Dry and cracked skin around the heels is common and the regular application of a cream to help that is commonly advised. The problem there are literally 100’s of different foot creams and everyone who uses them has an opinion on them. So which is the best foot cream to use?
The research evidence on which is the best foot cream is not that helpful as most variations do have some evidence for them but very little comparing the outcomes between the different creams, so what is one to use and what is the cream that a health professional should be recommending?
One thing that is known is that in dry skin there is a well documented deficiency of urea, so it could be logical to start with using a urea based cream initially. The other advantage of the urea creams is that they are available in different concentrations of urea so they can have different affects on different skins. The lower concentration of urea in the cream (less than around 20%) are good to moisturize the skin. The concentration of over around 20% are good to help get rid of the drier flaky like skin. The concentrations of around 40% can be used on that thicker hard skin. So it is a matter of choosing the one that best matches the needs of the skin on the foot or each person. This is a good place to start and experiment with from there until you find a cream that best suits your skin and needs.
Of more importance that the actual foot cream that you use is to actually use it. It does need to be used, perhaps, twice a day to start with to get the problem under control and then daily after that. There is no point in buying a good foot cream and then not using it!