Take care of your often-neglected body parts. Here are some simple solutions you can start today.

The two top reasons for cracked heels are walking barefoot or wearing backless shoes (sandals & flip flops). This causes excessive pressure and friction that expands the “fat pad” of the heels, causing the skin to dry and crack.

NOTE: If you are experiencing bleeding, painful heel cracks making it difficult to walk, please see your health practitioner as this may be a sign of a more serious concern such as diabetes. Diabetics are prone to the bleeding, painful cracks because they have more difficulty producing oil.

If you are plagued by  thick skin build-up on the heels STOP using a callus blade and scrubbing of the dry skin. These procedures  will help your heels look pink and soft for a few days, but then before you know it, the skin grows back even thicker and faster than before. Why? Your body goes into healing mode – it thinks it has a wound and reacts by sending more cells down to the heels. The skin builds up even faster and thicker to protect them.

Solutions for cracked heels & thick skin build-up on heels:

1). Eat a diet rich in omega-three fatty acids (such as fish oil or flax seed oil – they both come in capsules). And drink 8 glasses of water a day to keep skin soft and supple.

2). After showering apply a moisturizing product on your feet and then put on a pair of socks and slippers to protect your heels. Apply quick penetrating, all natural Zim’s Crack Crème Original Formula to instantly banish dry, cracked heels and dry cuticles around your toes. Apply before and after wearing sandals. NOTE: Zim’s is less messy than many greasy foot creams and does not stain your shoes

3). Do minimal foot filing on heels and never use the callus blades. Much better to soften and moisten heels by soaking feet in a foot bath with equal parts warm milk and warm water or simply apply the Zim’s Crack Crème.

4). Never walk around the house in bare feet. Always wear socks and slippers. Or apply Zim’s at night with socks and wear them to bed.

5). If you’re going to wear sandals, apply some Zim’s on your heels and toes beforehand and when you return home, put on some socks and slippers.

Find Zim’s Crack Crème Original Formula at drug stores.

Knees & Elbows:

If you’re experiencing dry, thick skin on your knees and elbows, once again — no harsh exfoliating is needed on these two areas because you don’t want to thicken or build-up the skin. The trick is to soften this skin by keeping it moist. After showering, spray on a little Zim’s Crack Crème.

Area above the knees:

As we age the skin in this area loses elasticity and can appear “crepe-y” or jiggly. So in this case, you DO want to use a more rigorous exfoliating method to both stimulate collagen production in the skin and help thicken skin.

Use one of these procedures daily

apply a potent microdermabrasion scrub in a circular motion on your upper legs

or dry brush the thighs before showering (using a circular motion toward the heart).

or use a loofah on the thighs in the shower every day.

After showering apply a peptide-rich cream. Peptides are clinically documented to stimulate collagen over 350% and hydrate the skin, stimulating hyaluronic acid over 260%. Relastyl Moisturizer contains skin rejuvenating peptides in a base of shea butter and evening primrose oil. This combination keeps the thighs looking firm.  You can find a  microdermabrasion scrub at health food stores.

Back:

Many of us experience acne breakouts on the back and to combat that, I suggest applying an alpha hydroxy acid (AHA) lotion to gently exfoliate and soften the skin. AHA’s may bring more blemishes to the surface for a couple of weeks, but afterward, your skin will stay clear as you continue to apply the AHA regularly.  AHA’s also keep your back soft and supple. You can find them at beauty and drug stores.