Calluses are thickened skin that develops when a part of a person’s skin encounters frequent friction or pressure. People who play string instruments like guitars will often have calluses on the fingertips of their left hands, and almost everybody has calluses on their feet.
Calloused skin is a lot harder and tougher than the skin around it, and it can often also be pretty rough to the touch and look less attractive. This is why a lot of people shop around for a good brand of callous remover or look for home remedies for calluses.
These patches of tough skin do have their uses though. After all, why would our bodies develop them if they aren’t useful for anything in the first place? Calluses help protect parts of our body from excessive pressure and friction. A person who has only started playing steel-stringed guitar, for example, will find that their fingertips will hurt a lot at first, but the pain eventually goes away as calluses begin to form.
Sometimes though, calluses are more eyesores than protection, and while preventing them is a lot easier than getting rid of them, there are home remedies for calluses that are available to just about anybody.
A rough stone, like a pumice stone, can be a pretty good callous remover. All you need to do is sand down the callus until you’ve gotten rid of it enough to fit your satisfaction. If you’re having trouble finding a good kind of rock to rub against the tough bits of skin on your feet, sandpaper can suffice too, but they’re a lot harsher and sharper than pumice, so try to curb your enthusiasm when you’re going at your calluses with sandpaper.
To soften up your calluses for sanding; try soaking the affected area in warm and soapy water with a touch of essential oil for around five or more minutes. Calluses on the soles of a person’s feet can be really hard and tough, and sometimes, the only way to start removing all those tough layers of skin is to soften them up before filing away at them with the foot file or pumice stone. Afterwards, when your feet are completely dry, apply a really rich moisturizer; something with lanolin, like petroleum jelly or heavy lotion.
This particular callous remover technique works best for especially big, tough calluses, like the ones found on your feet. If you have smaller calluses that aren’t as hard, like the ones a person might get on their hands after one day of hard manual labor, simply soaking the area in warm, soapy water for five minutes, drying it out, and then moisturizing with lotions or aloe creams with lanolin can get rid of them pretty effectively.
Of course, with a little patience, calluses can sometimes go away by themselves. If a person stops playing guitar for a while for example, the calluses on their fingertips eventually fade away.
Whether you choose to try out different home remedies to remove calluses or opt to buy a commercial product that serves as a callous remover though, just remember that depending on what kind of calluses they are; calluses aren’t always bad and that once you stop putting pressure on the area in question or prevent friction from affecting it, they can sometimes go away all by themselves.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
I have many thickened area’s on my hands at the finger joints and thumb sides. I do a lot of carpentry and these area’s are quite persistant. But I have found a wonderful tool that I had bought originally for my dog. The dremel battery powewred (rechargeable) pet tool has a sanding drum on it that works excellently. Not only does it wisk away the rough and thick skin, It does so quietly and I’m able to get down to the soft skin without doing any damage. My hands look and feel great. I have to do a handicure 2 times a week but my wife is very greatful. No more scratchy hands.
Excellent tip, BF – thanks for sharing! Of course, anyone who tries this should do so with care.