10 Best Foot Creams 2024 | UK Dermatologist Reviewed
Whatever your needs, our guide and top ten recommendations will help you find your perfect foot cream, whether that's a cooling lotion, a thick, rich treatment or a medicated foot formula. Our picks are all available from Amazon and Boots and include bestsellers from Eucerin, O’Keeffe’s, and The Body Shop.
Quick List - Top Foot Creams
Seoulista Beauty
Single Use Moisturising Mask for Home Pedicure
Felipe Partarrieu is a dermatologist, who is GMC registered with a full licence to practise in the UK. Specialising in cosmeceuticals, facial skin care, and hair disorders, we worked with Felipe to bring you top quality information to help you make informed buying decisions and understand more about what goes onto your skin.
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With Specialist Consultation From Dermatologist Felipe Partarrieu
Felipe Partarrieu is a final year dermatology resident, who is GMC registered with a full licence to practise in the UK. Specialising in cosmeceuticals, facial skin care, and hair disorders, we worked with Felipe to bring you top quality information to help you make informed buying decisions and understand more about what goes onto your skin.
How to Choose a Foot Cream in the UK
- Keep an Eye on Specific Ingredients to Moisturise Dry Skin
- Skin-Safe Acids or Urea Are Best for Cracked Heels
- Essential Oils Are Great for Tired or Itchy Feet
Look for Foot Creams With Shea Butter, Hemp Seed Oil or Glycerin to Moisturise Dry Skin
If it’s a hit of moisture you need for feet trapped inside socks all winter, there are plenty of deeply hydrating ingredients to hit the spot. But which ones should you look out for to give the hard skin on your heels and soles a new lease of life?
- Shea butter: a powerful emollient high in oils to smooth rough skin efficiently. Rich in antioxidants like vitamin A and E, and its anti-inflammatory properties relieve itchy feet. It's also a good ingredient to seek out if you suffer from eczema, dermatitis, or athlete’s foot thanks to its antimicrobial properties.
- Hemp seed oil: the lipids (fats) present are close in molecular structure to those in our skin, so great for providing a moisture boost to thirsty toes, while the vitamin D helps to improve softness and appearance. Hemp oil also contributes to stronger skin that is more resistant to viral, bacterial, and fungal infections generally.
- Glycerin: (also known as glycerine or glycerol) often used in skincare because it is a humectant – meaning it’s especially good at retaining moisture. Seek out a foot cream containing glycerin if you want to smooth over rough skin or plump up the dry patches that can appear on neglected feet.
Suffering from extreme dryness? Take a look at our favourite heel balms.
Contrary to popular belief, due to its association with the cannabis plant, hemp seed oil does not contain mind or mood-altering THC. Hemp seed oil is high in omega acids 3, 6, and 9, which help repair the skin barrier and form a seal over the skin to keep moisture trapped inside.
These same omega acids also help lower inflammation in the skin. Besides being one of the best humectants, Glycerin also helps the skin shield itself from environmental sources of irritation and enhances the penetration of other active ingredients into the skin’s uppermost layers.
Opt For a Foot Cream With Skin-Safe Acids or Urea to Treat Cracked Heels
- Glycolic or lactic acids: known to gently penetrate the skin and dissolve away the hardened top layer. Medicated callus-removers usually employ one or both of these acids to work their way down through even the toughest dermal layer, and gradually break away useless dead cells.
- Levulinic and caprylhydroxamic acids: the former is a naturally occurring exfoliation substance that keeps your skin’s acid levels balanced and helps to avoid infections. While the latter is derived from coconut oil and used in anti-ageing products as it prevents skin cell deterioration.
- Urea: a highly hydrating compound which our skin naturally produces to soften itself. If the concentration of urea is high enough, usually 10% or above, it can also act as a keratolytic - helps to loosen dead skin and boost the speed of cell turnover, meaning a fast track to soft new skin.
Check out the best foot peels for more products containing active ingredients.
One way to help these creams to act better and quicker is to soak your feet in warm water for 15-20 minutes before applying the cream. Moisturisers with exfoliants like urea and salicylic acid used 2-3 times per day help prevent heel cracks with regular use.
Urea has both humectant (moisturising) and keratolytic (get rid of dead skin) properties depending on concentration (10% being the cut-off point), so choose wisely depending on how cracked/dry your heels are. Also, remember that urea may cause a stinging sensation if applied to fissures or other broken skin.
If You Have Tired or Itchy Feet, Choose a Cream With Tea Tree Oil, Peppermint or Aloe Vera
As well as the physical effects certain formulas can have on hard or dry skin, some creams are also designed to cool, soothe, and increase foot hygiene. Here are some suggestions for ingredients that will refresh your weary toes.
- Peppermint and tea tree oil: great for relieving sore muscles and ideal if you suffer from hot, sweaty feet, as it contains cooling menthol which acts as a natural antibacterial agent.
- Aloe vera: a natural, well-trusted remedy for many skin conditions. With antioxidant, antiseptic, and anti-inflammatory properties, aloe helps calm inflammation and itchiness that heat, walking, and summery footwear can provoke in sensitive feet.
Love to take care of your skin naturally? Aloe vera gels can be used for a multitude of purposes!
Peppermint oil, a common ingredient found in foot creams, has a cooling effect which soothes irritation due to its 30-50 % menthol content.
This cooling sensation can have a calming effect on the body and relieve tension in sore muscles. It also improves circulation, which helps with skin itching and has vaso-constrictor (anti-redness), antiseptic and antibacterial properties.
10 Best Foot Creams in the UK
Products | Image | Click to purchase | Key features | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Burt's Bees Coconut Moisturising Foot Cream | | Coconut Oil Based Cream With 99% Natural Ingredients | |
2 | Seoulista Beauty Rosy Toes Instant Pedicure Foot Mask | | Single Use Moisturising Mask for Home Pedicure | |
3 | Flexitol Moisturising Foot Cream | | Fast-Absorbing 10% Urea Foot Cream to Eliminate Dry Skin | |
4 | O'Keeffe's For Healthy Feet Foot Cream | | Deeply Moisturising Foot Cream for Hard Skin | |
5 | Kind Natured Sea Minerals and Mint Foot Cream | | Peppermint Foot Cream to Refresh Tired and Sweaty Feet | |
6 | Palmer's Cocoa Butter Formula Foot Magic | | Vitamin E Rich Formula for Rough and Dry Skin | |
7 | The Body Shop Hemp Seed Oil Foot Protector Cream | | Heavy-Duty Hemp Foot Cream for Moisturising Skin and Nails | |
8 | Flexitol Foot Hygiene Cream | | Exfoliating Cream With Salicylic Acid for Calluses and Discolouration | |
9 | L’Occitane Shea Butter Foot Cream | | Award-Winning Shea-Butter Formula With Antiseptic Lavender Oil | |
10 | This Works Perfect Heels Rescue Balm | | A Gentle Balm for Cracked Heels |
Coconut Oil Based Cream With 99% Natural Ingredients
As the brand is famous for, this cream is also non-animal-tested and made with 99.4% natural ingredients so you can feel good about what you're treating your feet to. The addition of refreshing peppermint and rosemary and a lovely smell seals the deal, making this our top pick to save your feet by shopping online.
Single Use Moisturising Mask for Home Pedicure
Fast-Absorbing 10% Urea Foot Cream to Eliminate Dry Skin
It also contains vitamin E and lanolin for extra moisture and nourishment, and can be used on the legs or other areas prone to dry skin conditions such as psoriasis and eczema. Plus, as only a minimal dab is needed, it will last you absolutely ages!
Deeply Moisturising Foot Cream for Hard Skin
Penetrating deftly through the tough thick layer of skin so common on hard-working feet, this product comes in a handy tub so can be easily slipped into a pocket or handbag for carefree travel. A little goes a long way too, so it's excellent value.
Peppermint Foot Cream to Refresh Tired and Sweaty Feet
With 97% of its ingredients from natural origin and no sulphates, parabens, or other harsh chemicals, this cream not only helps your feel chill out but also leaves you safe in the knowledge you won't flare up any skin conditions or sensitivities.
Vitamin E Rich Formula for Rough and Dry Skin
On your feet all day? There's also peppermint and eucalyptus to relieve soreness. For a double whammy of moisture, you can also create your own foot mask with this product by choosing a clean new pair of socks and leaving them on over a thick layer of Foot Magic overnight.
The Body Shop Hemp Seed Oil Foot Protector Cream
Heavy-Duty Hemp Foot Cream for Moisturising Skin and Nails
The essential fatty acids contained in hemp seeds help to improve your skin’s moisture retention and natural barriers, plus there's glycerin, castor, and cacao seed butter to keep you soft all day. This cream soothes your skin and also acts as a great conditioning product for your toenails.
Exfoliating Cream With Salicylic Acid for Calluses and Discolouration
However, the results for this balm seem to speak for themselves! Although you may need to wait a little longer than the advertised 3 days, as long as you're patient, this balm can work miracles on your dry feet!
Award-Winning Shea-Butter Formula With Antiseptic Lavender Oil
Though a little pricey, it comes highly recommended by many, even winning several ‘Best Foot Cream’ awards from Woman’s Own and InStyle magazines. Spread all over feet to indulge parched skin, or, its luxurious creamy formula works well on dry, dusty hands too if you’re feeling thrifty!
A Gentle Balm for Cracked Heels
It’s recommended that you exfoliate your heels first and then thoroughly massage the product into problem areas to soften up callused heels. It’s a fairly light lotion so it may not be intense enough for some, however, this means it can also be used on legs for a moisture boost.
Home Pedicure Tips
After around 10 minutes of soaking, dry your feet and gently rub away rough skin on your heels, soles, and toes with a callus-removing foot file. Then take a scoop of your chosen product and massage thoroughly into your skin. Once absorbed, add your favourite colour polish for a splash of fabulous!
Written and researched by Annie Hopkins
Top 5 Foot Creams
No. 1: Burt's Bees｜Coconut Moisturising Foot Cream
No. 2: Seoulista Beauty ｜Rosy Toes Instant Pedicure Foot Mask
No. 3: Flexitol｜Moisturising Foot Cream
No. 4: O'Keeffe's｜For Healthy Feet Foot Cream
No. 5: Kind Natured｜Sea Minerals and Mint Foot Cream
View Full RankingThe descriptions of each product are referenced from content available on manufacturer, brand, and e-commerce sites.