Best Winter Foot Creams: A Podiatrist's Guide to Dry Feet and Cracked Heels
Cold weather, central heating, winter footwear and spending more time with our feet covered can all make dry, rough feet more noticeable during autumn and winter. If your heels start feeling rough as soon as the temperature drops, a good foot cream can make a significant difference.
So, what is the best foot cream for winter?
For most dry feet, we recommend looking for a foot cream containing urea. Urea helps attract and retain moisture within the skin and, at higher concentrations, can also help soften areas of thick, hard skin. The best concentration will depend on whether you're dealing with mild dryness, significant callus or cracked heels.
Our winter foot cream choices include CCS Foot Care Cream for everyday dry feet, Gehwol Med Lipidro Cream for dry skin needing regular moisturisation, Eucerin UreaRepair PLUS 10% Urea Foot Cream for very dry or sensitive skin, and Flexitol 25% Urea Heel Balm when heels are particularly dry, hard or cracked.
This guide explains what we look for in a winter foot cream as a podiatrist, which ingredients are worth considering and how to choose the right product for your feet.
Why do feet become dry in winter?
Dry feet aren't exclusively a winter problem, but many people notice that their skin becomes drier as the weather gets colder.
The skin on the soles of your feet is naturally different from the skin elsewhere on your body. It is thicker and contains no sebaceous glands, which are the glands responsible for producing oil.
During winter, several factors can contribute to dryness.
Cold outdoor air is often less humid, while central heating creates a warm, dry indoor environment. At the same time, your feet may spend much more of the day enclosed inside socks, boots and heavier footwear.
Some people also pay less attention to their feet once sandal season is over. Foot cream that was regularly applied during summer can quickly disappear from the routine once feet are hidden inside socks.
By the middle of winter, heels that were only slightly dry can become rough, callused or cracked.
The Complete Guide to Foot Care at Home
What should you look for in a winter foot cream?
The most expensive product isn't necessarily the best one.
When recommending a foot moisturiser, I'm much more interested in the formulation and what we're trying to achieve.
Urea
Urea is one of our favourite ingredients for dry foot skin.
It's naturally present within the skin's moisturising system and acts as a humectant, helping the outer layer of skin retain water.
Urea can also have a keratolytic effect, which means it helps soften and loosen thickened areas of skin.
The concentration matters.
As a general guide, lower concentrations are useful for moisturising dry skin, while higher concentrations have a stronger softening effect and may be more appropriate for hard skin and callus.
You don't automatically need the strongest urea cream you can find.
For ordinary winter dryness, around 10% urea may be perfectly adequate.
Glycerin
Glycerin is another humectant commonly found in moisturising products.
Like urea, it helps attract and retain moisture in the outer layers of the skin.
Ceramides and lipids
Healthy skin relies on a functioning skin barrier to prevent excessive water loss.
Ingredients such as ceramides and skin-compatible lipids can help support this barrier, which can be particularly useful when the skin feels very dry, tight or sensitive.
Occlusive ingredients
Ingredients such as paraffin can help reduce water loss from the skin by creating a protective barrier.
This can be particularly useful for very dry heels.
The best winter foot creams
There isn't one product that will be best for every foot.
Instead, we've chosen products according to the type of dry skin they're most suited to.
Best overall everyday winter foot cream: CCS Foot Care Cream
CCS Foot Care Cream is one of the products I regularly recommend for dry feet.
It contains 10% urea alongside other moisturising ingredients and is designed for dry and callused skin.
Why we like it:
Contains 10% urea
Suitable for regular use
Helps moisturise and soften dry skin
Useful for mild callus as well as general dryness
Widely available in the UK
For someone whose feet simply become dry and rough during autumn and winter, this is a very sensible place to start.
A 10% urea formulation provides useful moisturising and softening properties without necessarily needing a more intensive high-urea product.
Best for: Everyday dry feet, mild hard skin and maintaining healthy skin through winter.
Other great winter products from CCS:
Best for very dry or sensitive feet: Eucerin UreaRepair PLUS 10% Urea Foot Cream
Eucerin UreaRepair PLUS 10% Urea Foot Cream combines 10% urea with ceramides and other natural moisturising factors.
It's also fragrance- and colourant-free.
That makes it an interesting option for someone who wants a urea-based foot cream but prefers a fragrance-free formulation.
Why we like it:
Contains 10% urea
Contains ceramides
Fragrance-free
Designed for dry to extremely dry feet
Helps soften thickened skin
Suitable for regular use
Best for: Very dry feet, sensitive skin and people who prefer a fragrance-free cream.
Other great winter products from Eucerin:
Best for dry skin and daily maintenance: Gehwol Med Lipidro Cream
Gehwol Med Lipidro Cream is another useful option for everyday dry foot skin.
It contains 10% urea alongside glycerin and lipid-rich ingredients including avocado and sea buckthorn oils.
This combination is designed to address both moisture and the lipid component of the skin barrier.
Why we like it:
Contains 10% urea
Contains glycerin
Includes lipid-rich ingredients
Suitable for regular moisturising
Particularly useful where the skin feels dry and tight
Best for: Regular winter maintenance and dry skin that needs both moisture and emollient care.
Best for cracked heels: Flexitol 25% Urea Heel Balm
If your heels have moved beyond mild dryness and become very hard, rough or cracked, a stronger product may be more appropriate.
Flexitol Heel Balm contains 25% urea and is specifically designed for dry, cracked heels.
At this concentration, urea provides a stronger softening action on thickened skin as well as helping with hydration.
Why we like it:
Contains 25% urea
Specifically formulated for dry and cracked heels
Useful for thicker areas of hard skin
More intensive than an everyday 10% urea cream
We wouldn't necessarily choose a 25% urea product for someone whose feet are only mildly dry. It's about matching the product to the problem.
Best for: Dry, hard and cracked heels or more significant areas of thickened skin.
Other great winter products from Flexitol:
CCS vs Flexitol: which should you choose?
This is a useful comparison because both products are commonly used for dry feet but they don't serve exactly the same purpose.
For general dry skin and everyday maintenance, I would usually favour something such as CCS Foot Care Cream with 10% urea.
For significantly hard, rough or cracked heels, Flexitol's 25% urea formulation provides a more intensive option.
Think of it this way:
CCS 10% urea:Everyday moisturising + mild hard skin.
Flexitol 25% urea:More intensive treatment + hard or cracked heels.
Stronger doesn't automatically mean better. The aim is to use an appropriate product for the condition of your skin.
What strength of urea cream is best for feet?
This is one of the most useful things to understand when buying foot cream.
As a simple guide:
Around 5–10% urea:Useful for hydration and everyday dry skin.
Around 10–20% urea:Useful where dryness is more significant and some thickened skin is present.
Around 20–30% urea:Provides a stronger keratolytic or skin-softening effect and can be useful for areas of hard, thick or cracked skin.
Very high-strength urea preparations have more specialised uses and aren't automatically appropriate for routine daily moisturising.
If you're unsure what you're treating, particularly if the skin is painful, inflamed or broken, seek professional advice rather than continually increasing the strength of the product.
How should you use foot cream in winter?
Consistency matters more than applying huge amounts occasionally.
For most people, applying a suitable moisturiser once or twice daily according to the product instructions is far more useful than remembering to apply it once every couple of weeks.
Apply it to clean, dry feet
After washing, dry your feet thoroughly before applying your cream.
Concentrate on the heels and soles
Pay particular attention to areas that become dry or hard, particularly the heels.
Avoid applying cream between your toes
The skin between the toes generally doesn't need additional moisture.
Keeping these spaces excessively moist can encourage maceration, where the skin becomes soft and waterlogged.
If you're prone to athlete's foot, keeping between your toes clean and dry is particularly important.
Apply it before bed
For many people, bedtime is the easiest time to establish a regular foot-care routine.
Apply your moisturiser to the dry areas of your feet and allow it to absorb before walking around.
Putting clean socks on afterwards can also prevent cream from ending up all over your bedding.
Should you put socks on after foot cream?
Yes, you can.
A clean pair of comfortable socks can be worn after applying foot cream, particularly if you're moisturising before bed.
You don't need to wrap your feet tightly or cover them in plastic.
Simply apply an appropriate amount of cream, allow it to begin absorbing and put on a clean pair of socks if you wish.
Can you use normal body moisturiser on your feet?
You can, and for mildly dry skin it may be enough.
However, the skin on the soles of the feet is considerably thicker than skin on many other areas of the body.
A dedicated foot cream containing ingredients such as urea may therefore be more effective where the skin is particularly dry, rough or callused.
If your ordinary moisturiser keeps your feet comfortable and healthy, there is no rule saying you have to buy a separate product.
Should you file hard skin before applying foot cream?
Gentle filing may sometimes help manage superficial hard skin, but it needs to be done carefully.
Avoid aggressively filing or cutting the skin yourself. Removing too much can cause soreness and, in some cases, encourage further problems.
Never use blades, scalpels or other sharp instruments to remove hard skin at home.
If you have significant callus, painful hard skin or recurrent cracking, a podiatrist can safely reduce the hard skin and advise you on an appropriate moisturising routine.
People with diabetes, reduced sensation or poor circulation should seek professional advice before attempting to remove hard skin themselves.
Can foot cream prevent cracked heels?
Regular moisturising can help keep the skin supple and reduce the likelihood of dryness progressing into cracking.
However, cracked heels aren't always caused by dry skin alone.
Pressure around the heel, footwear, callus and some skin conditions can also contribute.
If cracks repeatedly return despite regular moisturising, the underlying cause may need addressing.
What if your heels are already cracked?
If the cracks are superficial and the surrounding skin is dry and hard, an intensive heel balm may help soften the skin while the area recovers.
However, deep heel fissures can become painful, bleed and occasionally become infected.
Seek advice if:
The cracks are deep
They're bleeding
Walking is painful
There is redness or swelling
There is discharge
The problem repeatedly returns
You have diabetes or poor circulation
Moisturiser is useful, but it isn't a substitute for treating a wound or infection.
What foot cream is best if you have diabetes?
People with diabetes commonly experience dry foot skin, and maintaining healthy skin is an important part of diabetic foot care.
However, there isn't one single "diabetic foot cream" that everyone with diabetes needs to use.
A suitable moisturiser can be applied to areas of dry skin, but cream should generally be avoided between the toes.
More importantly, people with diabetes should regularly inspect their feet.
If you notice broken skin, a wound, redness, swelling, heat or any other new change, seek professional advice rather than simply applying more moisturiser.
When should dry feet be checked by a podiatrist?
Dry skin is extremely common and usually isn't a cause for concern.
However, arrange an assessment if you notice:
Deep or painful cracks
Bleeding
Significant callus
Persistent itching or scaling
Changes between the toes
Redness or inflammation
A wound that isn't healing
Repeated skin breakdown
Sudden or unexplained changes to the skin
Some conditions can look like simple dry skin when they're actually caused by fungal infection, eczema, psoriasis or another skin condition.
If moisturising isn't helping, it's worth checking that dryness is actually the problem you're treating.
Final Thoughts
You don't need a complicated collection of products to keep your feet healthy through winter.
For most people with everyday dryness, a good-quality moisturiser containing around 10% urea and used consistently is an excellent starting point.
CCS Foot Care Cream is a strong all-round choice for everyday winter foot care. Gehwol Med Lipidro Cream provides another good daily option, particularly for dry skin needing additional lipid support, while Eucerin UreaRepair PLUS 10% Urea Foot Cream may appeal to those looking for a fragrance-free formulation.
If your heels are significantly hard, dry or cracked, a more intensive product such as Flexitol 25% Urea Heel Balm may be more appropriate.
Most importantly, choose the product according to what your feet actually need rather than assuming the strongest or most expensive cream must be the best.
And if your "dry skin" isn't improving, becomes painful, starts bleeding or looks unusual, have it assessed. Sometimes the best treatment for dry-looking feet isn't another moisturiser at all.
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