Some time ago, I read an article on Refinery29 extolling the wonders of a popular foot peel called Baby Foot, and I was intrigued. After reading through the article’s comments, I decided to buy a comparable, less expensive version recommended by readers called Shiny Foot by the Korean brand TONYMOLY. The soles of my feet weren’t actually in terrible shape, but summer was coming and at a price point under $10 on Amazon, I figured why not try it out!

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I chose not to use this stuff right away once it arrived because I received it too close to my high school reunion for comfort. From reading the article I knew that the product was supposed to make your feet peel. I also knew that I would be wearing sandals to my reunion parties and the last thing I wanted to do was end up being Most Likely To Leave Dead Foot Skin All Over the Floor. No thank you!

I didn’t end up getting around to trying out Shiny Foot until the end of May, and it’s taken me almost another month to bother writing about it! So here we are. 🙂

Before I continue, let me warn you that this post includes photos of the soles of my feet. While the photos aren’t all that gross, if you have issues with feet you may want to skip the rest of this post. And if you have a foot fetish, please go away…this post is not for you.

So! I opened up the Shiny Foot kit to find two baggies—one for each foot—plus two packets of “super peeling liquid” and a packet of foot cream. And look at that…my toenail polish (Essie’s “In the Cab-ana“) matched the packaging. Happy accident!

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I completely forgot to take true “before” pictures of the soles of my feet, but I took pics of them after having soaked my feet in the liquid. The peeling process doesn’t start immediately, so these photos are pretty much how my feet looked before soaking anyway:

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The process for using Shiny Foot is quite simple: place each foot inside a baggie, then pour the contents of the peeling liquid packets into each baggie and tie them around the ankle so they don’t fall off. Then let your feet soak in the liquid for an hour to an hour and a half, supposedly until your feet absorb the liquid.

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I made the mistake of using this peel when I had a small scab on my left foot from one of our cats snagging his claw in me as I walked by (thanks, Walter). It hadn’t occurred to me to wait until the wound had healed…but the second I poured the liquid into the baggie on my left foot I regretted it because the area around the wound stung for a minute or two. I didn’t have any lingering irritation after using the peel so in the end it was fine. However, I do NOT recommend using this product until any cuts or scrapes on your feet have healed!

I settled in with my laptop to watch some stuff on Netflix, as you do, and ended up soaking my feet in the baggies for about an hour and a half. I did get up and walk around a couple of times, and doing so felt really weird and gross. I had to kind of shuffle so as not to disturb the liquid too much. The baggies are made of a plastic that feels kind of like a pantyliner wrapper (only stronger). Now imagine wearing that material on your feet, with liquid sloshing around inside. Ew! But…also oddly enjoyable, if only for the novelty factor.

After the hour and a half was up there was still plenty of liquid inside the baggies. I didn’t want to leave the stuff on my feet for much longer than the instructions recommended, so I went ahead and removed the baggies and rinsed my feet off in the shower. I applied the foot cream later that night and wore socks to bed to help keep the moisture in.

And then, the waiting began. According to the R29 article and comments, your feet won’t start peeling for at least a few days. Mine took about four or five days to start peeling, and they didn’t peel nearly as drastically as other peoples’ feet have, according to online reviews and photos. This next pic is about as peel-y as it got for me:

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Not pretty, but not horrible either.

This is gross, but I must confess that I thoroughly enjoyed peeling the dead skin off my feet. I have a bad habit of picking at my cuticles, so picking away all the dead skin was very satisfying. Had my feet peeled more intensely I would have enjoyed the process even more. #trueconfessions

The (relatively minor) peeling subsided within about a week of soaking my feet in the liquid. You might wonder whether the post-soaking peeling process is uncomfortable, as it is with a sunburn, but it’s not like that at all. You can’t feel a thing; if you didn’t actually see the peeling with your own eyes you wouldn’t have a clue anything was happening.

Because my feet weren’t super crusty and cracked to begin with, Shiny Foot didn’t have a very dramatic effect on the appearance of my feet. But it actually does what it claims to do so it is definitely worth the minimal price tag. If you’re looking for softer, smoother feet for summer, I recommend ordering Shiny Foot! Just make sure you plan your timing so that you don’t use it within a week or so of an event where you’ll be wearing sandals.  😛
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