To ask if you remember the days when we didn't have to get our feet summer ready

[RevokeRemainpastcaringreally]

It got warm, we slipped on our Jesus sandals (sometimes with our tights on) and greeted summer.
Maybe we'd paint our toe nails but there was no pressure to file away at our feet, put on some heel cream, buy a Footner.
We weren't shamed by our yellowing heels - they were just part of our wonderful feet that performed the miraculous feat (😊) of carrying us around decade after decade.

Surely part of taking care of feet is basic hygiene that affects women or men.

My feet are clean though, and the nails trimmed. Maybe I'm lucky with them as I don't seem to get random hard skin but even if I did it's not like it's dirty.

For all the absolute idiots trying to start idiotic fights about ‘feminism’

Here is the NHS link about foot care
www.nhs.uk/live-well/healthy-body/tips-on-foot-care/

Reasons for caring for your feet
To prevent infections and limit spread of them
To prevent falls
Prevent althletes foot
Prevent bunions
Prevent callouses
Prevent odours

It is hygeneic and nicer for you and people who live with you to take care of your feet
If you don’t care, but go swimming or communal bare feet areas and such like and spread your manky foot problems around with everyone else that is something to be way more ashamed of than putting a nice cream on your feet

Surely part of taking care of feet is basic hygiene that affects women or men.

Washing them, cutting nails.
Not necessarily having to remove dry skin so that they look less offensive to the odd stranger who is going to stare at them.

Pookie I may be an "absolute idiot" but I don't have any of the things on that list so what is it exactly I'm meant to be doing? Apart from washing the damn things?

My feet are clean though, and the nails trimmed. Maybe I'm lucky with them as I don't seem to get random hard skin but even if I did it's not like it's dirty

That’s what I mean though - short nails and clean. I moisturise as I do the rest of my body because I get dry skin.

Hard/dry skin on feet can be horrid and scratchy!

@Madbengalmum

I feel like I don’t need to go that far as I keep on top of them so I am not tackling something major that needs a blade. I literally only need to exfoliate a little bit now and again. Hence the creams are nice in lots of ways. I get dry ankles and tops of feet and toes it’s just a nice thing to do

Oh yes and I meant to add, how is this all about women?

My DH works up to 10 hour shifts in steel toe capped boots.

He's always hacking at the hard, dry skin on his feet with razor blades and his battery operated Ped Egg.

It even comes in a nice shade of blue for the boys

It's just a marketing campaign. You can't be 'made' to feel anything. And you can do whatever you like with your own body. Liberating, huh?

I never have professional manicures or pedicures: intense buffing weakens my nails and I dislike the way they cut the cuticles (I just push mine back). But I invest in a lot of nail oils, hand creams, foot files, and I wear foot moisturizer and moisture socks every single night. I could probably take out shares in Body Shop peppermint foot rescue, which I'm never without.

Nothing to do with being 'summer' ready. I do it year-round, notwithstanding whether I'm constantly wearing sandals or boots! It's purely a matter of personal choice.

Cracked heels and skin that bad hurts. It is painful. If you neglect them and let them get very bad you will have more problems further down the line. I felt bad for the woman I saw and my DM as I know it’s painful but they don’t seem to know how to tackle it properly.

If you don’t have anything on the list then I am not talking about you am I?

Pookie, nooooo I am not suggesting you use a blade.
I do lots of bladework in my job treating my patients feet, and for cracked heels and callus it is the only real way to get rid. It MUST be done by a professional too!

I can read, PookieDo, so I am aware what you wrote initially and in your subsequent backtracking posts. I expect the little sniggering emoji in your first post when you judged a random woman's feet was a typo.

I never said anything was "fucking vain" or made any comment on what women should or shouldn't do to their feet. I'll leave being judgemental
about what other women do to you.

The upshot is, if you need to ,spend some money on getting your feet done properly and then do some good aftercare and your feet will be good to go.

Not all skin conditions are alike though. They won't all just disappear with a visit to a podiatrist or a chiropodist. If only....

You are a plank. I’m not back tracking because I put an emoji. I said the same thing I said the first time!

I don’t feel confident about people’s foot hygiene if they neglect their feet. How on earth do they know if they have verrucas or altletes foot if they don’t take care of them at all? It’s not only bad for them it’s infectious for other people

There is nothing wrong with looking after your feet, trust me I see people's when they don't, and there is not a reat deal more painful that foot pain and discomfort. For some reason people really do neglect their feet.

I wouldn’t want that woman to take her shoes off and go barefoot in my house for instance. She’s free to do what she wants with her own feet, despite however painful it is but I think you have to accept that on some levels it’s going to be unpleasant for other people and you if you don’t care for them

Aragog, I am talking a out the foot conditons mentioned in thread. All which can be resolved or aided greatly. Skin conditons are for a dermatologist.

So if you had dry hands you would forgo moisturiser?

yes, it would change it from dry to cracked and bleeding.

I'm confused - what is the definition of an unkempt foot?

Mine are soft with no cracks but I haven't bothered to paint the nails for ages. What else are people doing for maintenance?

Feet are horrid

She wasn't taking her shoes off and going barefoot in your house though, was she PookieDo? Being a complete stranger. She was just going about her day minding her own business. Unlike you.

@MrsCakeTheMedium

No shes not a stranger I didn’t tell you who she was or why I saw her feet did I?

What an extraordinary thread. I use handcream morning and bedtime and include my feet.

My feet aren't bad for old feet. No hard skin, corns or bunions. I have never worn a pair of shoes that rub (why would you). Due to back problems I need arch support - easier in winter than summer because it's easy to hide an orthotic in a boot. But vionics, Gabor etc are worth a second look.

I have a pedi (with polish not gels in the summer) every three weeks. Have to - can't bend to cut them any more. Well I can but the pedi lady does it so much better and more easily.

It's a lovely treat. Never had a facial and only a manicure for v special occasions.

DH has a wet shave at the barbers and they trim his nasal hair and massage is head. He loves it. He is very fussy about his hands but wild horses wouldn't drag him into a pair of sandals. His feet are fine - always worn good, comfortable shoes.

Sorry PookieDo, I do apologise. If she isn't a random stranger then of course it's perfectly fine for you to be all judgy and sneery about her feet online.

I take care of my feet all year round, because I swim all year round. But I think I see what the OP is getting at. There is a large industry based on women's appearance and even footcare comes under that. So some women probably do feel a bit pressurised to have perfect feet.

@madbengalmum when you say foot specialist for fungal nail, where might one find one of those? I always thought fungal nail was a condition to be ‘managed’ rather than cured, but would be delighted to discover otherwise!

On the summer-ready point, I moisturise my heels more in summer as they get very dry and the skin can get a bit scratchy. But I also moisturise my hands for this reason; I see it as general body maintenance.