***REVIEW*** ProLinc Callus Eliminator

Remember when, a few days ago, I was wish-listing products I'd like to review? Well, this product from ProLinc for removing calluses was on the bottom of that list but at the top of my mind. My niece has hardwood floors almost completely throughout the house. The floors look great. The floors are murder on my bad feet. I'm addicted to my house slippers at this point!

Would take a miracle for my feet

Anyway, I had to do something. I could either go wild and spend the whopping $8.20 (from Amazon) for the 4-oz bottle of callus remover, or I could keep wearing out expensive insoles or coming up with alternatives, one of which I'll tell you about if I don't chicken out before I finish this post!

First, let me mention that the feet used in the Before/After photo are not really that bad compared to my dawgs. (How sad is that? Cos you know they tried to find the worst-looking feet they could. They should've called me. Or maybe not. They want to make a point, not scare off potential customers...)

Second, I refuse to take a photo of my feet for this post. Not because they are that awful, but because it's really awkward to get a good shot of your feet. I almost fell off the edge of the tub when I tried it. Besides, I've been shameless in describing my feet so you should all have the idea by now.

The thing I noticed when looking at that Before and After pic is that 1) my feet aren't that bad - at least not all over, and 2) that person has cracks in their feet.  ProLinc's FAQs advises customers not to use the product on cracked feet. Common sense, right? So... I guess the "Before" pic may not be accurate. That's just my opinion. It didn't stop me from giving the product a try. After all, there are no cracks in my feet. Just calluses and corns.

Does anyone else see that crack in her heel?

I didn't have a lot of time the first time I used the product, so I had to kind of cram my self-pedi in between appointments that were 45 minutes apart. Gave me enough time for a 10-minute foot soak and another 10 for putting on some disposable gloves, applying the product, almost dropping my cellphone into the water, and damn near sliding off the side of the tub. I allowed 5 minutes for the product to soak in and do its thing. By the time I washed and dabbed my feet, I realized I'd left the foot file-buffer-thingie waaaay down the hall in the bedroom. I just used the edge of a cap from my shower gel to sort of scrape at my feet.

By the way, the product is runnier than I expected. It didn't really "stick" to my feet, so I had to keep catching the run-off and slathering it back on. Just a minor quirk, but all the photos show the product as having more of a coating texture. ~shrug~

Now. Since I didn't exactly follow directions, I can't complain about not getting the exact same results as the person in the Before and After photos. I got close, but... My heels and the softer areas of my feet ended up looking great. Very smooth and free of all that nasty dead skin that looks horrible.

The rougher areas of my feet (and I mean rough like a bad neighborhood after dark) didn't come out quite as beautiful. This is partly my fault. I didn't have my tools on hand and I'm pretty sure that a hard plastic shower gel cap is not a great substitution.

Here's the good thing: Even without the right tools on hand, I still saw a lot of improvement in my worst calluses - which are mostly on the pads of my feet right under my little toes. Just imagine the results when I actually have time to do a proper job of this. The bottoms of my feet and the heels are nice and soft. The calluses softened up enough for me to bear walking on these hardwood floors without being in pain.

I think this is a great product. It's affordable and easy to use. You just have to be careful to follow directions - not just for results but for safety (see the "Warnings").

Peace
--Free

P.S.:

I mentioned that I have come up with ways to protect the footsies when I'm without insoles. Insoles can be pricey and I can't afford them for every pair or shoe or cheap slipper I own. And what about when I want to just pad around the house in my socks? Well, I have a little trick I use that just cracks my family UP! I'm going to tell my secret solution to you and only you, but only if you promise not to tell everyone else:

Panty liners.

Yep. The cheap kind that are almost no good for use as a liner for your panties. Those are the ones that are great for use as a quickie insole. Just stick the sticky side onto your feet before you slide on socks to walk around the house. Depending on how your shoes fit, the liners are even great for a day out on your feet in one of those stores with concrete floors. 

You can laugh all you want but, baby, let me tell you... When I couldn't get my expensive Dr Scholl's into my cute boots, I strutted right around with some Dollar Store panty liners keeping my feet padded and comfy.

Products I'd LOVE to Review

First a little personal note:

I'm in the midst of re-re-locating. I'm going to be living between family homes for a while. I will actually reside in Anchorage, but because of my awesome family support system, I will be able to get to Iowa every few months for a few weeks. This takes the stress off of me while I wait for an affordable place here in Anchorage (and shame of this city for not having enough affordable housing for singles!); my healthcare team is here, so I don't have to be anxious about that; I will get to see my little brother and sister often enough that we don't go into bonding withdrawals; and, most of all, I get to save money for when a place opens up here. Who else has family like mine!????

Oh yeah. These guys were a good family too.

Now, because I am (almost literally) moving in about 5 different directions at once, I have been slacking on the product reviews. I have a couple of new products in transit but, in the meantime, I thought it would be fun to talk about products I'm just SO wanting to try. (Maybe someone will see this and I'll get an offer to try out a few of these.)

You think I'm kidding? Nope.

• Anything from this brand. I did get a tiny sample of the Immune Perfect Continuous Hydration, but not enough to really test it over a few days. From the little bit I did try, I loved it. They have a special offer on a "dry skin treatment" (including the Continuous Hydration) that I'm just drooling over...
• "Love Curl Moisture Milk" by Camille Rose Naturals just sounds so yummy. My hair was almost too hydrated from the Iowa humidity, but the mineral-laden tap water also dried it out after shampooing. Now that I am back in Alaska, my body clock has re-adjusted but my hair is still confused! (Also, I kind of like the story of the product's founder.)
• And because I'm a little hair-obsessed right now, I'm also wanting to dry this Hair Dew by Oyin Handmade. I wish I knew their story. 
• TUKKA Naturals interests me because - well, it's for "naturals". Like me. I want to try this  conditioner and this duo. And, of course, I want to try this shampoo. (Aren't the names interesting?) Once again, I love the story.
• Getting away from the hair thing (sort of), I came across this quite by accident. I love the idea of using oils on my skin. I had never heard of Caiaué oil before this. One thing I can tell you is, I'm sure I will like the orange scent better than I do that of the rosehip oil (which works great, by the way)... I found that there is not as much info out there about this oil as I expected because it's better known as the trademarked name of Ojon oil. The company selling it on Amazon has this site. Huh.
• This is a little embarrassing to share, but I have bad feet. I don't mean "bad" as in crooked or anything like that. I mean "bad" as in I don't take the best care of my feet as I should. I have corns and calluses that could frighten a podiatrist. My calluses get so bad that I find it painful to walk barefoot on hard flooring. We have wood floors throughout the house here. Yeah. So... Now, I do soak and scrub and moisturize my feet like a fetishist, but if I miss one week of not doing all that, those calluses grow right back like a petri dish experiment. So, this product is on my radar. It even comes in an "orange". What caught my eye? That it's supposed to eliminate calluses in mintues. Oh, yeah. This one is on my radar for shu-ah.

Well, there's my little product Wish List. I didn't even add on all the makeup I want to try. That would make for a loooong list. There are all sorts of BB and CC creams and new lips stains I want to try out. I think I'm going to have to make some vendor suggestions to Tomoson.com

If any of you have had a chance to try any of these products (or any products from these brands), I'd be interested to get your take on how they work.

Peace
--Free