~=~= My secret ~=~=

Shhh! I have a secret I'll share with you. I hate shoes. Why is that a secret? My husband depends on shoe sales for a living. Lots of people who live around me work for shoe companies. Shoes are very popular here. But given my druthers, I like my dogs* to go free. I hate locking them up in socks and tennies to sweat all day. I wear a lot of slip on shoes. In the winter, clogs with no heels. In the summer, sandals. Or tennies with no heels. (or go barefoot, which I'm not supposed to do with plantar fascitis)


~=~= Dry heels ~=~=

For someone with dry skin, my shoe habits mean I expose my other ugly secret - cracked, peeling heels. Yeech! I've tried creams you put on at night and cover with socks. I've
gotten professional pedicures where my feet are held in a strong grip, then mercilessly scoured. Meanwhile, I am in giggling spasms from the tickling, or wailing from the skin being rubbed raw. I felt like I had tried everything. My heels were still ugly.


~=~= Avon's Answer ~=~=

Obviously, I could just cover this hideous problem with shoes and get on with my life. Or continue grossing out friends and family with this deformity. I chose option B. Then 3 weeks ago, I read a review on this site by MizSass for Avon FootWorks Double Action Sloughing Cream. She claimed it helped her dry foot skin. I was skeptical. After all, MizSass is an Avon Representative. But I was tired of accidentally scratching my own leg with rough skin from my opposite foot while sleeping. I was also ready to give another product a try. Besides, Avon's Sloughing Cream is cheap. Dirt cheap for a beauty product. 2 tubes (100ml, 3.4 fl. oz) for $4.99 cheap.

I placed a web order at avon.com and waited by my mailbox. (Yes, I was barefoot. Thanks for asking.) The cream arrived quickly. I was anxious to try it. Instructions are to take a bath, shower or soak your feet. Dry them, then apply the cream. Wait 60 seconds, then massage the cream and icky skin away. (The word "icky" doesn't actually appear on the package. I slipped it in using poetic license.)


~=~= Trying it out ~=~=

Bath - Yippee! I had a medical reason to soak. Count me in. I followed the instructions to the letter. After my bath and drying my feet, I opened the tube. Whoosh! A huge odor came out. Part medicinal, part peppermint, it was strong. Not my favorite smell, but not too obnoxious either. Remembering my poor dogs, I squirted some cream blobs onto each foot. I rubbed it onto the bottoms and heels, then waited. Does the Jeopardy final question music only last for 30 seconds? Just to be safe, I hummed it twice. Song over, I massaged the cream and ran water over my feet. After drying them, I ran my hands over them. Sure enough, they were smoother.

I've been using this product for 2 weeks now. I use it at least every other day, sometimes daily. My feet have noticeable improvements. There is less rough skin and the heels actually look normal when I have sandals on. This is the first product I've used that actually works (other than the tortuous and expensive pedicure option).


~=~= Ingredients ~=~=

What's in this miracle cream, besides the smell? Pure water, parraffin, pumice, stearic aid, glyceryl stearate, magnesium, aluminum silicate, triethanolamine, benzyl, alcohol, cetyl alcohol, dimethicone, peg-40, stearate steareth-2, walnut shell powder, methylparaben, fragrance, propylene glycol, cocoa butter, peppermint oil, rosemary extract and arnica extract. I'm no scientist, but I have played one on TV (in my dreams). I'm guessing it's the pumice and walnut shells that are scrubbing my feet to smooth softness. The cocoa butter probably also serves as a softener. I'm not sure what some of the other ingredients do. Since they work, I'm not sure it matters much to me. I've listed them here in case you have an allergy to one of them.


~=~= Down sides? ~=~=

Down sides? Ok, I already implied that I'm not crazy about the smell. But my dogs (the canines) like it. And it does make the bathroom smell minty fresh. The other down side is the residue it leaves in your tub or sink. If you rinse Avon Foot Works Double Action Sloughing Cream off your feet in your bathtub, you need to clean the walnut shells out of the bathtub. Otherwise, you may get a baby soft bum the next time you sit down. Ouch!


~=~= Bottom line ~=~=

Bottom line on Avon Foot Works Double Action Sloughing Cream is that it works. If you have dry, cracked skin on your feet and heels, give it a try. You may enjoy the smell. But even if you don't, the benefits will be obvious after a couple of uses. At $2.50-$3.00 a tube, there's little financial down side to this beauty investment. And think of the cuddle possibilities once your feet are soft again!


~=~= Details ~=~=

This cream is for external use only. Don't put it in your eyes or eat it. Even though it smells like peppermint.

If this cream causes a problem for your feet, discontinue using it. Call avon or your doctor.

Avon's number is 1-800-for-avon and website is avon.com - order there or from MizSass or another representative

* Dogs - slang for tired feet


Recommended: Yes