Formulating foot care products: How to treat thickened, rough and calloused skin (2025)

If, like many people, you experience thickened, hard skin on your feet, or skin that is dry, cracked or calloused, you have probably noticed that regular creams and lotions don’t help that much.

Let’s explore why regular creams often aren’t enough and what the skin on our feet needs instead.

What’s different about the skin on our feet?

Unlike the skin on the rest of our bodies, the skin on our feet tends to thicken. This thickening occurs because the skin cells in the dermis and epidermis levels differentiate at a faster pace due to the mechanical stress of carrying our body weight. This process results in a thicker stratum corneum.

This condition is known as hyperkeratosis, where the stratum corneum thickens due to the overproduction of keratin, which is a protective protein. Hyperkeratosis manifests as thickened, rough, or cracked skin and can lead to the development of calluses and corns on the feet.

How to treat hyperkeratosis on the feet

While a typical emulsion can moisturize dry skin, it may not effectively address hyperkeratosis. To soften hard skin and hydrate extremely dry areas, more advanced ingredients are needed, such as keratolytic agents.

Keratolytic agents work by softening and loosening keratin, the protein that binds skin cells together in the stratum corneum. This encourages the natural shedding of dead skin cells and enhances skin softness.

Formulating with keratolytic ingredients

The best way to address hyperkeratosis is to include keratolytic ingredients in your formulations. There are several to choose from, including:

Salicylic acid – the most common BHA in cosmetic products.

Lactic acid – one of the most commonly used AHAs in skincare, a chemical exfoliant that softens skin.

Urea – a potent emollient and keratolytic agent. Learn more about Urea: The perfect cosmetic ingredient for smooth, soft, hydrated feet.

Allantoin – A widely used cosmetic ingredient for its skin softening, moisturizing, and regenerative properties. In addition to being keratolytic, it is hydrating and promotes skin cell regeneration and skin smoothness.

For the best results, use keratolytic ingredients with other hydrating, regenerating and nourishing ingredients for the perfect foot care products.

A foot care routine for thickened, rough and calloused skin

By using a few complementary products, you can achieve and maintain soft, smooth feet.

Foot soak

About once a week, use a foot soak to cleanse, soften and smooth the skin on the feet. For extra benefits, go beyond simple salt-based soaks and incorporate suitable keratolytic ingredients too.

Foot scrub

A foot scrub containing physical exfoliants can be used 2-4 times a month to exfoliate, soften and smooth the skin and prevent dry skin build-up on the soles.

Specialist foot creams or lotions

When formulated with specialist keratolytic ingredients, foot creams and lotions will provide effective exfoliating, softening and hydrating properties. When used regularly, they will prevent dry skin build-up and callus formation.

Formulating high-performance foot care products

Create your own high-performance foot care products to soften, smooth, and hydrate your feet—perfect for a rejuvenating home foot spa.

In our Formulating Foot Care Products class, you’ll learn to formulate with a range of keratolytic ingredients, including salicylic acid, lactic acid, urea, and allantoin, which help shed dead skin and restore softness.

You’ll also learn how to stabilize urea and solubilize salicylic acid and formulate four expert-level treatments: a herbal foot soak, a refreshing pumice scrub, an anti-callus lotion, and a softening cream with lactic acid and panthenol.

Find out more and enroll here!