SkinIntegra

09/10/2026

Ever notice how water beads up on a bone-dry sponge, but absorbs quickly once the sponge is damp?

Very dry, hardened heel skin can behave similarly.

Try applying your heel cream right after bathing: thoroughly dry between your toes, then gently pat the rest of your feet dry and apply while the skin is still slightly damp.

Keeping between the toes dry is important — excess moisture there can contribute to maceration and fungal growth.

Sometimes better heel care starts with better timing. 🦶

09/08/2026

What happens after the patient leaves the clinic?

New USC research is exploring an important question in diabetic foot care: how can treatment recommendations fit more realistically into everyday life?

Researchers adapted a Lifestyle Redesign® occupational therapy intervention for people managing diabetic foot ulcers, incorporating real-world challenges involving offloading, foot-care routines, mobility, emotional well-being and other demands of daily life. The intervention has been developed; its clinical effectiveness still needs to be tested.

The issue is important. In one study cited by the researchers, people prescribed removable cast walkers wore them during only 28% of their daily steps—a powerful illustration of the gap that can exist between a clinical recommendation and what actually happens at home.

David Armstrong summarized the larger idea recently in DF Blog: helping people make a treatment plan workable within the lives they actually lead.

For everyone involved in foot care, it’s a useful reminder that the real world is part of the treatment plan.

Sources: Schepens Niemiec SL et al., Translational Behavioral Medicine, 2026; Armstrong DG et al., Diabetes Care, 2003; DF Blog, Sept. 6, 2026.

09/02/2026

This trial kit is ready to go to work. Five tubes of SkinIntegra Rapid Crack Repair — each one about a week's supply — formulated with 25% urea, lactic acid, and bio-identical oils, for relief from dry, cracked, chapped skin. We make it free for the doctors and nurses who take care of our feet every day. Request your trial kit — link below.
https://skinintegra.com/pages/request-a-sample

08/28/2026

Erika Tazberik, the inventor behind Rapid Crack Repair, explains why the formula is built around five oils instead of one. The skin barrier works like brick and mortar — the lipids are the mortar, and if they're diminished, the barrier weakens and skin becomes dry and prone to cracking. That's why the formula combines five bio-identical oils — sacha inchi, sea buckthorn, sesame, rice bran and jojoba — whole oils, not extracts, each chosen to help replenish the barrier's full lipid profile.�*Individual results may vary.

08/26/2026

08/25/2026

Your feet carry you through a lifetime. A few simple habits can help you take better care of them along the way.

Save this guide as a reminder to give your feet a little attention every day.

08/20/2026

Why does a callus keep coming back in the exact same spot?

Calluses commonly develop in areas exposed to repeated pressure or friction. When the same location keeps building callus, that pattern can be useful information about how pressure is being distributed across the foot.

Removing the callus doesn’t necessarily change what is creating that pressure.

Sometimes, the location is the clue.

08/18/2026

Dry skin of the feet is common in people with diabetes. So what does the evidence say about moisturizer?

A new systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized trials found better results with functional moisturizers than simple moisturizing bases, with urea-containing formulations showing the strongest evidence as a class.

An interesting reminder that routine skin care is an important part of diabetic foot care.

Source: Borgström K, Björklund S, Gudmundsson P, Ericsson A, Acosta S. Moisturiser formulations for diabetic foot xerosis: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. Frontiers in Clinical Diabetes and Healthcare. 2026;7:1922860. doi:10.3389/fcdhc.2026.1922860

08/11/2026

If you help care for someone with diabetes, this is the part that surprises people.
Nerve damage in the feet comes in two versions. One hurts — burning, stinging, tingling. The other is silent, and the silent one matters more, because an injury can happen and open up without ever being felt.
Up to half of people with diabetes develop nerve damage in their feet.
If you're the person who does the looking: every day, heels and soles and the ball of the foot and between every toe. Feel inside their shoes before they go on. And test bath water with your elbow, never their foot.
Anything new — a cut, blister, redness, swelling, warmth — call their doctor or podiatrist rather than waiting to see whether it settles. A full foot exam is recommended at least once a year, and more often if feeling is already reduced or there's been an ulcer before.
Please share this with someone who does foot checks for a family member.

08/05/2026

If your thyroid is "under control" but your heels still crack every few weeks, you're not doing anything wrong — and it's not just a moisturizer problem. Hormone therapy and skin barrier repair are two different healing processes. Here's why one doesn't finish the other. (Full explainer linked in bio.)