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I put a small amount of baking soda in my shoes every morning to stop my feet from smelling throughout the day. Because of this, my feet get very dry and flaky with dead skin, especially between the toes and around the heel.

It is not fungus or anything just a lot of dry and dead skin. How can I clean it off?

I dont want to buy any of those stones or brushes they make specifically for this, just use something/s from around the house

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    "I dont want to buy any of those stones or brushes they make specifically for this." This seems contrived. Is there any particular reason you don't want to buy common personal hygiene products to keep your dirty feet clean? Have you considered washing your feet in the shower? Like, with soap and a rag, the way people usually wash themselves? – Captain Obvious Mar 21 '16 at 9:38
  • How about feeding some fish? :) – JoErNanO Mar 22 '16 at 16:26
  • @CaptainObvious because buying a product to do this wouldn't be a lifehack :) – celeriko Mar 23 '16 at 2:28
  • @celeriko That's because washing yourself doesn't need a lifehack. – Captain Obvious Mar 23 '16 at 5:27
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    @CaptainObvious i don't follow your logic...if you look at the accepted answer there is much more involved in this lifehack than "washing yourself" – celeriko Mar 23 '16 at 11:51
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Feet are tender so I don't think you should attack them with tweezers or knifes. Reasons:

  • By pulling the skin off you can create openings that can get infected.

  • Knives can also cut you and open you to infection. Your hand may not be steady enough and the knife may be dirty.

Things you can do:

Use exfoliants. Moisturizing will make the skin fall of and promote more healthier skin. With that I offer these tips:

  • Scrub your feet in a hot water bath. Soaking before scrubbing helps you remove the skin as well. Now add moisturizer and clean your shoes. Replacing inner soles and washing shoes should help. Dirty shoes may cause infection.

If you are interested in feet stone alternatives:

  • Fine grain sand paper. This works just the same mostly, I even make nail files out of it.

  • Make salt scrubs out of oils and salt, always moisturizer after ward. Using loose oils and letting them sit works better.

  • Using emery boards would work to.

Additional info

Ehow. Com

Warning:

There are no alternatives to going to a foot doctor who can actually diagnose you. You may have a skin condition.

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  • How to get the dead skin from around your toes? – user7293 Jun 28 '15 at 18:37
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If you don't want to buy any sort of pedicure product designed for this then there are a couple of other alternatives that I can think of and that I have personally used in the past:

  • Rub with something rough - Like the pedicure stones and scrubbers, you can just find something rough and rub the dead skin away (i.e. sandpaper [fine grain to save your feet from bleeding], stones / rocks, pavement, etc.)
  • Cut it off - While perhaps not being the safest method, you can always get a fairly sharp knife and cut away the dead skin (best for working around the heel), but be careful not to cut too deep into new skin otherwise you'll eb walking funny for a little while.
  • Pick at it - I used to get really flaky feet and I could entertain myself for a fair while by just getting a pair of tweezers or similar and picking away at the dead skin trying to get rid of it - while it isn't actually very effective, it kept me happy for a while.

In the end, I had to start applying some serious moisturizer (betnovate) to the feet daily in order to get rid of it completely - then again I think mine was a fungus of sorts.

You could always try and stop it at the source by not putting baking soda in your shoes any more, try finding an alternative that would be less harsh on your feet. I am sure there are special aerating inner soles that you could find to treat the issue of smelly feet.

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If you have a high speed Dremel like tool, these with an abrasive attachment are very effective at physically grinding off the hard skin. Of course you need to avoid pressing it too hard onto your skin as it will generate heat from the friction.

You may apply something like KY jelly or moisturiser to your skin it will soften it and provide some protection against heat. Otherwise a wet towel or a spray bottle can be used to douse any heat sensations instantly. On that front the heat is only very localized and dissipates very quickly and does not result in any burns.

I know it sounds odd to use a 30,000 RPM tool to remove hard skin but myself and friends find it effective. Which tool to use is up to you really,obviously avoid anything like a cutting disk attachment, anything for grinding is most likely ok. Just be sure you aren't going to cut yourself with the tool head if you screw up, so sanding barrels are always safe on that front.

Also finer grits aren't always better depending again on heat being generated. You wan't to get it over and done with quickly but you don't want to hurt yourself just learn what is an acceptable tool and method that avoids heat. Example don't press down over a single location keep moving, and the heat generated will be spread around

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This sounds crazy but it's very effective: mix 1/4 c Listerine (any kind, but I use the blue one), 1/4 c vinegar and 1/2 c of warm water. Soak feet for 10 minutes and when you take them out the dead skin will practically wipe off :)

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Put pretty hands and feet cream on you feet and rub away dry skin. Moisturizer afterward. Then wear cotton socks to bed.in the morning your feet will be much smoother. ..may need to be repeated for very bad cases.

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