How Do I Fix Cracked Heels After Sandal Season?

Soften the skin first, reduce it gradually, then moisturise every day. Cracked heels are thickened skin that has lost its flexibility, so it splits under pressure rather than giving. Nothing shifts that in one evening, and anything promising otherwise is selling you the wrong expectation. Give it two to three weeks of doing the same three things. Three weeks is also the NHS's own marker for home treatment: if nothing has improved by then, see a GP rather than trying a stronger product.

All three of those are on the NHS list of what helps with hard skin: soak in warm water to soften it, use a pumice stone or foot file regularly to remove it, and moisturise to keep the skin soft. The NHS does not put those three in an order. Mavala does, and says why: the Concentrated Foot Bath softens calluses, making them easier to remove with the Scrub Cream afterwards. That is the sequence this guide follows.

Hard skin is the foot doing its job. The NHS is clear that calluses are caused by pressure or rubbing of the skin. An open-backed sandal gives the heel plenty of both, though that is our observation and not the NHS's. With nothing holding the foot in place, the heel pad spreads on every step and the skin thickens to protect itself. Add hot pavements, sand, chlorine and a season of bare feet on hard floors, and that thickened skin dries out. Dry, thick skin does not stretch, and skin that does not stretch splits.

Which is why the end of sandal season is the right moment rather than a missed one. The pressure has stopped, shoes are back on, and the skin is finally in a position to be worked on.

This is the step people skip, and it is the one that makes the next two work. Warm water softens hard skin so it can actually be reduced. Filing dry, hardened skin takes far more effort and takes off less. Mavala's Concentrated Foot Bath is made for exactly this, as the preparation before a pedicure rather than a treat on its own. It is a concentrate, so follow the label: a few drops in a bowl of lukewarm water, feet in for ten to fifteen minutes, then rinse thoroughly and dry properly, particularly between the toes. Mavala states it is not to be used by women who are pregnant or breastfeeding.

Gently is the word that matters. Mavala's Smoothing Foot Scrub Cream gently exfoliates to remove calluses and soften skin, and Mavala's own directions are to use it once a week, or more often for severe calluses and tough skin. Worth knowing that Mavala says two things here that sound contradictory and are not: the exfoliating effect is more intense on dry skin, and a soak beforehand softens calluses so they come away more easily. Dry is the harder-working option; after a soak is the gentler one. On heels that have already split, gentler is the right call.

One firm rule. The NHS says not to cut off corns or calluses yourself. Blades and credit-card graters take off too much and leave the skin raw, and in our experience the hard skin simply comes back. Reduce, do not remove. The rest of the range for hard skin and calluses sits in one place if you want to see it together.

Mavala's Hydro-Repairing Foot Care is enriched with urea at 25%, which is a high concentration and the reason it belongs in this conversation rather than in a general body lotion. Mavala describes urea as known for its super-hydrating and keratolytic properties, which in plain terms means it holds water in the skin and helps loosen hardened surface cells so they shed more readily. Mavala's own description is that it eliminates rough patches and calluses while nourishing and softening the skin, with apricot kernel extract to restore suppleness. It is intended for very dry and damaged feet.

Apply it in the evening to clean dry feet and put cotton socks on afterwards, which is Mavala's own intensive-care routine and also keeps the cream on your heels rather than on the bedsheets. Two things from Mavala's own label matter here and are easy to miss. Apply only to healthy skin, free from lesions, and do not apply it on open wounds or infected cracks. And although Mavala states the product has no known contraindications for diabetics, it recommends consulting your specialist doctor before use.

Comfort comes first, and quickly. A soak and a moisturiser make feet feel better the same evening. Appearance takes longer, because thickened skin has to be reduced layer by layer as the skin renews underneath. Two to three weeks of consistent use is a fair expectation, and heels that have been hardening all season may still be improving after that.

There is a useful marker in the NHS guidance here: it says to see a GP if a corn or callus has not improved after treating it at home for three weeks. That is the honest measuring point, and it is worth being precise about it. Still improving at three weeks is normal. No improvement at all by three weeks is the moment to see a GP rather than to try a stronger cream.

Some feet should not be treated at home at all. The NHS is explicit that if you have diabetes, problems with your circulation, a weakened immune system, or are an older person, you should not try to treat corns and calluses yourself. See a GP or a foot specialist instead. Mavala says the same thing from its own side: although it states the Hydro-Repairing Foot Care has no known contraindications for diabetics, it recommends consulting your specialist doctor before use.

The NHS also says to see a GP if it bleeds or has any pus or discharge, if the pain is severe or stopping you doing normal things, or if it has not improved after three weeks of treating it at home. A pharmacist can help too, with heel pads, corn plasters and products to treat corns and calluses. None of that is a reason to feel you have done something wrong. It is simply the point where a cosmetic product is the wrong tool.

Feet are maintenance rather than rescue. Once the hard skin is down, a weekly soak and file and a nightly cream hold it there for very little effort. The NHS list of what helps is worth reading as prevention rather than treatment: thick cushioned socks, wide well-fitting supportive shoes with a low heel and a soft sole, and soft insoles or heel pads. Most of what causes cracked heels is friction, and most of that is footwear.

Everything Mavala makes for dry and cracked heels is in one collection if you want to build the routine in one go. And if you are reading this in the other direction, with a holiday coming rather than behind you, the companion piece is Last-Minute Foot Prep: What You Can Actually Fix Before Your Holiday.

Open-backed shoes let the heel pad spread on every step, and the skin thickens in response to that pressure and rubbing. A summer of bare feet, hot ground, sand and chlorine dries that thickened skin out. Thick skin that has lost its moisture cannot flex, so it splits instead.

Yes, but over weeks rather than days. Urea holds water in the skin and loosens the bonds between hardened surface cells so they shed more easily. Concentration is what separates a foot product from a body lotion: Mavala's Hydro-Repairing Foot Care is formulated at 25%, which is why it is aimed at very dry and damaged feet rather than general dryness.

Feet feel better the first evening. They look better over two to three weeks, and heels that have hardened over a whole season may still be improving after that. Three weeks is the NHS's own marker for home treatment, so if there has been no improvement at all by then, see a GP rather than trying a stronger product.

Filing alone gives you a result that does not last. Without the soak beforehand you take off less and work harder, and without the moisturiser afterwards the skin dries out and thickens again. Filing on its own also tempts people into taking off too much. The NHS advises against cutting corns and calluses off yourself, and an over-enthusiastic file is the same mistake more slowly.

The three steps, in the order you would use them.

Written and fact-checked against UK health guidance by the Mavala UK e-commerce team. NHS, Corns and calluses (causes, self-care, what not to do, and when to see a GP; last reviewed 28 July 2026).

Mavala is a Swiss, family-owned care and beauty house, Swiss-made since 1959. This guide follows the order its foot range is designed around: soak, smooth, moisturise. It is grounded in Mavala's own product information and the UK health source listed above.