Dry heels? This is crackin' stuff! (Boots Cracked Heel Balm)

Member Name: Foxy-Lady

Product:	Boots Cracked Heel Balm
Date:	29/08/08 (508 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: It really works!

Disadvantages: Excessive packaging

Feet are peculiar looking things aren't they? I particularly hate my own feet - they're quite simply horrible. OK, so they're a size 5 which is a nice size for a woman's foot but that's the only good thing I can say about them. I seem to have inherited my dad's toes (by that I mean shape and not hobbit style tufts of hair!) and my mum's dry, cracked heels.

I don't really help the situation though. I've never been one to pamper my feet and I certainly wouldn't let anyone else do it. So at the end of the day I've only got myself to blame. Spending the majority of the year hidden inside socks and shoes, I spend very little time actually concerned by the condition of my feet. This summer though, I've felt particularly conscious. I think an advert I saw on TV was responsible for this. It was for a product called Scholl's Dry Heel Repair Cream and featured a woman with nasty heels going up an escalator. This resulted in immense paranoia on my part whenever flip-flops and escalators happened to combine...in fact, just wearing flip-flops in general was beginning to feel like a no-go for me. So I decided to try some of this Scholl stuff. Afterall, smoother heels were promised in just 2 weeks!

So off I went to Boots...to find that they offered their own brand 'Cracked Heel Balm'. At £3.99 for 50ml this was nearly £2 cheaper than the Scholl version! Always one to make a saving, and happily confident that it would still be a very good product, I came to the assumption that the Boots balm was the one for me.

I must say that I instantly liked the word 'balm' in the title. It's a much better descriptor than 'cream', suggesting a thicker and intensely nourishing formula. This in turn gives the impression of a more effective product. If the before and after shots featured on the packaging are anything to go by then it's certainly going to work with dramatic results. The Boots balm claims to 'Improve the appearance of cracked heels - works in 7 days. Complete results after 2 weeks'. Such a bold statement to make but if it's printed on the box surely it must be true!

So, does it work?...

I've reached the end of my 2 week experimental trial and I can honestly say that I'm really impressed by this stuff. Applying a large pea sized amount twice daily (morning and night, as instructed) has done the trick and actually given me smooth, soft heels. Aswell as feeling better, they also look greatly improved with hardly any roughness remaining at all. The skin is so much more supple and I'm quite happy to show off my feet now.

Apparently the 25% Urea content is the main benefit factor of the formulation as it helps to relieve dry skin. Now I don't know about you but the word 'urea' immediately caused me to think of wee. 'Surely not' I thought...and thankfully, after a quick google I discovered that although urea is the name of the main component of mammalian urine, it is also a substance that is naturally present in healthy skin. Normal skin contains approximately 1% urea. If this level drops, the result is dry skin. A product that contains this component is therefore highly beneficial as it is directly regenerating the skins moisturising layer, helping to recover a healthy skin condition. Now I understand why this balm is so effective!

To achieve the best results, Boots recommend that you use a pumice stone to remove excess skin as part of your daily footcare regime, prior to applying the balm. I must admit that this is probably only necessary in extreme cases. I certainly didn't feel the need to use a pumice stone - the balm works sufficiently well enough for me on its own. Once the desired outcome has been achieved and the skins condition has been restored, the balm can be used less frequently - perhaps just once a day or as and when you feel it is needed to maintain the smooth skin. I'm finding that an application every 2 - 3 days is adequate.

The balm is somewhat pleasant to use. A subtle fragrance is present which is not too overpowering and it feels almost indulgent during an application. The balm is easy to apply - simply rub it into the troublesome area and let it dry. It has a thick consistency which is also quite oily, leaving an almost tacky residue for a short period of time. This is fine as long as you can put your feet up for a few minutes while it dries, or at least put on some socks or slippers. If you immediately walk around on a carpet your feet will get covered in fluff! For this reason I much prefer to apply in the evening, just before bed. I feel like it's really getting work as it soaks into my feet while I sleep. For the morning application I tend to use a smaller amount - more convenient as it dries in a shorter time.

I find that the balm doesn't rub into my hands very well so they need washing with soapy water after an application. The regular style screw top tube is always a bit sticky where I've screwed the lid back on with the balm still on my hands, but simply giving it a quick wipe solves this little problem.

One thing that really annoys me about this product is the packaging. Or the excessive use of packaging to be more precise. The tube is placed inside a box, which is a procedure usually followed to group an item together with an additional information leaflet...but there's no leaflet with this balm. I therefore feel that the box is a tad unnecessary. Remember those before and after shots that I mentioned earlier? Well, I think these are the reason behind Boots' chosen packaging route. The photography virtually fills the box, maximising the impact to attract attention. I must admit that it does have the desired effect, visually convincing the consumer that this product really works. It's just a shame that it isn't more environmentally friendly!

It's due to this negative factor that I can only give a four star rating instead of a five. On the whole, Boots Cracked Heel Balm is an excellent and highly effective product which offers great value in comparison to its higher priced competitor. A bigger version of the tube is also available - 125ml for £8.99 - even better value for money and one that I will certainly buy next time!


If you suffer from dry, cracked heels, give it a try...it's crackin' stuff!





Ingredients for those who'd really like to know:

Aqua, Urea, Lanolin, Petrolatum, Paraffinium liquidum, Glycerin, Cetyl PEG/PPG-10/1 dimethicone, Hexyl laurate, Polyglyceryl-4 isostearate, Phenoxyethanol, Parfum, Dipropylene glycol, Methylparaben, Ethylparaben, Tetrasodium EDTA, BHT.

Summary: A highly effective cracked heel repair balm