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“You know, you should really use a foot cream.” I knew the pedicurist tending to my feet wasn’t trying to be rude, but like breaking in a new pair of leather boots, her comment rubbed me the wrong way. “Ew, yeah, what the hell do you do to your feet?” my best friend chided me from the next seat over. Their rough state has been a running joke since high school, but the truth of the matter is I’ve tried just about every tool and treatment there is to manage how dry and cracked my feet get. It doesn’t matter the time of year, they’re always callused, uncomfortable, and—in more polite company—embarrassing.
For the most part, it’s something I’ve gotten used to. I’ll come home, kick off my shoes, and wonder how my paramedic boyfriend can have feet that look better than mine. I’ve gone through every butter, cream, and pumice stone. Even the heavy-duty stuff like those face brushes for your feet haven’t made a difference. Baby Foot, the viral foot peel that makes you shed dead skin like a snake, helps for about a week, and then my feet seem to immediately revert back to their baseline.
Then one day I came across a review for these gel socks. Let’s first address the aesthetics head-on: They’re not cute. But they’ve managed to do what no cream before them has been able to do: Soften and smooth my haggard feet.
The inside of the socks are lined with a hydrating gel, so they deposit ingredients like vitamin E and jojoba oil while you wear them. They’re cold and squishy but never moist. Even though I’m someone who has a general distaste for socks (I know there’s probably a correlation somewhere to this), I find they’re surprisingly comfortable to sleep in, pleasant even. On nights when my radiator’s on full blast, I’ll pop them in the fridge before climbing into bed. Then I’ll stare in amazement as I peel them off in the morning. Emphasis on peel: They feel vaguely like a suction cup.
I’ve since bought three extra pairs, including the more neutral gray XpresSpa version, which is about $10 more but slightly chicer, if you can even say that about a foot product. They’re easy to clean—you just throw them in the washer—and can be worn with foot cream, if that doesn’t bother you (it was too squishy for me). Neither one totally erases calluses, but I swear they’re life-changing. If not for the money they’ve saved me on extra pedi scrubs, then for the fact that I can play Candy Crush in my massage chair in silence.
BelleSha Spa Moisturizing Gel Socks, $18, amazon.com
