How to Use a Pumice Stone on Your Feet
Our everyday life will take its toll. Whether we only need to walk round the home or have a long commute, many of us are on our feet all day. Although we exercise to keep healthy, this continuous practice can also take its toll on our feet. We can easily develop callouses or hard skin due to the rubbing of skin against our shoe material. Many new ointments and products have been created to help remove this hard skin, but an ancient tool might be your best bet: the pumice stone.
At one HOWTO, we show you how to use a pumice stone on your feet. We show you the method you need to follow, as well as provide some tips on how to use it more effectively.
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What is pumice stone?
This famous stone has its origin in volcanic magma. Like many other volcanic rocks, it has a porosity and lightness that makes it very useful. Its shape and composition is due to a rapid cooling when the magma is expelled, so that all its material is condensed and with areas filled with air. This is why it has a hollow and porous appearance.
The pumice stone has been used since Ancient Egypt, Rome and Greece as an element for beauty and hygiene. Among its uses is not only the exfoliation and removal of dead skin cells, but it also serves to smooth roughness and calluses. It can even be used to depilate body hair.
We can find pumice stones in many colors and shapes, from almost black, to white and rounded. Its commercialization has never declined and we can find it at a very affordable price in any trusted supermarket or pharmacy.
How to use a pumice stone for hair removal
If you have some hairs on your feet you want to get rid of, a pumice stone could be just for you. While other body parts will need more delicate forms of hair removal, such as shaving, a pumice stone can be used to remove hair from your feet because this area has tougher skin.
The way to do it is very simple, but it must be taken into account that, to start seeing the results, you have to use the pumice stone regularly. Do not think that all the hair will be eliminated in one go. Instead, as the days go by, you will see the area less and less populated.
- Choose the hair you want to remove: remember that the groin and the face are very sensitive areas and could be quite irritated with this method. Pumice, on the other hand, is great for the feet, as well as legs, arms and shoulders. You may, however, be able to use the pumice stone on your underarms.
- Prepare the area: it is best to take a warm shower to prepare the area, in addition to relaxing your body to eliminate toxins and take the opportunity to exfoliate the skin.
- Disinfect: as in any other depilatory treatment, we must clean the area with neutral soap before proceeding, to avoid any possible infection from scraping.
- Make circular movements: once the area is ready, pass the pumice stone over the skin with circular and continuous movements but without putting too much pressure on the skin to avoid irritation. The movements should be circular and small, never from top to bottom, to avoid cutting the skin.
- Rinse the area: once you are done, you will only have to clean the skin and your pumice stone and rinse the remaining soap residues.
As we said, you will not see the total results instantly, but with the days you will notice smoother, cleaner skin with much less hair.
How to use pumice stone for hard skin
One of the most widespread uses of pumice stone is for the removal of corns and calluses (sometimes known as bunions), especially on the feet. If you notice that your heels or soles of your feet have thicker skin than usual, you may want to remove them with a pumice stone. However, it might also be effective if you have calluses in other areas such as your elbows or hands.
Here are the steps to remove hard skin from your feet with a pumice stone:
- Soften the area: as in the case of hair removal, the skin must be soft and smooth at the time of treatment. In the case of hands and arms, a warm shower will suffice, but if it is on the feet, it is best to soak them in a basin with warm water for about 10 minutes.
- Moisten the stone: the stone should not be completely dry, if we moisten the pumice it will slide much more easily and we will avoid irritation.
- Disinfect: wash and massage the area with neutral soap to avoid any possible infection.
- Rub: start using the more abrasive side of your pumice stone with constant, wrapping strokes around the roughness. You should not feel pain or irritation. If you do, you will be exerting more pressure than necessary. Continue with these movements until you feel the skin soften.
- Rinse: once you are done, rinse the area and wash your stone well to remove the remains of dead skin.
When finished, rinse with more water and allow the stone to air dry on its own to remove all moisture. Apply a moisturizing cream or oil to your skin to help the new skin that has just been exposed. You can repeat this ritual several times a week until you begin to notice the lose hardness or calluses disappear. As you can see, the pumice stone is a natural and very beneficial tool for the skin on our feet as well as other areas of the body.
Now you know how to use this tool, check out our article on how to clean a pumice stone.
If you want to read similar articles to How to Use a Pumice Stone on Your Feet, we recommend you visit our Beauty & Personal Care category.
