Home Treatment and Remedies

• First try to reduce the amount of thick, hardened skin on your heels, and then you can focus on maintaining soft feet. Start by soaking your heels. Fill a large bucket with warm water and add about a cup of lemon juice to the water. It doesn't matter whether it's fresh or concentrated lemon juice. Soak your feet in the water for about 10 to 15 minutes.
  
  After soaking, empty the bucket and refill it with warm water. Add about 3 tbsp. of a mild liquid soap to the water. Soak your feet in the soapy water for about 15 minutes. Once your feet are soft, wet a pumice stone in the water and rub it over the callused skin. Use the pumice stone for about 5 to 10 minutes. Rinse your feet off in the water and dry them thoroughly. It may take a few uses of the pumice stone before the dry skin is completely removed. Repeat this process daily until you see a difference.
  
  Moisturize your feet several times daily with a cream or oil-based moisturizer. According to the Foot and Ankle Center of Washington, it's important that you moisturize your feet before bed and wear a pair of cotton socks while you sleep. Cover your feet with socks every night for at least two weeks. Now that you know how to treat and remove cracked skin, you can focus on other home remedies that will continue to soften your heels and prevent deep, painful fissures from developing.
  
  Before going to bed, apply hydrogenated vegetable oil to clean feet and cover your feet with socks overnight. Repeating this process nightly for about 5 days will soften your feet. Alternately, apply a mixture of melted paraffin wax, coconut oil and mustard oil to your feet nightly to soften your feet. Wearing cotton socks will seal in moisture and promote healing. Finally, applying the pulp of a ripened banana to cracked heels for at least 10 minutes daily can also help soften hard heels, according to Home Remedies For You.
  
  

Medical Treatment and Prevention

• Home remedies can treat cracked heels, but there are ways to prevent them besides keeping your feet moisturized. Avoid walking around barefoot for extended periods of time. Wear shoes that offer foot and heel support when standing for a long time. Avoid wearing shoes with an open back whenever possible. Open-backed shoes can cause your feet to expand. The pressure from your feet expanding can cause your heels to crack, says the Foot and Ankle Center of Washington. Obesity is often a main cause of cracked heels. Losing weight can relieve some of the pressure on your heels.
  
  If heel fissures are painful, severe, become infected or start to bleed, seek medical treatment immediately. Your doctor can determine if there's a more serious underlying problem, such as an underactive thyroid, diabetes or psoriasis. If you have diabetes or a compromised immune system, the Southernmost Foot & Ankle Specialists suggest seeing a doctor to diagnose and treat your foot condition.