You don’t like the smell of vinegar? Neither do I! But vinegar is a magic seasoning in some of my dishes that will make my son devour his food in double-quick time. I use apple cider vinegar for my salads but when it comes to Chinese cooking, it’s gotta be rice vinegar! And it’s a lot cheaper too! Today, this post is not about cooking but rather, how to use rice vinegar to get rid of the dry and cracked skin on your heels.
Pedicure soak
Quite similar to western vinegars, rice vinegar is said to be higher in vinegar content but less acidic and milder in flavour. Some of you may think that using vinegar for the skin sounds absurd but it’s not so if you know that rice vinegar can change the skin’s PH value and soften skin cutin layer. It also has anti-bacterial properties. So this is why it makes a great pedicure soak because it can help to prevent and eliminate any nail fungus. Just use equal parts of water and rice vinegar and soak your feet for about 20 – 30 minutes. This will help to soft the hard skin on your heels too.
Heel scrub
Alternatively, mix a scrub by adding one tablespoon of honey and one tablespoon or more of coarse salt to one tablespoon of rice vinegar. You may want to add a few drops of olive oil if you like to the mixture. Make into a watery paste and use it to scrub the cracked heels and hard skin on your heels. You should find your heels a lot softer even after just one scrub. If you continue and do this continuously for a few times, you should find an improvement to your cracked heels because the vinegar will help to dissolve the thickened layers of the dead skin while the salt will gently abrade the toy layer of the dead skin. The honey acts as a sort of natural moisturizer to keep your feet soft and moisturized to prevent further cracking. However, I suggest you still slather on a foot cream after scrubbing and put on a pair of socks to let the cream sink in.
Other types of vinegar can be used
Rice vinegar is widely available in supermarkets and grocery stores. But if you really can’t get your hands on rice vinegar, apple cider vinegar or other forms of vinegar work as well. But like I mentioned, rice vinegar is a lot cheaper and so you won’t feel the pinch when you’re using it generously on your feet.