How to Keep Summer Shoes Without Socks and Odorless
Some shoes are best worn without socks, especially during the summer months. If you love wearing ballerinas, pumps, sandals, or loafers, here are some tips to help you get rid of unpleasant foot odor when walking around without socks.
Keep your feet dry with a special foot powder
Your shoes are exposed to a lot of heat and moisture, and when you are not wearing socks, there will be nothing to trap and channel this moisture. There’s nothing you can do about the heat, but you can dry things with foot powder. For about $ 10 on Amazon, you can get a bottle of Gold Bond Healing Foot Powder that will last all summer.
Other powders, such as baby powder, also help keep things dry, but they may not fight odor either. The downside of using foot powders is that they can form lumps if your feet sweat a lot and they leave the inside of your shoes with white spots that may never go away. No one will be looking at you (hopefully), but this still needs to be considered.
Seriously, wash your feet
When it comes to foot odor, a little extra wash can make a big difference. The reason your shoes get so smelly is because the odor-causing bacteria that love to live on your feet spreads to the inside of your shoes. They live off your sweat and dead skin, making the insides of your sockless shoes the perfect place for these little guys to live. The art of masculinity explains :
When you have a lot of sweat, bacteria living on your feet will start to grow and produce bad odor. The main culprit behind smelly feet is brevibacteria . These suckers eat the dead skin that peels off your feet every day. After digesting microscopic skin particles, brevibacteria release methanethiol , a gas that smells like rotten cabbage.
To get rid of the smell, start with a foot wash regimen. Soap your feet with soap to reduce bacteria, and wipe them with a washcloth or rag to remove as much dead skin as possible. Just standing in the shower and letting the soap wash your body towards your feet doesn’t count! If you don’t have time to wash, alcohol-based products such as antibacterial wipes or hand sanitizer are the last resort.
Use a foot spray (or even underarm deodorant)
Foot odor is very similar to underarm odor, so it makes sense that products designed for the lower arms could work on other areas of the body with high sweating. Dr. Benabio of The Derm Blog suggests using an antiperspirant spray:
Use an antiperspirant spray such as Gold Bond Maximum Strength Foot Spray. Your regular underarm antiperspirant will work too, but the aluminum chloride concentration is much lower and therefore less effective.
A variety of sprays provide great protection for your foot and can get into the nooks and crannies of your toes. Regular deodorant can help too because it is alcohol based. Deodorants won’t keep your feet dry, but in a pinch, sweaty feet are better than sweaty and smelly ones.
Use activated carbon insoles
If your shoes aren’t too tight, insoles can be a quick and easy method to prevent odor. You can find terry cloth insoles designed to wick away sweat and wick away sweat, but it is best to use activated carbon insoles. Activated carbon, also known as activated carbon, is highly porous and incredibly absorbent. Insoles like Dr. Scholl’s Odor-X Anti-Odor Insoles are safe choices, and you’ll get a four-pair pack for under $ 17 on Amazon. They are not ideal for sandals, but they are great for boats, ballerinas and loafers.
You personally cut each insole to size, so you know it will fit just about any size or type of shoe, and each pair can last over a month of regular wear. Your mileage may vary, but these types of insoles can prevent odor build-up on your shoes right from the start.
Wear discreet socks
Yes, we’re talking about giving up socks , but you can just as easily make it look like you’re not wearing socks. These socks have a lot of names (liners, no-shows, moccasins, boot socks, etc.), but they all do the same thing: they absorb and wick sweat from the feet, so it doesn’t soak into the shoes.
They sit very low on your feet, usually wrapping around your toes and barely clinging to the base of your heel, but they give you the edge of the sock while remaining trendy. If you choose to go the sock route, you can usually find packs of three to five for $ 15 or less . Keep in mind, however, that socks don’t pair very well with any of the other methods mentioned here. You don’t want your insole and sock to be covered in powdery socks or wrinkled toes, but it’s still good to wash your feet.
Absorbs moisture in your shoes when not wearing them
Preventing shoe odor is not only what you do when you are not wearing shoes, but also when you are wearing them. The fact that you pulled sweaty feet out of your shoes does not mean that they instantly dry up inside. In fact, this moisture can linger for a while and encourage more odor-causing bacteria to grow. Black Lapel invites you to jump for cedar shoe trees. They will absorb moisture, give your shoes a heavenly scent and help keep the shoes in shape. They can cost anywhere from $ 12 to $ 30 each (not a pair) , so this isn’t the cheapest option either.
Of course, you can always choose the classics as well. Stuffing shoes with newspaper can also absorb moisture and odor, and a sock or stocking filled with cat litter can do the same. A coffee filter filled with baking soda is also always a powerful deodorant .
Have multiple pairs of shoes of the same style
Last but not least, the less time you sweat in your shoes, the less chance bacteria that cause odor will grow. Having multiple pairs of shoes of the same style allows you to wear the shoes you want every day without excessive sweating. You can have different colors of the same shoes or mix them with different styles of the same shoes. Try to alternate them every day and you will save yourself a little work in the long run.