This $25 Foot Peel Is Better Than a Pedicure
Updated: Oct. 26, 2022
Baby Foot foot peel has almost 30,000 positive reviews on Amazon. But does the viral Japanese foot treatment really work? We tried it to find out.
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After seeing another viral video of reborn feet, I went to Ulta specifically to purchase the Baby Foot foot peel, an at-home Japanese foot treatment that uses a combination of acids (kind of like what you’d find in a face peel) to remove dead skin from your feet. When I asked an employee for assistance, she politely informed me that another customer had just bought out their entire stock. Since Baby Foot has a cult following and over 30,000 positive reviews on Amazon, I wasn’t surprised. It often sells out everywhere. That’s how good Baby Foot foot peel results are.
Instead of giving up on my quest for perfectly smooth feet, I went home and ordered two Baby Foot foot peels online. One for me, and one for my mom. I wanted to see if Baby Foot foot peel truly worked. You might even consider adding this to your own DIY pedicure routine.
What is Baby Foot Original Exfoliating Foot Peel?
The original Baby Foot formulation was created in Tokyo in the 1990s, as an easy and effective at-home treatment to relieve various non-medical foot problems including dryness, cracked soles, and accumulated dead skin. The product hit the mainstream American market around 2015 when users’ before and after photos went viral on social media. The foot skin peeling process is both slightly shocking and completely painless.
According to Baby Foot’s packaging, the product contains natural extracts and acids to “exfoliate and moisturize at the same time.” The active ingredients include lactic acid, salicylic acid, alcohol, and glycolic acid. These are keratolytic, so they get into the top layer of your skin and break up the connections in the dead skin cells. Anywhere from two to five days later, the dead skin peels off. And I mean, it peels. Check out these tips for getting rid of cracked heels.
Does Baby Foot foot peel work?
In a word: yes. Pre-Baby Foot foot peel, my feet were in pretty good shape. But I definitely had a stubborn callus that a pumice stone couldn’t remove on my heel and dead skin around my toes. I’m more of a pedicure addict than my mom, so her Baby Foot foot peel results were more dramatic. As in, dead skin peeled off her feet in sheets.
Baby Foot foot peel comes in a package with two plastic booties filled with the exfoliation product. For best results, Baby Foot suggests soaking your feet in warm water for at least 15 minutes prior to applying the booties. The booties come with adhesive so you can secure them around your ankles. Putting your feet in the booties feels a little cold and squishy, but also oddly pampering. Then, watch TV or read for an hour (don’t walk around, the booties are slippery) and remove the booties. Now, you wait.
Since the peel penetrates the skin it takes at least two days to activate. I noticed a very slight almost dusting of dead skin accumulating on my heels after three days. On day four, just when I was starting to think Baby Foot didn’t work, my feet started to shed skin like a snake. To my horror and delight, after about 10 days of nearly continuous shedding, my feet were reborn. What callus? Dry toe skin who? My feet looked airbrushed.
Does Baby Foot foot peel hurt?
No. Baby Foot foot peel doesn’t hurt at all. It doesn’t even itch. The only drawback is how absolutely gross your feet look for about 10 days. That, and leaving dead skin around your sheets, couch, and shower. It’s also pretty distracting to see layers and layers of dead skin hanging off your heels. You’re going to want to obsessively look, pick, and probably photograph it to show your friends and family. This was the appeal (pun intended) of doing Baby Foot foot peel with my mom. We got to compare our grisly results in real-time.
Baby Foot recommends not picking at or removing the dead skin as it sheds, but it’s nearly impossible not to intervene. That’s kind of like not wiggling a loose tooth. Baby Foot also advises users not to use lotion during the process, as moisturizing can slow down the peeling. To the best of your ability, just let the peel do its job and wait it out. Learn some of the things your podiatrist won’t tell you.
Where can I buy Baby Foot foot peel?
As of the publishing date, Baby Foot Foot Peel is sold out on Amazon. It’s available on the Baby Foot website, and on Target.com and Ulta.com. Baby Foot costs $25 and it rarely goes on sale. If you see a deal that’s too good to be true on a website you’ve never heard of, it’s likely not the real deal. Sure, $25 might be more than I’d usually spend for an at-home beauty product, but the results are above and beyond how much skin removal you’ll get in a salon pedicure.
I’d recommend doing the treatment in the winter or early spring when you’re usually wearing socks anyway. Then, your feet will be smooth as a baby for sandal weather. Definitely don’t attempt Baby Foot foot peel just before a beach vacation.
I’m stocking up on Baby Foot foot peel so I can do it at least once a year. And my mom? She bought my dad a Baby Foot foot peel package.
