boston proper bare feet

Say Goodbye To Stinky Feet

by Anne Middleton, on May 29th, 2015

They may look relatively small, but our feet contain a whopping 250,000 sweat glands. Through your morning run, standing all day at work, chasing your progeny around the park and staying vertical long enough to make dinner and scrub the dishes, your feet can produce over half of pint of sweat. All that moisture turns into a petri dish for bacteria to grow. But, worst of all, your tootsies and your shoes can end up smelling icky. To prevent odorous footwear and keep your planter surfaces fresh, try these remedies.

Give your feet some air:  Feet go into sweat production overdrive when they are shoved into snug, closed-in shoes. Exposing your epidermis to fresh air cools everything down and halts stinky sweat. Opt for peep toes, open-toed shoes or flip flips whenever possible.  When closed-toed shoes are called for, pick up breathable canvas Converse or leather shoes from Boston Proper.

Give shoes a vacation day: Your Ugg Australia boots might be the most adored things in your trousseau, but they deserve a day off.  Wearing the same shoes everyday prevents the interior from drying out, which encourages yucky smells.  Instead, rotate your footwear and never wear the same pair back-to-back. As an extra bonus, you’ll get to show off all your beautiful shoes when you aren’t fixated on a single pair.

Fill ‘em up:  Since you are giving your shoes a vacation anyway, make it a spa day. Give your shoes a little pampering beauty treatment by sprinkling them with baking soda, talcum power or cornstarch. These powders will absorb unpleasant scents and leave shoes fresher. Or, fill them with cedar chips or whole cloves. Not only will these organic materials absorb odors, they will also leave behind their own crisp scent. When it’s time for the shoes to come back from the spa and hit the road again, empty out the freshening substances and refill with new materials later.

Have a soak:  Your feet are bound to be jealous if your shoes get a spa day and they don’t. Give your tootsies a relaxing, odor preventing, soak once a week. Fill up a tub or large bowl with warm water and toss in a half-cup of Epsom salt, which will act to neutralize foul smells. Or, add lemon juice and baking soda to the water to kill bacteria and halt sweating. Rosemary and sage will also do the job of eliminating bacteria while also leaving behind a lovely scent.

Wear socks: Socks act as a moisture-absorbing divide between your skin and shoes. Socks should be worn any time you son closed-toes shoes, but they take on greater importance when you engage in extra-sweaty activities, like a trip to the gym with your favorite Nike shoes. Be sure to choose moisture wicking socks made from merino wool, synthetic sock liners, or high-tech athletic socks with built-in ventilation. Before tossing your socks into the laundry, turn them wrong side out. This will allow the water and detergent better access to the dirtiest areas so that the locked-in sweat and dead skin cells are swept away.