Treat Cracked Heels Overnight with Thick Foot Cream & Socks

If you glance down at your feet and wince at dry, cracked heels with thick calluses and deep fissures, you’re not alone. An estimated 20% of adults suffer from painful cracked heels that can make walking uncomfortable or embarrassing.

While genetics can play a role along with health conditions like diabetes or thyroid disorders, common lifestyle factors typically contribute to botanically dry, raspy heel skin and flavorless foot cracks:

What Factors Cause Cracked Heels?

Not Enough Moisture

Heels contain very little oil glands compared to other parts of your foot and skin. This makes them prone to rough, flaky skin that eventually cracks open without adequate moisture. Infrequent moisturizing is one of the worst habits for your heels.

Going barefoot often also removes your skin’s natural oils and hydration. If you love padding around shoeless in the home, make sure to consistently smooth on foot cream afterward.

Dry Air

Environmental humidity directly impacts the hydration (or lack thereof) level of your skin. Low moisture content in the air leeches water from unprotected skin—especially thick heel skin already lacking oil glands. This evaporation worsens dryness, callouses and eventual fissure formation when skin can’t withstand the strain.

Irritation from Sweat & Friction

On the opposite end of the scale, excess sweat without proper airflow can also irritate skin and break down collagen fibers in the heels. Damp socks rubbing against dry heels when walking creates friction. This forms calluses which soon crack from the pressure impact against hard floors.

Harsh, Daily Cleansers

Many regular soaps and foaming washes contain surfactants that dissolve dirt and oils – along with your skin’s essential hydrating barrier! Overwashing with abrasive cleansing products strips away much-needed moisture from the heel area.

This typical combination of moisture loss and irritation is the perfect storm for creating painfully cracked heels and perpetually dry, lackluster skin.

6 Key Causes Behind Cracked Heels

To properly treat and prevent your cracked heels, make sure you know what underlying factors above may be causing the problem in your lifestyle. Here’s a summary of the most common triggers:

1. Dry, dehydrated skin lacking oil & moisture
2. Insufficient humidity/dry air robbing skin of water
3. Excess sweat & friction from shoes eroding collagen fibers
4. Standing or walking for prolonged periods
5. Using harsh, foaming cleansers that strip skin oils
6. Improper footwear without arch or heel support

Now that you know why neglected heels crack in the first place, let’s cover how to reverse cracked skin overnight with a pampering foot care combo…

4 Must-Have Ingredients to Immediately Soften Hard Skin

To banish cracked heels once and for all, don’t waste time with subpar lotions – you need serious hydration reinforcement! Look for ultra-rich foot creams with these hardworking ingredients:

Urea

Urea is a keratolytic wonder ingredient that breaks up the bonds between dead, excess skin cells clogging the heels. At a high concentration between 20-40% in foot creams, urea also acts as a strong humectant.

This means it draws moisture from the environment into newly exfoliated skin. Urea melts away rough heel calluses while pulling double duty to deeply hydrate the fresh skin underneath.

Glycerin & Petrolatum

These emollient powerhouses provide intense moisture through a protective occlusive barrier. Glycerin is a natural humectant derived from plant oils that attracts and seals in hydration.

Petrolatum has an even thicker consistency to coat skin in a waterproof paraffin-wax base. The combination fills in cracks and smooths calloused skin by preventing moisture evaporation.

Salicylic Acid

This beta hydroxy acid (BHA) gently sloughs off dead cells through the lipid layers on your skin’s surface. Salicylic acid is oil soluble which allows it to penetrate deeper than AHAs. This means it can descent into the thicker layers of hard heel skin and soften calluses from underneath the surface.

Allantoin

Found in botanical extracts like comfrey, allantoin stimulates healthy skin cell turnover to speed healing. It soothes away inflammation and discomfort while helping sensitive skin regenerate. This is perfect for reducing post-peel stinging and irritation overnight.

With these four hydrating and exfoliating ingredients, it’s easy to melt away painful callouses and fissures on your feet. But that’s just half the battle…

How to Seal In Foot Cream with Plastic Wrap & Socks

To ensure those key ingredients actually absorb instead of rubbing off on your sheets, follow this easy routine:

Step 1: Wash and Exfoliate Feet

Use an exfoliating foot scrubber or pumice stone to slough off dead skin so the cream can penetrate fresh cells underneath. Avoid tearing at painful fissures or cracks – the foot soak and urea cream will dissolve thick calluses instead.

Step 2: Apply Ultra-Rich Foot Cream

Look for creams with petrolatum, shea/cocoa butter, glycerin listed near the top of the list for maximum hydration. Avoid lotions which can evaporate quickly.

Smooth on a thick layer evenly across the entire foot, especially targeting severely calloused or cracked areas like the heels and balls of feet. Don’t be shy with the amount – more cream means quicker cell turnover and healing results!

We recommend using Bag Balm, an ultra-rich mix originally formulated to soothe cracked cow udders. This extra-strength cream contains petroleum jelly, lanolin, and antiseptic ingredients perfect for healing even the roughest heel skin overnight.

Step 3: Wrap Feet in Plastic for 30 Minutes

For an intensive moisturizing treatment, cover freshly creamed feet in plastic wrap like you would for a DIY foot mask. The plastic locks in urea and other humectant ingredients so they pull moisture from the air into thirsty skin cells.

Set a timer for 30 minutes minimum while the plastic wrap does its work to force the cream deeper into cracked heels until skin appears more supple and smooth. The plastic wrap prevents messiness while also keeping expensive cream from rubbing off on socks or bedsheets.

Step 4: Put on Cozy Cotton Socks Overnight

Once removing the plastic wrap “booties”, slide on a pair of clean, moisture-wicking cotton socks to further seal in the cream’s nutrients while sleeping. Choose socks without bulky seams that could irritate healing cracks. Look for soft microfiber blends that feel gentle securing foot cream to the target areas.

The socks protect tender skin while also preventing cream residue from staining your sheets. Say goodbye to greasy residue and let the socks work their magic!

What Makes This Overnight Method So Effective?

Here’s why pairing an ultra-rich foot cream with sock occlusion all night long yields such incredible smoothing, crack-healing results:

Ultra-Hydrating Formula An intensely moisturizing foot cream provides much-needed water content to parched, thick heel skin. Key emollient ingredients like urea, salicylic acid and glycerin sinks deep inside cracks to plump and smooth them.

The high concentration of humectants pulls moisture from the air into thirsty skin cells all night long while you sleep. In the morning, the heavy cream formula leaves skin supple and revived.

Locks in Moisture
The plastic wrap and socks create a protective seal to prevent water evaporation from the cream overnight. All of the soothing and hydrating ingredients remain concentrated on the desired areas all night long.

Without the sock layer, the cream would simply absorb into bedsheets or rub off on other feet – wasting all the nourishing ingredients!

Gentle Overnight Exfoliation The combination also gently sloughs away dead, callused skin cells in your sleep to reveal soft new skin by morning.

The urea and salicylic acid both break down the “glue” between rough, excessive layers of heel skin. No harsh manual scrubbing required! The cream passively smooths skin texture overnight through chemical exfoliation.

Cracking the Code for Silky Soft Feet

In the morning after washing off the foot cream, you’ll be amazed by insanely smooth, supple heels free of painful cracks and fissures. Simply remember to apply rich moisturizing foot cream daily along with wearing clean cotton socks afterward to maintain newly soft skin.

You can also prevent recurrence of heel cracks by incorporating key healthy foot care habits:

• Use Gentler Cleansers – Opt for moisturizing body washes without sulfates/surfactants that strip away natural skin oils. Or simply use an anti-bacterial hand soap on feet.
• Exfoliate 2x a Week – Continue gently scrubbing away dead skin cells so foot cream better penetrates fresh layers underneath for nourishment and moisture retention in calloused areas.
• Apply Rich Cream Daily – Whether first thing after showering or before bed, generously hydrate feet to keep skin supple and reverse dryness that causes cracking.
• Wear Supportive Shoes – Heels, flats and unsupportive shoes worsen callouses and prevent proper distribution of pressure points that lead to painful fissures on feet. Stick to cushioned sneakers or orthopedic shoe inserts.
• Get Regular Pedicures – Every 6 weeks or after months of closed-toe shoes, treat your feet to some expert TLC! The foot soaks, scrubs and hydrating masks repair summer or winter damage to keep feet smooth year-round.

But if you do notice your heels cracking again, immediately implement the overnight foot cream and sock seal trick to wake up with baby soft feet once more! With this helpful foot care checklist, sandal season has nothing on your fabulous feet.