I Tried £180 Worth Of Foot Cream & The Cheapest One Was The Best

Even if you consider yourself a skincare aficionado, I’m willing to bet you haven’t given your feet a second thought all year. Until now, that is. With sandal season in full swing, it makes sense that we’re on the lookout for the one foot lotion that does it all: preventing cracks before they form, banishing ashiness and smoothing away flaky skin. And with a heatwave underway, it’s little wonder that searches for “best foot cream for hard skin” are spiking on Google. (Is there anything more shudder-inducing than the feeling of dry toes catching on your bedsheets?)

You might be wondering how a foot cream differs from your usual body lotion. In my experience, the latter just doesn’t cut it. A proper foot cream is usually much thicker in texture and loaded with heavy-duty ingredients like ultra-moisturising urea and exfoliating salicylic acid, so you can put the scary cheese grater-style foot file down.

With that in mind, I tried £180 worth of foot creams, rating each one based on how my feet felt right after applying and after consistent use. Here are my honest thoughts.

I’m a huge fan of L’Occitane’s Shea Butter Hand Cream, but because it’s packed with moisturising butters and oils, it can leave a little residue. Happily, the foot cream version is just as effective on dry, cracked skin but sinks in quickly without any stickiness, so you can slip on socks or slippers right away. My favourite thing about it is the soothing lavender scent — it’s the ultimate bedtime ritual, and I’m convinced it helps me fall asleep faster. I also know it’s a staple in many luxury pedicurists’ kits…

I’ve used this on and off for years and still can’t get over the affordable price tag. Why? It does the most. The star ingredient is urea, a keratolytic agent that breaks down the bonds between dead skin cells, helping them shed quickly. It’s excellent for very dry, cracked feet with calluses. Moisturising glycerin and allantoin leave feet feeling instantly brand new and the softening results last until the next morning. If you’re not into the minty finish of most foot creams, this one’s lightly floral and sweet. It’s my number one on this list. 

This might feel thin, but it’s a serious foot lotion. It contains six active ingredients, including exfoliating lactic and glycolic acids, urea, which helps shed dead skin cells, moisturising panthenol (also known as vitamin B5) and hydrating sodium lactate. Then there’s ultra-nourishing shea butter and squalane. Because of the strong actives, it tingles at first (wash your hands after using it) and smells quite potent. I found that for real results, you have to be consistent. After a week of nightly use, my dry skin disappeared, and it worked wonders on a thick, hard callus on my big toe, thanks to wearing chunky boots all winter. Honestly, my feet were glowing. This is excellent for very dry soles if you have a little more to spend. This takes a well-deserved second place. 

I’ve squeezed many of The Body Shop’s Invigorating Foot Creams to the very last drop, even investing in a tube-squeezing key to get every last bit out — it’s that good. It features a handful of deeply nourishing butters like shea and cocoa, as well as moisturising glycerin and plant oils and waxes to make rough skin feel soft again. I love applying this before bed. It’s so smoothing, that I challenge anyone not to rub their feet together in joy. The name suggests that it’s cooling, but besides the peppermint scent, it doesn’t quite live up to the “invigorating” label, though the moisturising benefits certainly make up for the lack of minty tingle. This comes in at a respectable third place.

This foot lotion reflects its higher price tag. Luxuriously thick but not greasy, it has a relaxing, herby eucalyptus scent and leaves feet feeling satisfyingly soft. It’s another one that makes me want to rub my feet together gleefully in bed. Olive and shea butter give it a whipped consistency, while their fatty acids work instantly and over time to repair a dry, damaged skin barrier. There’s also vitamin B5 to lock in moisture and allantoin to soothe cracked skin. 

If you want something that sinks in quickly and doesn’t leave a trace of residue, consider this your new go-to. But after giving it a good go last year, I found it wasn’t substantial enough for my very dry soles or calluses, even with a dose of exfoliating salicylic acid. I kept my foot file close. I much prefer the brand’s Moisturising Cream for Dry to Very Dry Skin, £17.50, for feet. It’s much bigger, so I don’t feel guilty slathering it on, and it boasts the same skin-rejuvenating ceramides, which act like glue between cells to keep skin soft and supple.

This is great if you don’t mind a bit of initial stickiness. The 837 Amazon reviews don’t lie: it smells amazing and instantly smooths the look of superficial dry lines, but if you have painful cracks, I’d suggest steering clear due to the handful of essential oils, which could irritate broken skin. It’s more instantly refreshing than The Body Shop's version, making it ideal for swollen summer feet. Just give it a shake or a squeeze before use, as the olive oil tends to pool at the tube’s opening.

This is a megamix of gently exfoliating fruit enzymes plus jojoba and castor oils, so it not only lifts away dry, flaky skin but also replenishes moisture in parched feet. Because the exfoliants are quite mild, regular use is what makes it worth the higher spend. I love the addition of soothing, refreshing tea tree. When I use it in the morning, it leaves my feet feeling fresh and prepped for sandals on super hot days.

Margaret Dabbs’ Miracle Foot Cream is miles ahead of the brand’s Intensive Hydrating Foot Lotion, which I found far too thin to make a difference to my parched soles. However, its main ingredient is petrolatum (aka petroleum jelly), so it’s thick, slow to absorb and leaves a greasy residue on toes and hands. It’s a before-bed-with-socks kind of product, rather than one to slather on before slipping into sandals. What really sets it apart from other foot creams, though, is its focus on foot and toenail hygiene, thanks to a generous dose of antifungal and antibacterial tea tree oil (no wonder so many pedicurists I know keep it in their kits). It also contains exfoliating salicylic acid, which does the work of a foot file without the risk of overdoing it — great if you can get past the slippery feel.