This Foot Peel Is The Best Way to Prepare for Sandal Season

Sandal season somehow always manages to take me by surprise. When I see everyone else’s bare toes on the first warm day of late spring, it’s almost guaranteed that my toenails have mere hints of polish, and my feet have unsightly dry skin with cracked, thick calluses. I’ll be stuck in my old boots and sneakers until I can carve out time for a pedicure at home or in a salon.

Not this year, though. While there’s still a chill in the air, I’m buying my favorite Patchology Poshpeel Pedi Cure foot peel kit.

As I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized my calluses are more stubborn than they used to be. That toughened skin is a natural response to friction and pressure, and for the most part, it’s a nice protective layer between my feet and the world. But calluses can also be painful when they make your shoes fit differently than they used to, or when they get too dry and crack. (And by the way, if they’re very painful, book an appointment with your podiatrist before you read the rest of this article.) This is all in addition to the fact that those hard, dry bits of skin don’t look great. Some people have the time and money for regular pedicures to solve this problem, even during those “out of sight, out of mind” months of winter. I am not some people, which is why I was delighted when foot peels came to my attention a few years ago. Now, this ritual is a little treat I look forward to about twice a year.

The Patchology foot peel kit contains two booties that resemble miniature garbage bags, plus a pouch that contains a juicy concoction of glycolic acid (AHA), salicylic acid (BHA), lactic acid, citric acid, and botanical extracts. With these ingredients, If you have any open wounds or a rash, have particularly sensitive skin, or have eczema or psoriasis, you may want to skip peels and try a moisturizing foot mask instead.

Simply put on the booties, fill them up with the liquid, pull them closed with a sticky strap, and then sit back and relax for 60 to 90 minutes. While you can shuffle around the house in the booties or squeeze them into slides, I like to tell my family that I couldn’t possibly move from the couch while wearing them, and they must treat me like royalty for the next hour and a half. After time is up, rinse off your feet and get back to your regular scheduled drudgery. Don’t use any heavy lotions for 24 hours before or 24 hours after this process, to allow for maximum absorption of the product.

All those acids are chemical exfoliants, but heads up, they don’t slough off your dead skin right away. Once you’ve rinsed and dried your feet, you may feel that all-too-familiar disappointment that comes with the “miracle” skincare products an influencer convinced you to try — but trust the process. Although it can start working within one or two weeks, for me, it’s usually week three when the magic (science!) starts to work.

What happens next is gross. It is also, as the kids like to say, weirdly satisfying. If you do not wear socks to sleep, one morning you will wake up and wonder if there was a molting snake in your bed. First, the skin on the top of your feet will get scaly. Eventually, the peeling will happen where you really want it, on those tough calluses. Do not tug or peel the dead skin to hurry it up (however tempting that may be), because you might take the good skin off with it. Be patient. You’ll have to wear shoes with socks for at least that week, unless you like the phyllo-dough look. This is why the whole process requires forethought — even the brand says not to use it before going on vacation.

By week four, you should be done shedding, and you’ll see the payoff. I won’t say you’ll have the feet of a baby, but they’ll be pretty darn soft. So soft that you might want to wait another few days before wearing any brand new shoes or those sandals you haven’t worn since last year, because your skin might need a minute to toughen up.

All this waiting is worth it, though. These are feet worth showing off, and you won’t need to do any of this again for several months. So, let’s all look at our calendars and count backwards to make sure we get the timing just right for wearing those cute sandals we’ve been dreaming of all winter.