Does the Listerine Foot Soak really work to easily remove dead skin? I tested the recipe of mouthwash and vinegar. Check out the results!
I have a scary secret I’m going to share with you and I am a little embarrassed to tell you but… I have gross feet. When I say gross I don’t mean gangly or that they smell funky, they don’t. My feet are dry, flakey, and my husband even calls them scaley. My heels are the worst! There are layers of dry and cracked nasty skin on my heels that are so thick that I could probably walk across hot coals and I not feel a thing.
You’re welcome for painting that lovely picture in your mind.
Are yours the same way?
Recently I saw this picture posted on Pinterest for a Listerine Foot Soak. I bet you have seen it too! It says the dead skin will practically wipe off. Wipe off? Like, I don’t have to use an electric sander to get it all off? I’m game!
So in the name of science, I thought I would conduct a highly scientific research study on the matter and test this concoction out.
Pinterest Listerine Foot Soak Analysis
Recipe:
1/4 Cup Listerine
1/4 Cup Vinegar
1/2 Cup Warm Water
First, can I say, Seriously? How am I supposed to “soak” my feet in a cup of liquid? I actually 4x the recipe because I am good at math at could figure it out. This is what I used.
A Usable Recipe:
1 Cup Antiseptic Mouthrinse
1 Cup Vinegar
2 Cups Warm Water
I used the generic brand of Listerine or Antiseptic Mouthrinse. It was cheaper and I figured I was putting it on my feet, not in my mouth – even though, just to be perfectly clear, I’m no snob. I did later use the mouthwash for its intended purposes.
Combine the liquid in a nice big bowl, you want to make sure that your feet have room to be immersed and soak.
My feet soaked four about 15 minutes. I have to say that I really did enjoy the minty tingle on my feet and the smell was quite relaxing. Kick on some Netflix and this soak could easily last upwards of an hour, or at least until the water got too cold.
Want to see the results? You’ll have to click through!
Thanks for the review! I saw this pin a few days ago and have been thinking about giving it a try.
Just do not do it before going out, especially if you plan to were sandals.
My daughter and I did this together, and when we stepped out of the Listerine and vinegar bath,
We laughed so hard!!!! our feet were blue. We did not see much happen, they were a little softer, and they were
cool from the Listerine. My daughter and I did not like looking like smurf, But we did get a good laugh.
The “Ped egg’ works wonders. You can find them at Bed Bath and Beyond. Money well spent! My husband is diabetic so his feet need extra attention and can easily look like yours-sometimes worse. I then use a foot scrub. I think he would like the Listerine soak. Thanks!
I love your helpful comments and experiments from the pinterest site. So nice to have someone actually try them out and then tell us what works and what doesn’t!! I have done some that have been total flops!! Love your posts!! Thank you and keep up the great work!!
Your foot pictures are my feet on a good day. Thank you for the experiment, I was excited to try this and now I won’t waste my time.
The ped egg does work but it is very time consuming.
Maybe soaking before the ped egg use would help , i think I will try that once, couldn’t hurt
I think it would definitely help! Thanks Carol!
I have done this, and it does work… over time! It’s something that has to be done daily for what seems like ever to get the really good results. Oh well! Oh, and I agree on the pumice stone. Those things are great for taking off loose, dead skin. Thanks for the review!
Jeannine @ The Concrete Cottage
I just read on another blog about this exact pin! She also listed it as a fail. Good to know!
I found that adding a pre-made foot soak (I used AVON) to it and then using the pumice stone (along with the usual foot tools [that I do not know the correct term for]: the razor type tool that scrapes dead skin off, the cheese grater type tool, and the sand paper tool) then rinsing them off in the soaking water as well as scrubbing with a foot scrub (again, used AVON), then drying them off and massaging foot cream on your feet and finally putting on SOFT socks, works very well! HOWEVER, after using the soak, I LOVE to use the Mary Kay Satin Hands set (softening cream, scrub, and lotion. It works SO MUCH BETTER.
I have gross feet too, all cracked and peeling. I’ve seen this soak and wondered if it’d actually work. After reading this, I don’t think I’ll bother to try. Thanks for saving me the trouble.
Do yourself this great favor. Give it a try. It does work. I used the Walmart brand, Great Value Apple Cider Vinegar in Warm water. It worked so well. I scrubbed off layers of dry skin after 15 mins if soaking. My toe nails were shine and over all healthier after a good home made pedicure.
Thanks for the tip Carol!! I will definitely be giving this a try.
This is awesome, my summer feet look just like that actually worse. I am going to have to give this a try.
Lisa
Creative Raisins
Huh… minty sounds nice. I hear it also gets rid of or helps to get rid of the type of foot fungus that causes your nails to crack.
vick vapor rub massaged into your nail clears fungal nail infection x
Hi I have feet that look worse then yours. The only thing I found that sloughs off the dead skin is Zim’s Crack Creme it literally falls off unfortunately since I moved back to california very hard to find. I found it very easily when I lived in kentucky. Has anybody tried the fish that eat the dead skin off your feet soak at salons that’s also supposed to work never tried it.
I tried the skin eating fish while in Mexico. They tickle and nibble but it didn’t make a real big difference. It seems like they got tired,full or bored. Then they just swam around. Pretty much a waste of money. Should have been piranhas now we’re talking 🙂
I have always wanted to try those little fish too. That’s too bad they didn’t really work either.
lol
I’ve done it!! It’s a weird experience and feet are a bit softer after, but nothing crazy.
Yep
Tried the little fish….feels wonderful but in my opinion did not take off a lot of the dead skin though however the overall experience was super relaxing
I have really dry and cracked skin on my feet, too. I remember reading about a Listerine soak and always meant to try it, but never got round to it. After reading your post, I’m glad I didn’t bother! I tried an Epsom salt soak which was meant to do the same thing – let me wipe the dead skin away – but that didn’t work either.
The secret is shaving cream! it’s a little less convenient, but cover your feet in shaving cream, then wrap with a listerine-soaked washcloth. I also have rough feet and was impressed by how well it worked on the first go.
I’m intrigued! Regular Barbasol? And how long did you soak?
What do you wrap them in after applying shaving cream?
Thanks for taking the time to review this pinterest pin. I love it when people do that! It helps us all to know what really works and what doesn’t. The foot soak sounds nice just for the minty tingle! 🙂
Interesting!!
I will definitely have to try this now! Great post!
I tried it too and was disappointed – the minty part was nice but my feet were also a little green afterwards! had to rinse them off in plain old water.
Thanks for posting – I was curious if anyone else has similar results
Sue
bebeandj.com
I have done this. It was a waste of time. Did not do what it said it would do.
I have tried the Listerine soak as well and it did work. Other posts mentioned not using anything but the regular Listerine.(Not the blue kind) Maybe that is the difference.
Great review. I should do a review of something I saw on Pinterest too that didn’t work out quite like the post said. Thanks for sharing!
I made the honey try this. Horrible calloused heels. He doesn’t do Pinterest. I told him he had to soak for an hour. It did remove some calloused skin. His feet were blue but minty fresh. We have continued soaking once a week. Now we/he uses Epson salt foot soak(Dr Teal). Same out come without blue feet. He still soaks for an hour. He doesn’t read directions either. I figured the extra time couldn’t hurt. Five weeks later of weekly soaking, scrubbing, bottles of lotion later. His feet are getting better. No magic bullet though. I wouldn’t waste my money on Listerine foot soak.
Thanks for adding your review as well. Maggie.
I’m always looking for good foot soaks for my nasty feet. Thanks for letting me know about this one. I hopped over from the Monday Funday hop
Wow – Listerine! Who would have known!
Thanks for sharing 🙂
x
Natalie
Marigolds’ Loft
try this
cool but my feet became blue!!!! I guess it will fade away after more soap. I washed them but they are still blue.
Oh I am sorry that it stained your feet. Kinda funny, but I am sorry. 🙂
Seems to be interesting! I’ll try this tonight! thanks you for sharing this tips:)
This is suppose to be a natural cure for toenail fungus that is why. it’s not to remove the scaly feet..
i think the secret is to use a mouthwash that has alcohol in it. I compared all the brands for ingredients since she was so specific in the original post. The only difference I found was the alcohol ( that’s why Listerine burns your mouth). Anyway, I did it with a generic brand that contained alcohol and it actually works. My feet are disgusting cracked and sometimes bleeding messes. I have used a Dremel sanding tool because the pumice stone didn’t get it all off. So, that’s my two cents. And, I did have to use the stone because the towel only removed the top looser skin, but, it did work. The cracks actually healed, as long as I do it once a week or so.
Totally worked!! I used Generic brand mouthwash and generic brand apple cider vinegar. Worked great aside from turning my feet blue I did double the recipe for my bucket size. And I used a pumice stone to slough off the dead skin but it seriously helped the callouses on my big toes and the dead rough skin on my heels. My boyfriend used to ask me to rub his itches with my heels because he didn’t have nails and now they are smooth as ever!!! Great tip and trick-I’ll use the orange mouth wash next time
I wasn’t a fan of this soak. It kind of dyed my feet green a little and I had to scrub really hard to get it all off. The minty smell was nice and relaxing but I think it’s kind of a waste of mouthwash. I wouldn’t do it a second time.
I have tried with the blue name brand listerine. Your feet to turn a bit blue but the callus doesn’t fall right off. Soak your feet in the mix, use a ped egg or I have one of the callus remover scrapes then dry your feet. It may be a long process but you feet do feel like you have had a spa pedicure without paying $40. For the dry skin around my toenails I use a scrub: 1tbsp brown sugar, 1tbsp baking soda and 1tbsp olive oil- it is the best scrub ever!
This worked really well for me and gave me better results than using just hot water and pedicure soap alone.
I used a lot more water than what is called for because I wanted to soak up to my ankle and made it really hot (personal preference) plus I soaked for a lot longer than 15 minutes.
It DID turn my feet and nails ever so slightly blue, but it literally wiped off with a towel when I took my feet out. It was awesome seeing the difference. I usually have to put elbow grease into scrubbing down my heels cause they get dry and cracked but when I took a pumice stone to my heel the dead skin just fell off and with a quick rinse after the wipe down my feet feel and look amazing! I have girly heels now! Yay!
Alternative way to do it that really softens the feet. Hot water, vinegar, and Listerine in equal portions. Soak two washcloths in it. Rub shaving cream all over your feet and wrap them in the washcloths. After about 20-30 minutes, take the washcloths off and dry your feet. Put lotion on them and wear socks to bed. I did this a couple of times, and I would make sure to put body butter on my feet before bed and after showering in the morning. Really helped! I have the same problem with cracking heels 🙂
Great tips Kinsey. Thank you!
I am diabetic so have to be careful. A product called Heel Balm works well, put it on wear socks and do whatever for a while, then pumice, ALWAYS use pumice on wet skin. Do it overnight too. Then keep a pumice in the shower, last thing, with soap or cream or hair conditioner, pumice after every shower. Takes no time and stop the build up of hard skin. Put cream on feet every night before bed. Sorbolene is good. I put a hand grip on my shower wall so I could hold on and lift foot safely! You can stand in a large basin on safety grip mat of course to soak feet while in the shower too, weird but it works.
I use a product called Callus Eliminator recommended by a pedicurist at a spa. I order it over the internet. It does work. A little ‘caustic’. Use protective glove to wipe on the bottom of your feet. Leave on for 5 minutes and then rinse well. I then remove dry skin by scraping with my fingernails followed by using a pumice
Stopping by from Show Off Friday link party. I just saw this recently and was wondering if this actually worked. Glad I came across your post. Sad that it didn’t work though. Thanks for sharing!
Yes I’ve tried this too. same results.
I used this recipe with a squirt of blue dawn dish soap on the exterior of my windows. The hard water built up horribly over the years!! This actually took a good deal of it off. I used a scrubber/squeegee on them. Easy!! I tried this because nothing else I looked up worked and this worked alright on my feet so … Why not!?!? Thanks!! Not my ideal foot soak, but definitely my spring cleaning go to!!!
I used the purple listerine, apple cider viniger, and water. No funky colored feet and my dead skin was falling off just while they were soaking. Sometimes cheaper may not be better?
I too have gross feet. I have literally tried everything. All to no avail. I am still on the lookout. The heal grater thing works for a short term. But I would really LOVE something that works at healing. Any suggestions will be lovely.
Equal pars Vicks and any THICK hand cream. Slather it on and go to bed with socks.
That is a great tip Martha! I will have to try that too!
I just did straight Listerine, the golden one. Not too bad. Added vinegar and will pursue that later. I also read that milk does a great job…must be the lactic acid. I will try that one too eventually. Great day!
Thank you for all the comments, its very helpful. What works best for me, after all the cleaning of the feet, I put coconut oil
‘ your favorite lotion will work” then a plastic bag and socks over the plastic. Relax for 15 – 30 min. my feet feel great. PLEASE DON’T TRY TO WALK WITH PLASTIC ON YOU FEET. I hope this helps.
I just did this using regular white vinegar and the purple listerine. The tingle from the mint afterward is amazing and makes tired feet feel wonderful. The dead skin didn’t just wipe off but I used my fingernails to scrape if off and lots came off. “Polished” with a thick towel after that and then rubbed on coconut oil and put on a pair of socks. Awesome feet afterward. I’ll do it again and recommend.
I too suffer from cracked heels and if I don’t take care of them, they actually hurt! Anyway, I do have a solution for you that actually does work! First, you need to buy a wand-style cheese grater. This is the only thing that will get past the hard calloused skin. I know it sounds weird, but it’s exactly what the pedicurist uses on my feet at the salon. After getting out of the shower, lightly file your heels being careful not to go too hard (you’ll cut yourself). Once that is done, use a typical coarse/fine sandpaper foot file to smooth out the roughness. This next step is THE MOST IMPORTANT!!!… If you see a dermatologist, ask for a prescription for 40% urea cream, you can’t get it over the counter. It is synthetic urine (I know, gross!), but I’m telling you, IT WORKS!!! The lotion is a bit gritty/pasty and leaves a little white film on your heels, but if you rub regular lotion on top it seems to take care of it. I only have to do this “procedure” once a week and I NEVER get cracks anymore! I hope it helps.
The listerine is good if you have any type of fungus or bactria under your toe nails. The VERY BEST THING THAT YOU CAN DO FOR YOUR FEET IS TO simply use VASELINE. Lather your feet with vaseline for a week. (I like to do this at night while I am asleep) put socks on over your lathered VASELINE feet, The skin will peel away after some time. Also it is a good thing to use a pumice stone while in the shower. I keep one in my shower to keep the dead skin away. If you try to remove too much of the callused skin to quickly you will have very sorry feet. Take if nice and slow. I also like the Mary Kay line that has 3 steps to it. It is good too, but I recommend doing this and or the vaseline once a week. That is after you have done this daily for a week straight. I promise it works.
I am always a bargain shopper except when it comes to a few things…peanut butter must be Jif…but mouthwash is mouthwash right??? Apparently in your mouth it is but not when it comes to the foot soak. Listerine brand actually works better for some reason. We tried both…and Listerine won hands down. Hope that helps those who want to try it…also soak for longer…the rougher the feet the longer the soak…we did an hour…combined with a scrub with the pumice to help it all come off.
Hi, i was looking at this pin wondering if i should bother trying or not, well i guess this blog helped with the answer…not. i have never tried any foot soaks or anything like that, but what i find helps is slathering a few finger fulls of vaseline onto the bottoms of my feet, covering with a pair of socks and letting them sit for the night. In the morning just peel off the socks and your all set to go.
Hope this helps 🙂 thanks
Nasty heels are a part of growing older! How to deal with them? Prevention!
My shoe store clerk explained the process to me and my life has never been better! Never let the tough heels begin! I am a Birkestock wearer and they are the WORST for creating nasty heels! So, each night I make sure to clat my heels with a quality lotion before bed. I regularly use a rasp (I bought a micro-grater from a local kitchen store) after showering, creating a little pile of dead skin on the bathroom floor! once you get a crack in your heel, you’re going to be fighting the battle all summer long, so avoid, avoid, avoid!
The author says she quadrupled (4x) the recipe. Well, the price of the Vinegar is reasonable, but after checking at both Walmart.com and Amazon.com, I find the price of the Mouthwash (even the cheapest of brands) to be MUCH more than I would care to spend on a weekly regiment of this nature. At the same time (and after reading the other comments), I imagine that if I did decide to “spring” for the cost, I’d make it a point to purchase CLEAR Mouthwash rather than blue (or any other color), lol.
I have heard the original listerine works best. Blue color may dye feet blue.
My husband has similar feet issues, but he also has severe athletes foot which causes deep cracks in between his small toes. We do this to moisturize his feet, as well as to kill the foot fungus. He likes it because he feels like I’m pampering him, and I like it because I know it helps to disinfect and heal his toe cracks! 😉
I use this foot soak all the time, however, I soak for approximately 30 minutes and yes the dry skin does come right off after each soak .. maybe it is that I am using the Listerine not the Equate brand.
I just tried the Listerine, vinegar and warm water soak on my dry cracked heels. I used the brand Listerine in blue, white vinegar and almost hot water. I soaked for 45 minutes and ended up with smurf colored feet. The towel rub did nothing but dry my feet. I then used the pumice stone which did help remove the blue and some dry skin. It did not fall off as reported in the pin. I think the minty tingle was nice but I get equal results on my heels from a regular warm water soak. It was disappointing.
I cannot speak to the curative properties of the soak for callus (and good grief, the woman who bought a microplaner to use on her feet is nuts! Those things are incredibly sharp!) my friend has had terribly cracked, peeling and callused hands for over a year. This soak is the first relief he has had after months of unsuccessful treatment by dermatologists. His hands are finally healing. Something in this concoction works. But please, dont use a micro plane on your body. Thats dangerous!
It works for me. I love it. It is so much easier to scrub my feet. I rub lotion on afterwards and put socks and shoes on. My feet feel so great.
I have a little died skin so I am trying it now. Comment later the results
i tried this and it didn’t work at all. Pumice worked after the soak, but like you said works after any soak. I use the original mouthwash because I read the mint would turn your feet green, I guess that was wrong too.
I used nail-aid power gel callus b-gone and a pumice stone. Both from Walmart. $7 ish…and I soaked in a hot bath for about 30 min. Then I sat on the edge of the tub and used the gel. Followed the time limit. Then used the pumice stone. My feet are like a new born feet. Now I use the pumice stone every morning when I shower. My feet have stayed soft and smooth.
thank you. I tried once n nothing like the spreaded picture happenned… I thought i did it wrong but knowing your experiment generates the same result like mine….glad to know it 🙂 thank you
The “shappy” foot file is WONDERFUL! Especially when combined with the charcoal-based foot scrub from Earth Therapeutics. Also, the Burt’s Bees coconut foot cream is great to apply and put socks over it – sleep this way and in the morning you will have baby-soft feet!
Thank you for your great tips Melissa!
YIKES !!! My feet are blue !!! The room smells great and my feet smell great, but this is not the results I was hoping for.
I didn’t get the great results either. I am sorry about the flue feet, I have heard of others feet turning blue but mine did not. Don’t worry, it’s not permanent. 🙂
I am actually soaking my feet as I type this! 🙂 This is my first time trying this foot soak and I really do like the smell and the tingly sensation that your feet receive! I also found this pin on here as well! I will be using a pumice stone afterwards and some foot lotion as well! Gotta get these feet looking good for the summertime! 💕
Yay! You gave it a try! I really like the tingly sensation too, it’s very relaxing.
Ok. I have two reviews. I used it myself and No, the it’s can’t dead skin did not fall off. It did, however, come off with very little rubbing from a Ped Egg. I actually liked the feel while my feet were soaking and after. I tried this myself because I went to visit my mother who is a diabetic and does not take care of her feet. I made the soak for my mom, put her feet in for about 20 minutes, and afterwards I was shocked! When I lifted her feet out of the water, skin literally fell off of her feet. I heard it hitting the water. It it sounds gross but it’s true. I’m not sure why it worked so much better for her, other than the fact her feet were a lot dryer and scalier than mine were. I promise you, the scenario I gave you about her feet was true. The skin fell off.
WOW, Kathy that is awesome! I am so glad that it worked so well for your mom!
I tried this everal different ways and the results were exactly the same when I used this recipe, just vinegar and just water. Save yourself some money and use just water.
Awesome! Thanks for the great tip Trish.
It was a big fail for me akso.
Try Vic’s vapor rub every night before bed.
Works great for me.
Does take a week or so to work.
Oh I haven’t heard that one, I’ll have to try.
This is so stupid. Doesn’t work at all.
Tried this today and it did work, although I did it twice and I soaked my feet for 20 to 30 minutes and used a pumice stone to get feet smooth. Will do this again. Apple cider vinegar, listeriene and hot water… No blue feet either.
I am so glad that it worked for you. Maybe doing it twice is the trick 🙂
I tried it. It loosened the dead skin, but I still had to go back to my emoji to finish.
Thank you for your honesty concerning the results of the “foot soak”. I am always surprised when these miracle cures work for everyone but me. Makes me think I am doing something wrong. Not this time, my results are the same as yours! So thanks for being truthful – which I find you don’t find often on the Internet.
Thank you Andrea! It’s a bummer it didn’t work as stated 🙁 Thanks for stopping by!
I read your instructions tonight and immediately started soaking my feet My feet have been in the solution for about 30 minutes and my skin is already starting to pill off. I really don’t have dry feet but they started to get a little bit dry so I bought the ingredients Only thing that I did different is I used 2 cups of vinegar 2 cups of mouthwash and one cup of warm water.
That is awesome Brooke! I am so glad that the solution worked for you!
I got blue feet too, especially in the cracks. Not a good look when you’re stepping out in summer sandals
Oh no! I’m sorry.
A podiatrist in our organization recommends patients use vicks vapor rub on calluses skin and wrap in saran wrap in order to soften skin and remove dead skin.
Thanks for the great tip Karen! I’ll have to give it a try.
Hi. I’m a diabetic and I’ve been using this foot soak for a while. First, I don’t skimp on my health; I use Listerine & apple cider vinegar. Listerine kills bacteria and other nasty stuff. I use this soak after every pedicure because I don’t know what is on those tools and the alcohol in the Listerine kills everything. The 2 together will soften any callous. Scrape the skin off with a butter knife or any pedicure tool. Thanks for sharing this.
You are very welcome, Emma. That’s a great tip to use this soak after a pedicure to kill any lurking bacteria!
I don’t soak my feet but I do dab Listerene , with a cotton bud, in between my toes môrning and night. No more smelly feet and no more athletes foot. My slipper, boots and shoes no longer need spraying or washing and I no longer feel embarrassed about taking my shoes off.
Great tip Sheila! Thanks for sharing.
I think you eerie only supposed to use one cup of water. The recipe calls for equal parts.
My feet are awful! The only thing I’ve found that works is Burt’s Bees Coconut Foot Creme. $9 at Walmart, Walgreens, or Amazon. I put it on my feet before I get into bed and then put on cotton or fuzzy spa socks. I can’t sleep with socks on though, so I kick them off just as I start to fall asleep. It takes away the itch of dry skin, and makes my feet feel and appear soft.
Gave it another go….
I literally just finished this soak. I’ve done this once before and, like most others, my feet turned smurf and the majority of my dead skin still remained. I took in a lot of the comments above this time and created my own concoction. I made my foot soak concoction (will post ingredients below) in a large bowl placed on a towel in front of my comfy couch. MUST be comfy while doing a foot soak. Aside from the end results, the relaxing is the BEST PART!!!! Grabbed my coarse pumice stone (I use a grout stone used for tile installation. Crazy, I know, but it works better than any foot stone that retailers mark up for redicilous amounts) for dead skin removal after soak. 2 plastic bags, some hospital socks with the non slip rubber bottoms and my absolute favorite moisturizer ever in the world SeneDerm Advanced Hydration Healing Lotion from SeneGence (which I sell so if anyone is interested, let me know).
Did my soak for 45 minutes. Scrubbed the dead skin off with my pumice stone, rinsed my feet, blotted them with my towel, rubbed the remainder of the dead skin off with my hands and rinsed again. Then I massaged a very generous amount of my lotion all over my feet, pulled my plastic bags on, slipped the socks over the bags and soak. My feet feel and look amazing.
Now for my concoction:
1/2 c White Vinegar
1/2 c Braggs Apple Cider Vinegar
1/2 c off brand mouth wash (green because if you don’t use too much, it won’t turn your feet colors)
1/2 c Magnesium Flakes
4-6 c Warm Water (enough to cover your feet to your ankles)
Thanks, Valerie! I’m going to have to give this a try!
Are you aware that they are using your feet photo as a Pinterest before and after on http://bestluxurysite.com/2017/06/02/5-ways-to-remove-dead-skin-on-your-feet-naturally-and-quickly/ ? I thought it was funny that I saw the same picture as thumbnails in a row…
Oh goodness! Thank you for letting me know MiKayla!