While you might want to look and feel your best, when you're a busy mum who is short on time, this often gets pushed down the list of priorities. And if you do manage to carve out precious minutes for some self-care, some skincare rituals are time-consuming and messy, making them unsustainable and quite often proving a waste of money at the same time.
So we've been on the hunt for skincare tips for tired mums that are both quick and effective, and have found this genius tried-and-tested hack that will transform not-at-all-summer-ready feet into baby soft twinkle toes. And it doesn't, we repeat DOES NOT, involve slathering your feet in gloopy creams inside rubber socks for 12 hours, or stuffing your feet into little bags of magic liquid for an hour and a half. For the latter, you not only find yourself immobile for the full 90 minutes, but you also have to wait another week or so for your feet to then go through a gross (but for some, satisfying) peeling process. Really, who has the time?
Fortunately, this hack takes seconds to do, makes no mess, and you'll be able to get on with more important things. And better still, it actually works.
Mum-friendly hack for baby soft feet
For super soft feet that doesn't involve some messy foot mask, all you need is some cotton wool and a facial toner containing a very particular type of ingredient - acid.
If you are a skincare novice, acids in your skincare might sound a little terrifying, but they aren't new and are growing in popularity, and skincare products are now much more transparent about which acids they contain as customers' knowledge base grows.
According to skincare guru Caroline Hirons in her book Skin Care: 'Acids are all about exfoliation, and are derived from professional chemical peels, but are now included in our everyday skincare routines.' She adds: 'Different strengths and different acids do different things to the skin, and you'll want to tweak which you use depending on how your skin is feeling.'
When it comes to resurfacing the skin in a gentle way, look out for lactic or glycolic acids in particular. They are designed for exfoliating your face (meaning you don't have to use abrasive scrubs that can actually damage your skin), but can also be used to effectively exfoliate your feet.
Simply soak a cotton pad with a liquid glycolic or lactic acid (I've recommended my favourites below), and then swipe over your clean, dry foot, especially where you have dry or hard skin. It dries quickly and there's no need to wash it off. I've tried this myself, and can vouch for its effectiveness. I applied the acid after I'd had a shower and just before I got into bed. Almost straight away, I could tell my feet felt smoother, but when I woke up the next morning, my skin was much softer, and any hard skin patches were gone.
I was thrilled by the results because I hate the feeling of thick heavy creams at the best of times, but the thought of slathering my feet in something like that and then putting socks over the top genuinely makes me feel a bit queasy. I have also tried those peeling foot masks, and while they are effective, they just take too long to see results.
To keep the skin soft and smooth, I use an acid about once a week to keep hard skin at bay, especially in winter. I've even managed to convert my best friend (who is a busy mum-of-two) and she couldn't believe how effective it was.
Best acids I've tried
This is the one I'm using at the moment, and it's very effective. This one includes lactic acid rather than glycolic, and is powerful, yet gentle. Highly recommend.
This was the first one I tried, and is great value for money. If you don't want anything too spendy, then you can't go wrong with The Ordinary. It's a decent sized bottle, so it'll last you.
This one is a bit of a cult favourite since it was launched in 1999. I first tried this when I got it in a beauty advent calendar, and while I didn't like it for my face, it worked wonders on my feet.
It's worth noting that using a product with glycolic acid in it can increase your skin's sun sensitivity so make sure use sunscreen.
If you use an acid in your skincare routine, you might also want to know about the best sunscreen for your face, as well as the best sunscreen for kids and whether sun cream goes out of date.
