FOOT CARE JOURNAL 04
Why Heels Grow So Hard
Run a hand from your cheek to your heel and the difference is almost comical. The skin on your face feels like silk; the heel, on some days, could snag a cashmere throw. It isn’t bad luck. It comes down to the job a heel does.
Whether you are standing or walking, the heel is the first place your body weight lands. Every step concentrates the impact there, and when you run, that force can reach two to three times your body weight.
Skin answers repeated pressure by protecting itself. So on the heel, the outer layer grows far thicker than on most of the body.
Plenty of sweat, no oil
The soles of the feet have one of the highest concentrations of sweat glands on the body, yet no oil glands at all. On the face and back, oil glands lay down a natural moisturizing film. The heel has to manage without one.
So the heel carries the heaviest load of the day with no built-in way to keep itself supple. That combination leaves the skin there dry, and quick to harden.
The thickness itself is a healthy response; it is how the body protects itself. The trouble starts when it builds up too far.
Hardened skin loses its give, and each time your weight comes down, the surface can no longer stretch with it. Add dryness, and the only way left for the skin to go is to split.
In other words, cracked heels happen in the place most likely to crack, for reasons that make perfect sense.
So why do heels still crack, even when you keep up with a moisturizing cream?
If cracks are deep, painful or bleeding, or if you have diabetes or circulation concerns, please see a doctor or podiatrist before treating them yourself.
Your heels have been telling you something. It may be worth listening.
At Colors Hiroo Nail Lounge, foot care is a treatment of its own, never an afterthought. Over the years, we have kept refining how we care for callused skin and heels.
It can be done in the same visit as your gel manicure or pedicure: an unhurried hour in a modern Japanese house, two minutes’ walk from Hiroo Station.
Reservations are made through Hot Pepper Beauty, an external Japanese booking site. English-language plan details are listed further down that page; please scroll down to find them.
Colors Hiroo Nail Lounge
5-3-8 Hiroo, Shibuya-ku,
Tokyo
Mon–Fri 10:00–21:00
Sat, Sun & Holidays 11:00–20:00