**REVIEW** Skoother Skin Smoother

First off, let me say that the name is silly. I lost the box for mine and needed to find an image to use for this post. I Googled foot "Smoother" and "Soother" to no avail. Finally, I found a photo on Amazon only by looking up general foot care items. Brands need to be original, I get it, but stop with the cuteness when naming stuff!

Rant over.

This is what I'm talking about:


It's the Skoother Skin Smoother. (Okay, the name is sort of cool, I guess.)

I have to say that I got mine at Bed Bath and Beyond for about $6. I can't remember what the original price was, but mine was marked down because the packaging was torn and beat up. The item itself was not used so I was happy to get the bargain.

This is a really nice treatment for the foot, but I still struggle to understand who would use it on any other part of their body. The best thing about this is the mesh filing diskette. It's sort of like PedEgg with more precision.

There are two different mesh screens: one for rougher skin (think calluses), and one with a finer meshing which is supposed to be for more delicate skin. I'll say this one more time, I don't know who would use even the fine mesh on their "delicate" skin. The mesh is finer, but it's still a metal mesh file. Hear me? Metal. Mesh.

The file came with one mesh screen installed  (mine was with the rougher pad), a second callus screen and a screen for more delicate skin. I'm going to smirk every time I talk about that one...

PROs:

• This does work really, really well. I used the heavier mesh for my calluses. The finer mesh screen is perfect for my heels and the more delicate areas - of my FEET.
• The filing is very gentle (but make sure you don't over-use without pausing to check your progress) and took very little elbow grease to use. LOL
• I didn't end up with a lot of skin ash flying all over the place. That was a problem I had with the PedEgg and other "regular" foot files. It's really gross even if you do the filing over a dirty towel.
• I like the shape. It's ergonomic and even someone with less hand strength could use the appliance.

CONs:

• You do need to clean the screens after almost every use. That's partly because they work so well as removing your dry dead skin! 
• Removing the screen for cleaning is fairly easy, but you have to watch your fingers. I wish there was a cover for the screen when not in use. 
• The holding area (a small depression under the mesh) could be a bit deeper. Depending on how bad your feet are, you need to empty the Skoother often. Like I said, it's not hard to remove the screen for cleaning and dumping out the holder, but it's not a joy either.
• Back to a cover for when not in use, I'd like or something to store the gadget and the extra screens. I just kept the plastic shell of the packaging but that takes up a lot of space.

Those are pretty minor Cons though. The Pros definitely make up for any minor inconvenience. 

You've all heard plenty about my dry a** feet! I've used just about every kind of foot file known to Walmart. This is definitely the best in the category of small, affordable and easily available.

I neglected to take Before photos of my feet for this post. Actually, my feet are looking pretty good ever since I started using a special cream from my dermatologist (eczema issues). This foot smoother is great for my heels and the calluses I get on the outer part of my foot. 

Finally, I have to reiterate this: I don't think it would be a good idea to use anything this abrasive on anything other than the feet. That's just my opinion of course, but there you go.

Peace

--Free

**REVIEW** Rechargeable Foot File & Callus Remover

Wow!

I just got to try out this little life-saver here...

This is the Naturalico Rechargeable Electronic Pedicure Foot File & Callus Remover.

Now, I talk about my feet so much because they are the least favorite part of my body. I used to have beautiful feet: nice arches, soft, smooth heels and lovely nails. My feet were made for sandals. At one time.


About 13 years ago, I took on an extra job that was part-time perfect. It was just for the Christmas season, paid great money, and the hours fit with my full-time job. The best thing about it (other than the extra money) was that it was like getting paid to work out and stay fit. The worst thing about it was something I discovered on about the 3rd day: it was ruining my feet. Standing and walking on a concrete floor for around 9 to 10 hours each night was just brutal. I worked the job past the initial 1-month casual/temp contract and lasted around 4 months.

Was the job worth it? In the short term, it was. I paid up and saved up and our family had some extra financial breathing room for about a year. The damage to my feet has lasted longer. When my arches dropped, I started developing calluses and corns. ~sigh~

Anyway. That's the story of my feet.... This is the story about this product:

Let me go over what I really like so much about this:

simple & effective right out of the box

1. No tricky set-up. Can use right out of the box, even if it's not fully charged, because...
2. ... You can use it while it's charging. 
3. Uses a grinder head instead of blades. (I do not like blades!)
4. The grinder head (2 are included) is effective but gentle on even the less callused areas.
5. Very easy to use. No learning curve.
6. Does a great job without me having to exert a lot of pressure.
7. Doesn't jam up like some other similar products.

This works better than I expected. I was probably surprised because I once used a similar product that was really quite useless.

On the technical side, this callus remover spins 360 degrees at the rate of 40 turns per second. 

This callus remover comes with a light that is built in. I really didn't need the light, but it's nice that it's there. I did use the included cleaning brush quite a bit. It's just a small brush with soft bristles that I used to clean out all that icky dead skin from around the grinder and off my feet as I worked.

The product comes with information for registering the product for a Limited Lifetime Warranty on the machine, not the roller. 

Once again, I was more than surprised by the ease of use and effectiveness of this product. I'm glad I got to try it and I will be buying one to give out as a gift for someone who has an upcoming birthday :-)

Peace

--Free

DISCLOSURE: I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

My reviews will also any negative feedback that I have regarding a product.

**REVIEW** Sole Magic Foot Smoothing Pad

If you have problems with dry, scaly or callused feet, I'm going to scream at you to go and get one of these:

That is the Sole Magic Foot Smoothing Pad. And, boy, does it work.

You can get one of these online at the Sole Magic site. It's $7.99 (U.S.) and I'd very happily pay double (triple, if I had more money like that).  It's worth every single penny. I happened to find it cheaper and Walmart ($2.79). I found it a couple of weeks ago and, liked it so much, I went back for another one - just in case the price goes up.

I don't have money to throw around, and that I consider it a problem to "throw around" 3 bucks should tell you how hard up I am! Seriously, I have to be a little tight with the money so, when I bought this, I hung onto the receipt in case it was a dud. I have no problem returning bad products for a refund.

This is no dud. This works so well on my foot calluses, the only thing I wondered about was who the heck would be using it on their elbows. I'm not going to criticize though. My feet were so bad that I would never have taken a Before photo like the person on the Sole Magic site did. I can tell you that the photo is no trick. The foot smoothing pad works that well.

I am surprised that I never heard of this product before noticing it at Walmart. It was on one of those junky and badly placed racks where you can find everything from the latest things being hawked on infomercials to some hosiery. HOSIERY? Whatever.

The main reason I bothered to take a closer look at this smoothing pad is because I always take a closer look at any product for feet. And that's why I held on to my receipt until I saw the results I got. I have bought (and returned) so many products that claim they'll moisturize and smooth and, basically, keep you from shrouding your crusty, cracked, calloused feet in gauze to keep from offending other people. A couple of them did moisturize well (not well enough for my feet), and one or two of them lived up to at least part of the claims made (on TV, in magazines and by celebrity hawkers), but none of them worked fully as well as I'd like. One of them would have been great if it had been better designed.

The Sole Magic smoothing pad works mostly (I assume) because it has the basic concept of a foot file worked into a great design.

It's easy to hold and grip the smoothing pad, which seems to be the best part of the design. You don't have to exert a lot of pressure to remove the dead skin from your feet. And for the calluses... Oh! It just filed them right down to nothing.

I especially like that the pad smoothes the skin on your feet (and get's rid of calluses) without hurting at all. With some other foot file devices, I was afraid to use them too much because I didn't want to end up with scraped feet. It's the same reason I don't ever let anyone use razors when I (rarely) get a pedicure.

Before using this foot smoothing pad, I had stopped wearing certain types of shoes - just because my calluses were so painful. I could never walk barefoot around the house because the hardwood floors were like torture devices with each step. I spent about 10 minutes on each foot. Most of the time was used on my calluses because they were thick and located in odd places. The way the smoothing pad is made for gripping and angling is perfect. For my heels (which aren't so bad) and just for the overall smoothing out of my feet, I was done in no time.

Like with anything that files/smoothes dead skin, you're going to get that nasty skin ash falling everywhere. I usually try to do these kinds of foot treatments over the empty tub or over a towel, just to keep down on the mess. Plus, it's kind of gross. Another benefit of using the Sole Magic smoother is that it can be used wet or dry. I did my first smoothing treatment with a dry pad. A few days later, I did try it out in the bathtub. My feet were already pretty smoothed up by then though. I think that I will like it better wet for random "touch up" treatments, but I needed to full effect of a dry pad to handle these calluses!

After treating your feet to a smoothing, you can really tell a big difference - HUGE - right away, but you will be super impressed when you apply lotion to your nice new footsies. For me, it was better than a post-pedicure feel, and it didn't take all that soaking and waiting and paying. Besides, I'd rather take care of my own feet than risk some of the infections I've heard you can pick up at a mani-pedi salon...

Depending on how well I treat my feet (keeping them moisturized) and how dry or humid our weather is, I expect to do a smoothing treatment about once a month. Just touch up work. The pad seems to be sturdy enough to last for at least a few months, maybe more.

I'd check out my local drugstores before I ordered online. If your feet are in the shape mine were, you're not going to want to wait for shipping. Plus, it's nice to stock up on a couple of better-priced products while you can.

Recently, I've been wearing all my cute boots that my calluses made just standing uncomfortable. I can't wait for summer when I can wear my sandals...

Peace
--Free