Choosing the best heel cream becomes a little easier once you know what to look for, and the first must-have ingredient is a good moisturizer. Heel creams should also include vitamins and other ingredients to help heal and soothe the skin. A heel cream that includes an exfoliant may also be helpful in removing calluses and dry skin. The cream should be non-greasy and have a good consistency. Heel creams also come in both tubes or jars, but you may want to opt for a product that comes in a tube in order to avoid contamination of the cream.
A good heel cream should contain moisturizing ingredients to help nourish and hydrate dry and cracked skin. Some of the ingredients to look for include shea butter, mango butter, and cocoa butter. Some heels creams may contain essential oils such as grape seed, jojoba, or camellia oil, all of which can provide intensive moisturization.
Ingredients that help heal and soothe the skin include aloe vera and tea tree oil, and these ingredients may also be helpful in a heel cream. Aloe vera is believed to have numerous properties that not only help the skin to heal but that fight infection. Tea tree oil may also help to protect the feet against fungal, bacterial, and viral infections, which is particularly helpful if the heels have deep cracks.
The best heel cream should also contain vitamins, and the most important of these is vitamin E. Vitamin E is believed to nourish the skin and may be helpful in providing moisturization to make the skin supple again. Wheat germ oil can be a good source of vitamin E, so this is another ingredient to look for in a heel cream. Vitamin A and C may also help to get rid of cracked and flaky skin on the heels.
An exfoliant may not be the first thing you think of when buying heel cream, but it may be helpful in getting rid of thick dry skin or calluses. Exfoliation may help to get rid of dead skin cells, and uncovering the skin underneath may help other ingredients to penetrate the skin. If the ingredients are able to penetrate more deeply into the skin, you may get better results.
A good heel cream should be rich and have a thick consistency without being too greasy. The cream should absorb completely and easily, though some manufacturers may recommend wearing cotton socks after having applied the cream. The richer or thicker creams may be overnight treatments. Be sure to check how and when to use a cream before you purchase it.
The packaging of the cream is easy to ignore until you start using the product. Heel creams generally come in tubes or in cosmetic jars with screw top lids, and tubes may be the better option of the two. If you use a cream that comes in a tube you won't have to put your finger into the container to get the cream out. Sticking your fingers into the product may transfer bacteria or other impurities to it.