"Baby Foot" Is Everyone's New Beauty Obsession
Sandal season is here, which also means it's time to bare those cracked, dry, and callus-loaded soles-yikes! But now there's one beauty product that is claiming to repair and transform rough, dry, and cracked soles-and it's getting a lot of hype.
Called Baby Foot, the foot peel product from Japan is basically two plastic booties lined with gel. After soaking your feet in the gel for one hour and then rinsing off, the product causes dry skin to peel away three to seven days later. The gel contains alpha hydroxy acids (AHAs), or fruit acids like latic, glycolic, and citric acids, that break down layers of dead skin and the cell structures that hold the dead skin together, according to Prevention.
It's become hugely popular since being introduced to the United States in 2012, and people can't stop sharing their foot peeling photos and videos online:
While the before and after images are pretty convincing, we couldn't help but wonder-is it too good to be true? And is it safe?
"I have patients who swear by Baby Foot-it does work," Dr. Debra Jaliman, MD, a dermatologist at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City, told Prevention. "It basically acts as a very strong exfoliant."
But before you try it, dermatologists have a few warnings: You shouldn't use Baby Foot if you have any kind of open sore or even a small cut on your foot, since the AHAs will get in there and cause some very intense pain (not to mention put you at risk for a skin infection). You also shouldn't try it if you have sensitive skin or eczema, and you should definitely avoid it if you're diabetic because you could have nerve damage that prevents you from feeling burning sensations.
Baby Foot is available online, but if you're looking for another option that perhaps sounds less intense-because we all know the worst way to style a sandal is with a crusty sole-you can try exfoliators like the Diamancel Foot Buffer, or the Emjoi Micro-Pedi Callus Remover.
(h/t Prevention)
