CCS Foot Cream: a guide to dry feet and cracked heels

What should you check on the CCS tube?

Check the current ingredient list, any stated urea percentage and the application instructions before choosing your routine. The steps below are general foot care, not CCS specific application directions. For dry, cracked heels, useful cream ingredients include urea, alpha hydroxy acid and salicylic acid. Urea can help retain water and soften thickened skin. A moisturizing cream can also help ordinary dry feet without being marketed specifically for feet. A moisturizer does not have to be sold as a foot cream to soften dry feet, despite the very specific job title.234

What can a foot cream help with?

Regular moisturizing keeps heels hydrated and supple, helping prevent cracks. A heel balm with a skin softening ingredient can also help reduce thick, hard skin. Cracked heels often begin with a dry callus around the heel rim. Pressure makes the cushioning pad beneath the heel spread sideways, which can split that hard skin. Small surface cracks can deepen until standing or walking hurts, and deeper cracks can bleed. Cream is therefore most useful before dryness becomes a painful split, rather than as the only response once a deep crack has developed.4

How should you fit foot cream into your routine?

1. 1Wash your feet daily with warm, not hot, water and a gentle cleanser. Avoid prolonged soaking, which can dry the skin.
2. 2Dry gently, paying particular attention to the spaces between your toes. Those spaces should be dry before you finish.
3. 3Apply moisturizer to dry areas of the feet and heels after washing. For dry heels, apply within five minutes of bathing while the heel skin is still damp. Follow your CCS tube for the amount and frequency.
4. 4Keep moisturizer out of the spaces between your toes, including any corns there.
5. 5For dry, cracked heels, add plain petroleum jelly before bed. Socks can help keep the ointment off your bedding.

For ordinary dry feet, general foot care guidance supports moisturizing at least once daily, ideally morning and night. For heels starting to crack, moisturizing two to three times daily can help. These are general moisturizing schedules, not instructions to apply a particular CCS formula more often than its label allows. Apply moisturizer whenever the heels feel dry, within the product's directions, rather than waiting for a crack to become painful.234

Will it remove hard skin and calluses?

Corns and calluses are areas of thickened skin that develop in response to repeated friction or pressure. Moisturizing helps keep the surface soft, while creams containing urea, salicylic acid or lactic acid can help reduce skin thickness. Address the cause as well: choose comfortable, well fitting shoes, and consider cushioned soles if hard skin sits beneath the foot. Shoes that are too large as well as too small can cause pressure problems. A foot cream can soften hard skin, but it cannot renegotiate the fit of a shoe.57

If you file hard skin at home, use a foot file or emery board gently on dry skin before washing, then moisturize afterward. Do not cut corns or calluses with blades, pick at them, or use acid corn plasters or pastes. These methods can damage skin and lead to infection. A podiatrist can treat persistent corns and calluses and help identify the pressure responsible. If you have diabetes, get medical care for foot calluses rather than treating them yourself.56

What else helps cracked heels?

Use footwear that supports the heel. Avoid open heel shoes, worn out shoes and poorly fitting pairs while treating dry, cracked heels. For suitable heel cracks, a liquid bandage can create a protective barrier, reduce pain and help healing. Plain petroleum jelly provides a thick lubricating layer at night. Socks help keep petroleum jelly off the bedding, which did not apply for a skincare routine. Deep, bleeding or severely painful cracks need assessment rather than a thicker application of cream.37

How long should you try the routine?

Use moisturizing regularly and inspect your heels daily for new cracks or worsening splits. Early cracking can respond to a consistent moisturizing routine, but there is no fixed healing deadline for every heel. If cracked heels show no improvement after a week of home care, arrange a podiatry assessment. Seek help sooner for severe cracking. A podiatrist can remove hard skin safely, provide dressings or recommend heel pads and stronger softening treatments when needed.4

What if you have diabetes?

Diabetes can cause very dry skin, slow healing and a higher risk of infection. Reduced feeling in the feet can make cracked heels particularly concerning. Inspect your feet every day, including the soles and between the toes, for swelling, discoloration, blisters, sores and cuts. For dry, cracked heels, general diabetes skin care guidance supports a cream containing 10% to 25% urea at bedtime, followed by petroleum jelly and white cotton socks, repeated daily until the skin heals. For other dry skin, choose a fragrance free cream or ointment containing ceramides. Check the CCS ingredient list before using it to meet either requirement.46

When is foot cream not enough?

Red, moist, itchy skin between the toes, sometimes with blisters, can be athlete's foot, a fungal infection that needs antifungal treatment rather than moisturizer alone. A pharmacist can help you choose a treatment; see a doctor or podiatrist if symptoms persist. Swelling, heat, redness, pain or drainage can signal infection. If you have diabetes, seek immediate medical care for signs of a skin or nail infection, or a wound that worsens or fails to heal. Severe or persistent cracked heels also warrant assessment because a medical condition can contribute to the cracking.1236