills your feet ( but well justified because it makes us feel sexy ), and walking around barefoot does not help either. Haha. By the end of the day, a great foot spa or pedicure would compensate for the stress, but then sometimes we just don’t have time so we have to come up with our D-I-Y foot spa in order to keep the footsies in perfect softness.

TheArtemis Heel Smoother is a battery-operated beauty gadget that addresses the problems of dry skin on the heels. Some of us have dry skin that screams help and are in danger of cracking. It is also a device that can remove dry skin around the edges of the toenails.

This revolutionary pedicure appliance smoothes calluses and removes dry skin on heels and toes in seconds, without the use of harsh chemicals or dangerous blades. Perfect for today’s fashion of sandals and open heeled shoes.

There are two heads for this device – a big, oblong-shaped one for the heels, and a pointed one for the dry skin around the toenails. Two speeds also are employed – a slower and a faster one.

As I tried this device for days, I would opt for the faster speed since admittedly, I’m one of the lazy girls who just don’t like moisturizing or applying lotion. The faster speed works well to get rid of the dry skin and the dead skin cells, but don’t expect all of them to come off like you had a foot spa. It’s best to use this tool right after the shower where skin is damp, rather than opting for mega-abrasion while skin is dry and stiff. It just works better with damp skin.

This beauty gadget would not promise you instant results, or instant mega exfoliation as I doubt there would be a stronger heel smoother for this one. Why? First, because it is battery operated and it is not strong enough to vigorously scub away your problems. Second, I doubt that there would be a stronger heel smoother than this one because of security issues – children might get injured when they use a stronger one. This beauty gadget is safe enough for home use and would not cause injury ( I think ), and if you truly want a stronger dose of this, go get a foot file, and start scrubbing vigorously your heels right after the shower. But if you’re just tired or in a hurry, the Artemis Heel Smoother will guarantee that it would lessen your heel woes.

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Beauty Gizmo Review : Artemis Heel Smoother