You’re probably eager to emerge from hibernation after a hard winter, but are your feet? Dry and rough feet are a common problem for runners, fitness fanatics, and high heel addicts, so it may not even be entirely the result of a demanding season spent walking about in bulky socks and boots. Additionally, even though the majority of individuals ignore their feet on a regular basis, a foot mask might help you get back on track.
A foot mask usually belongs to one of two types: an exfoliating foot peel or a highly conditioning, moisturising foot mask. While the second is an intense treatment meant to target thick skin and calluses, the former is essentially a deep moisturiser to condition dry feet. Board-certified dermatologist Dr. Dana Stern explains, “A foot peel will help get your feet back on track for sandal season, and then you can maintain the softness with a foot mask.”
To find the best foot peels and foot masks out there, we tested 25 different formulas over the course of six weeks, dedicating 800 hours to the cause. We assessed the products on their ease of use, moisturizing benefits, comfort level, and overall results. From there, we evaluated our data and ultimately narrowed down our selection to the top 14 masks below, which are bound to give your feet the glow up they deserve.
Best Overall Peel Mask
Patchology PoshPeel Pedi Cure
Why We Love It: Patchology’s Foot Mask and peel is unquestionably the best option if you want to see noticeable results. We’ve tried a lot of foot peels in the past, but none of them have been as effective as this one in removing the dead skin and leaving our runner’s feet incredibly smooth. Because you have to apply the exfoliating solution to the booties manually, this peel is different in that the booties are not pre-saturated. However, we kind of enjoyed this because it lets you personalise your experience. (Those with smaller feet, for instance, probably won’t need to fill their booties to the brim with all of the liquid.) After our hour-long treatment, we rinsed the water-like solution off of our feet and they no longer felt slimy, sticky, or tacky.
Who It’s For: We are truly smitten with this potent peel; in only one session, we saw the effects of several treatments. even when the sighting took a week.
Type: Chemical peel mask; Average Shedding Time: 10 days following treatment; Main Ingredients: Glycolic acid, salicylic acid, lactic acid, citric acid; Size: Two pairs per box.
Best Drugstore
Aquaphor Repairing Foot Mask
Why We Love It: Grab this six-pack of Aquaphor foot masks if rubbing cream all over your feet every night just isn’t doing it for you. In just ten minutes (though we’d recommend using it for at least twenty), its nutritious ingredients—avocado oil and shea butter—provide your skin with intense nourishment. After just one application, we witnessed a difference in our rough calluses, which we wore once a week for six weeks.
Who It’s For: It left a film on our skin and functions as a powerful moisturiser in a bootie. Although we would have preferred to wash it off, leaving these booties on over night, tucked into some extra-large socks, lets the rich solution seep into the dry skin.
Genre: Hydrating mask Principal Components: Glycerin, avocado oil, and shea butter Average Shedding Duration: N/A; Package Size: Six Pairs
KISS Super Peel Socks
Why We Love It: We use foot cream constantly, but we could use a peel because we have some calluses from walking and weight training that are really hard. We appreciated that this was one of the quicker foot peels we tried, requiring only 30 minutes of wear time to dissolve dead skin. The peeling started on the third day following the therapy and persisted for four days, during which time the skin on our feet felt constricted and unusual. Considering that most exfoliating peels require much more than a week of recovery, this was a welcome surprise. Our calluses improved significantly when the peeling was finished, and they did so for a whole month.
Who It’s For: We have very few issues and this peel is hard to beat for the price. Finding booties that suit our size 10 feet is even more difficult, but this one fit with some extra room.
Type: Chemical peel mask; salicylic acid, urea, paraffin, and shea butter are the main ingredients; average shedding Time: Four days after treatment, the peeling started. Size: Two pairs per package.
ALIVER Foot Peel Mask
The Reasons We Adore It: This foot peel uses a combination of moisturising and nourishing ingredients like glycerin and allantoin, along with milder plant extracts, to break down and slough away dead skin, unlike conventional foot peels that use strong alpha-hydroxy acids. Our feet felt smoother and plumper as soon as we rinsed the formula off (it’s a little sticky!); we also liked the subtle lavender aroma the peel left behind. The exfoliation was gentle, and over the next week, no significant amounts of dead skin shed. In fact, we didn’t see any results at all—we just felt the benefits from our feet’s freshly smoother texture.
Who It’s For: Anyone in need of a quick Hail Mary or with extremely dry skin benefits most from this quick-acting foot mask. After 90 minutes, you’ll see significant improvements. If you haven’t allotted time for it, don’t apply this just before a date. But, this is a must-try if your tropical vacation is only a few days away and your feet need a little pick-me up (but can’t be peeled for a week).
Type: Exfoliating mask Main Ingredients: Glycerin, Allantoin, and Lavender Extract Average Shedding Duration: N/A; Package Size: 3 pairs
Baby Foot Exfoliation Foot Mask and Peel
The Reasons We Adore It: For good reason, this is one of the most popular Foot Mask exfoliating products available: it works incredibly effectively. Our feet peeled a lot three days after we utilised the product—booties that we wore for an hour while hanging out. We were unaware of the extent of dead skin that was hiding between our toes! To expedite the process, we gave our feet a gentle scrub as they started to shed. When the dead skin completely peeled off, we were amazed at how soft our feet had become. (We discovered that the satisfyingly smoothness of our feet prompted us to rub them together before going to bed.)
Who It’s For: Baby Foot is a bootie-style mask that fastens around your ankle with tiny sticker strips; nonetheless, wearing it needs complete relaxation. The booties are a little flimsy because of the shoddy glue, especially if you were to wander around your house. To ensure that this mask stays on, we advise using it when watching TV while seated.
Type: Chemical peel mask｜ Key Ingredients: Lactic acid, glycolic acid, malic acid, salicylic acid｜ Average Shedding Time: Peeling began three days after using the treatment｜ Size: One pair
Barefoot Scientist Reboot Foot Mask
Why We Love It: We soaked our feet, put on these sort of fashionable booties, and wore them for ninety minutes before taking them off. Our feet’s skin started to feel constrictive a few days later, and then the peeling started. The entire skin-shedding process took about a week, but throughout that time, our feet significantly smoothed up. We weren’t expecting the peel to completely eliminate our calluses because they are rather tough, but we were happy to see that by the time the peeling phase was over, their size had shrunk and their hardness had softened.
Who It’s For: Our deep calluses attest to the fact that we are ardent gym goers and runners who are really rough on our feet. Normally, utilising a chemical peel requires us to stop working out, but throughout this period, we continued to work out and our feet never felt sensitive or bothered.
Type: Chemical peel mask｜ Key Ingredients: Lactic acid, glycolic acid, lemon fruit extract, papaya fruit extract｜ Average Shedding Time: Peeling began about four days after treatment and lasted for a week｜ Size: One pair
Beauty Pie Glycolic Peel Socks
Why We Love It: These Korean-made peels smooth, condition, and nourish the feet with a potent combination of lactic and glycolic acids and plant extracts including coconut, sweet almond, and grapefruit. The booties are attached at the ankles; to put them on our clean feet and wear them for ninety minutes, we just cut along the seam. The serum was efficiently absorbed and dispersed. After using the booties for about five days, we experienced slight peeling and flaking (instead of massive skin pieces), which completely disappeared after two days, leaving our skin incredibly smooth.
Who It’s For: Those with sensitive skin types or those who don’t require assistance on the level of Superman will find that this mild peel is more than capable of
Type: Chemical peel mask｜Key Ingredients: Lactic acid, glycolic acid, coconut extract｜Average Shedding Time: Subtle peeling occurred about five days after treatment and didn’t last more than a day or two｜Size: One pair
Boscia Fruit Acid Smoothing Foot Peel
The Reasons We Adore It: This strong peel gets rid of dead skin cells on the surface by penetrating the skin and releasing them with a mixture of alcohol and alpha-hydroxy acids derived from plants. We kept the peel in place by wearing cosy socks on top of the booties, which fit up to a men’s size 12, which is uncommon for these things. We discovered a startling quantity of dead skin in the black socks we had worn to bed three days following our treatment, and we assisted in directing more shedding to minimise mess during our showers. It started on the balls of our feet, moved to our heels, and softened calluses there before peeling off.
Type: Chemical peel mask｜Key Ingredients: Lactic acid, urea, glycolic acid｜Average Shedding Time: Peeling began three days after treatment and lasted for a week｜Size: 1 peel
DERMORA Foot Peel Mask
DERMORA Foot Peel Mask
Why We Love It: We used this peel twice, focusing on the calluses on the balls of our feet and toes. The solution worked wonders to soften these problem areas. With the combination of exfoliating acids, it removed a significant amount of dead skin; our skin started to peel excessively about three days after we applied the treatment. Dead skin was impossible to remove with a brush without starting fresh peeling. After a week, this finally started to fade and our feet were completely smooth. After the first mask, we noticed a decrease in the size of our calluses, so we decided to apply another one. The brand suggests continuing treatment until the skin is completely softened.
For Whom Is It Intended?
Type: Chemical peel mask｜Key Ingredients: Fermented milk extract, salicylic acid, lactic acid, malic acid｜Average Shedding Time: Peeling began three days after treatment and lasted for a week｜Size: Two pairs per package
Grace & Stella Foot Peeling Mask
Why We Love It: Our skin felt moisturised and well-maintained well into the next day when we first put on these peeling booties thanks to the cooling gel within. Two days later, our feet started to peel severely over a length of time that seemed to go on forever but actually only took ten days. We enjoyed how our skin looked so young and fresh at that point. Bonus: The product is available in a variety of scents, such as lemon, coconut, and lavender.
Who It’s For: We were shocked to see feet that looked brand-new thanks to a formula that causes no irritation. We used it once a month and our delicate skin never even tingled.
Type: Chemical peel mask｜Key Ingredients: Lactic acid, glycolic acid, salicylic acid｜Average Shedding Time: Peeling began three days after treatment and lasted for 10 days｜Size: Two pairs per package
Nails Inc. Moisturizing Foot Mask
Why We Love It: Delivering intense moisture in just 30 minutes, this mask is perfect for people who get pedicures on a regular basis but don’t perform any foot upkeep in between treatments. It has the mild exfoliant urea, which, along with the sweet almond extract and shea butter, has potent moisturising qualities that help to soften dry skin. With this one, there’s no peeling—just nutrients. It’s important to note that the solution does not completely absorb throughout the treatment window, so your skin won’t be smooth and devoid of lotion once you remove the mask. After wearing this mask, your hardwood floor would be covered in oily footprints if you went barefoot. We put on some socks right away after taking
Type: Moisturizing mask｜Key Ingredients: Urea, shea butter, green tea, sweet almond extract｜Average Shedding Time: N/A｜Size: One pair
Plantifique Foot Peel Mask
The Reasons We Adore It: This affordable peeling mask removed dry, rough skin without making the skin feel sensitive. It was mild but effective. Our generously sized (fitting our size 10 feet with ease) booties came with five different fragrance selections, ours being a light and pleasant peachy perfume that hit us right away but didn’t linger. Since the booties provided no traction, we used the peel twice and wore it for at least an hour each time, making sure to remain in place throughout the treatment. Our skin finally started to peel after three days of waiting patiently; it took more than a week for it all to fall off, with the areas in between our toes taking the longest to get back to normal. After the
Type: Chemical peel mask｜Key Ingredients: Peach kernel extract, lactic acid, aloe vera｜Average Shedding Time: Peeling began three days after treatment and lasted for 10 days｜Size: Two pairs per package
Soft Touch Foot Peel Mask
The Reasons We Adore It: This mask was ineffective against the thick, hard skin that developed on our toes, balls, and heels of our feet; it fell off around a week after our treatment. We were shocked that the skin on the rest of our foot remained quite intact, but we were grateful for the intended outcome. In addition to its exfoliating qualities, the peel also left our skin feeling incredibly moisturised, and this result persisted for roughly a month.
For Whom Is It Intended? Our generally strong skin felt incredibly sensitive a few days later during the shedding process, even though the peel didn’t hurt it while we were wearing it. Believe us when we say this: Refrain from breaking
Type: Chemical peel mask｜Key Ingredients: Lactic acid, salicylic acid, malic acid｜Average Shedding Time: Peeling began four days after treatment and lasted for 10 days｜Size: Two pairs per package
TONYMOLY Peeling Shoes
Why We Love It: This is the first foot peel we’ve ever seen; rather than covering the entire bootie, this product only coats the heels to saturate them with a mixture of fruit acids and chemical exfoliants. It began the sloughing process within four days, and five days later, our heels were incredibly smooth—it worked faster than most peels we’ve tried. It smelled really mild, in contrast to several of the others we tested, which left our bathroom smelling strongly of chemicals.
Who It’s For: After we worked out how to put it on without leaking, this really effective mask is the answer to troublesome, hardened heels.
Type: Chemical peel mask｜Key Ingredients: Glycolic acid, lactic acid, urea, salicylic acid｜Average Shedding Time: Peeling began four days after treatment and lasted for five days｜Size: One pair
