How do those Baby Feet foot masks work? The kind where you soak your feet for 45 mins and a week later all your hard skin peels off. What’s the science behind it?
In: Biology
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The way that skin grows is that the top most layer of cells continuously grows outward and begins to die. Underneath are younger living cells that are still able to maintain growth/cell division. It is replaced by younger living cells underneath. t is comprised of a hard protein called keratin found in your nails and in a variety of tissues in a diverse array of organisms.
So, the outermost layer of skin is actually comprised of dead cells which do not adhere to one another as well as the younger living cells. The older cells are are easier to slough off, which I believe is accelerated by these treatments. What remains is a layer of still living cells. I am not knowledgeable enough or qualified to state what medical benefits this might offer.
Wildly speculating, I am guessing this might be purported to prevent areas of hard, dead cells stuck together that are both visually unappealing and potentially uncomfortable.
Below is a picture ripped from google images and NOT MINE:
[https://images.slideplayer.com/25/7611861/slides/slide_10.jpg](https://images.slideplayer.com/25/7611861/slides/slide_10.jpg)
Taken from:
[http://slideplayer.com/slide/7611861/](http://slideplayer.com/slide/7611861/)
They’ve got a high concentration of acids – particularly alpha hydroxy acids (AHAs) and salicylic acid – which you might recognize from face peels. Baby Feet is basically a chemical peel for your feet. These kinds of acid soften the keratin and loosen skin cells. Keratin being the structural stuff that holds your outer most layer of skin together.
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So skin is made of lots of layers of cells, and they stick together through stuff that acts like glue. That way, even though you’re doing stuff like sitting on your butt watching Tiger King, or running, your skin doesn’t come flying off.
Foot masks are basically different kinds of acids that dissolve the glue sticking the cells together, so the skin comes off. It takes a while for all of the glue to dissolve, which is why it’s a week of shedding. But, if you do stuff that breaks up the glue naturally (like running or rubbing that skin a lot), it’ll break off earlier.
They use salicylic acid, which is a chemical that breaks down your skin and helps it shed off faster than it normally would on its own. The same chemical is used in greater concentrations to treat plantar warts (Compound W or similar treatments), however those are targeted applications. Foot peels use the same chemical in a lower concentration over the whole foot.
Salicylic acid can also help your skin reduce the amount of sebum, or skin oil, it puts out. Excess sebum is a cause of acne which is why you also see it in acne treatments.
EDIT: Since this is getting a lot of attention and questions, let me say this: I am not a dermatologist, so if you have questions about “can salicylic acid be used to treat X” I can’t really answer that any better than Dr. Google can. If you’re unsure whether it’s safe, consult a medical professional!
EDIT 2: /u/llustrous_llama added a helpful comment below:
>To piggyback on your edit, r/skincareaddiction could tell people what salicylic acid can be used for, and what might help with X. They’re also not doctors, but man do they do their research.
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