The Truth About Baby Foot Peel

What would you say if we told you there is a plastic sock that's filled with a game-changing, goopy gel, and which can take your worn and calloused feet from gross to great? That's the premise of Baby Foot Peel, a chemical peel with natural acids and extracts which can both exfoliate and moisturize your feet. "[Ingredients like] lactic acid, salicylic acid, alcohol, and glycolic acid are keratolytic, so they get into the top layer of your skin, break up the connections in the dead skin cells, and two to three days later, the dead skin peels off," explains dermatologist Margarita Lolis (via Good Housekeeping).

Baby Foot Peel is easy to use. You wash and soak your feet, wear the booties and sit still for an hour — but before you start, make sure you have your book, magazine, or TV remote, and a pair of extra-large socks handy, or it's going to be a long hour. If you must get up, this is the part where the extra-large socks come in: you'll need to wear the socks to be able to get from one place to another. Once the hour is over, you wash your feet off (via Refinery 29). Then you wait, or look for Baby Foot Peel videos online to see what's in store for your unsuspecting footsies.

Don't be put off by the laundry list of acids found in Baby Foot Peel's gel. "Since the product is designed for feet, which usually have a thicker layer of skin, it is not a surprise that it contains a higher concentration of alpha hydroxy acids than ordinarily present in facial peels," says Sabina Wizemann, a chemist from the Good Housekeeping Institute Beauty Lab. "It is also formulated as a gel, that when combined with the concealing effect of plastic booties, adheres better to skin and prevents water loss."

Fast forward to a few days later and you may find your feet starting to shed. The process may start with flecks of skin, but as time goes on, expect to see small sheets of skin. The process takes a few days, so be patient, and you'll be rewarded with what literally looks and feels like brand new feet.

There are a few tips that Refinery 29 recommends when you use the Baby Foot Peel: that you don't skip the soak before and after the foot sock is used because that step is important. You can leave the plastic sock on for a bit longer than an hour, particularly if your feet are in desperate need of repair. Once your feet start to shed, don't pull skin away when it isn't ready. And stick to shoes and socks during the shedding process — because you may be fascinated by the process, but other folks may not feel the same way.

Baby Foot Peel is generally safe, and most people don't react to its ingredients, but Lolis suggests giving the treatment a pass if you have warts, corn callouses, open sores, or other skin sensitivities because the lactic acid and glycolic acid can irritate sensitive skin.