Do your feet hurt? Read this!

Expert advice on taking care of your feet from a leading chiropodist. By Bernadette Fallon

You can spend all the money in the world on fabulous face creams and wonder potions, but if your feet hurt it won't matter - discomfort and pain will show clearly on your face. As we age we're more likely to suffer feet problems and while corns, calluses and bunions are not very sexy they do need to be addressed before the problem gets out of hand. And of course at this time of year it's often a case of out of sight, out of mind, as feet are shoved into boots for the winter - never to be considered again until spring.

 

Don't do it! Foot expert and surgical chiropodist Margaret Dabbs says it is vital to maintain a regular foot care routine throughout winter. She advises dry filing feet once a week and using a moisturising cream every day. ‘But don't use a body cream,' she stresses. ‘You are only wasting it as skin on your feet is much thicker than on the rest of your body, so it's not making any impact. Use a product that has been specially formulated for feet instead.'

 

Common myths

 

A common myth sees many people bathing their feet before filing - thinking the skin is more manageable when soft. Wrong again! ‘Filing after bathing is very dangerous, as this could open the skin' explains Margaret, ‘particularly as we get older and our skin gets weaker. When skin is wet it also masks the areas that need to be filed.'

 

There are a few other myths out there when it comes to what's good for your feet. ‘Rubbing feet in Vaseline is thought to be a good treatment for feet,' says Margaret - ‘I've even read celebrity endorsements of this trick. But Vaseline is a barrier cream, it's not treating the feet, it's just sitting on the skin. It's very important to feed the skin cells with a nourishing cream.'

 

Educate yourself

 

Using the correct products is very important to prevent build up of calluses, to add elasticity to the skin and to prevent cracks developing. See a chiropodist regularly - ‘if the feet are very bad, I will advise a client to come back in six weeks', says Margaret. ‘Then appointments can be stretched over a longer time. But it is amazing how quickly people see results once they start taking proper care of their feet.'

 

‘There are not many parts of your body you can improve so radically with proper attention once you get to a certain age - but this is possible with your feet. For example, having a facial is quite subjective - is your skin really better after? But with your feet you can feel the difference instantly.' And when it comes to choosing the right shoes, Margaret is quite practical. ‘The biggest indicator is pain - don't wear anything that causes you pain.'

 

Margaret is very passionate about feet, and a trip to her London clinic proves this very quickly. ‘I just love getting my hands on feet,' she laughs. ‘It can improve somebody's quality of life so much if their feet are not hurting - I love to treat people and help them.'

 

Combining a health and beauty approach to foot-care, not only do clients experience a thorough chiropody service, but added extras like foot massages, nail care, a reclining massaging chair to relax in during treatment (while breathing pure oxygen!) make it quite pampering as well. With a long-established practice she is recognised as one of the leading experts in the field and counts several celebrity clients among her many fans.

 

Emu oil - tops for feet

 

She has also developed her own foot-care range, using Australian wonder-ingredient emu oil. A reasonably new arrival in the UK, it has thousands of years of history to its credit - Aborigines discovered the benefits of this oil as a healing balm and pain-relief remedy 40,000 years ago. Its excellent penetration properties make it especially beneficial for treating feet; as it most closely resembles the oil secreted by the human sebaceous glands it is drawn in through the dermal layers of the skin to moisturise and hydrate.

 

‘We're much more conscious about lifestyle choices now - about what we eat, keeping fit, taking care of ourselves,' says Margaret. ‘But somehow our feet often get overlooked in this routine.'

 

The Margaret Dabb clinic is located at 36 Weymouth Street London W1G 6NJ; phone 0207 487 5510. For more information and to find out about her foot care range, visit the website at www.margaretdabbs.co.uk.

 

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