I love gardening! But as I got older and my feet got drier, all the cracks in my heels were embedded with dirt. I would scrub and scrape and put on lotion and it would look good temporarily, but it always went back to dry skin and cracks. After a while, the cracks were becoming so deep they actually hurt. As I researched this, I found I wasn’t alone.
Diabetics, folks with weight problems, and the elderly, all have major health concerns related to cracks on the sole and heel becoming infected. I read in a 2010 podiatric journal that podiatrists are so stymied as to successfully treating this problem, they actually glue the cracks together. They also recommend wearing plastic bags on your feet to conserve moisture. I tried it once. It actually works, but it felt like my feet were in two miniature saunas. I believed there just had to be a better way!
I was in a nursery looking at gloves when I had the “AHA!” moment. If garden gloves kept the drying effect of dirt off my hands, then a glove for my foot would do the same thing. I used the already proven track record of nitrile coated garden gloves and morphed it into a sock. After a lot of medical advice and testing, it became a sock that created a moisture conserving chamber for the foot, keeping the foot soft, moist and crack free. It also kept dirt outside the sock.
After testing the prototype, my heel cracks disappeared, and have never returned. That was 5 years ago. These socks are not magic. If I don’t routinely wear them a couple of days a week, my skin begins to dry out naturally. But if I do wear them, my heels are baby soft all the time with no effort other than wearing a comfortable sock.
About Bernadette Butz
I never intended to become an entrepreneur at 67, but I am determined to bring this product to people who have the same problems I did, necessity being the mother of SoleMates.
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Bernadette,
I just got my SoleMates Socks and I love them! My heels used to be cracked and sore, but not any more. I decided to try the socks on my hands overnight. For a long time, my hands have been dry, cracked and scaling, especially on the heel of the palm. No amount of cream can overcome the dryness of winter and washing my hands many times during the day. So, for 2 nights now, I’ve applied cream and worn my SoleMates Socks on my hands overnight. I’m impressed with the improvement already. Thanks for a great product.
Sincerely,
Marilyn
I am so glad the socks are working for you! I was originally going to call them “Glovesocks”, because they work like a glove. I am also considering expanding the line to include gloves, where the nitrile is on the top, with a soft cotton palm. What do you think?
Gloves would be a great idea! But, I think I need the nitrile on the palms. At least that’s the way I’ve been wearing the socks.
ARE SOULMATE SOCKS AVAILABLE AT ANY STORES?
THANKS
Mark,
Check the SoleMates Socks website. I know you can buy them there.
I tried these a couple of years ago – they really helped my horribly dry, cracked, even to the point of bleeding, heels IF I wore them very frequently. Unfortunately that caused me to develop nail fungus on several of my small toes. I am still fighting to get rid of that on a five of them to this day. Had to stop using the solemates. Wish they made them without the nitrile over the toes. Besides the fact that it caused me to have nail fungus it was also uncomfortable since my toes are not straight across like the toe area of the socks are after being coated with the nitrile. Now I am back to trying to find a way to keep my heels from cracking and bleeding and nothing I have tried has helped except the solemates socks that I can’t use now.
Candace,
Have you contacted SoleMates Socks? I’m sure they would like to know how well your socks worked … and the problems you had with them.
I have 2 suggestions …
First, could you cut the toes off the socks? You might have to stitch a hem to keep them from unraveling. And maybe add some elastic so they stay in place. That would help with both your issues of covering your toes. Before you do that, though, I would check with Solemates Socks.
Second, about the fungus issue. Do you take natural/organic vitamins and supplements? It’s almost impossible to get all the nutrition we need from food today. The soil is depleted, chemicals and pesticides are added, the air is polluted and we use toxic chemicals in our homes. Our bodies have to stay strong to combat all of that.
Vitamins aren’t meant to cure, but taking good quality vitamins gives your body the best chance of staying healthy. It could help avoid or postpone illnesses and diseases. And if you should get sick, you may only get a mild case and can usually fight it off quicker.
You’ll find the vitamins I recommend here on my blog. Look down the right 2 columns. I not only recommend them, but I take them every day. I’m also a distributor with the company.
Let me know if I can help you with your SoleMates Socks and/or health needs.
~Marilyn
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