How to reduce shoe bite marks

I believe that everyone faces this problem when it comes to shoes. Shoe bites!!! They lead to ugly scars on your feet and also hurt. So what can we do to get rid of marks and if possible avoid getting these marks altogether?

I will start with how we can avoid getting shoe bites. While buying shoes, try them on and walk around a bit. I know everyone would do that. But the best way to judge whether a shoe will bite is to take quite a few rounds of the shop while trying them on. If there is a hint that the shoe hurts, I would suggest not to buy them.

Despite all the checks while trying on shoes, many shoes do tend to bite when you they are new and you wear them for a long period of time. So what to do then? Well, here is what I do:

• Always keep band aids handy. When you feel even the slightest shoe bite, apply it to the place so that you can avoid getting marks.
• Stick tapes on the inside of the shoe where it hurts. This might solve the problem if there is something poking from the shoe which is leading to the shoe bite.
• Rub the insides of the shoes with almond oil. This helps to reduce friction between the shoe and your feet and hence prevents shoe bites. In addition, almond oil will keep your feet smooth and moisturized. I have found this particularly useful in case of rubber slippers where continuous application of almond oil means that I don't get any shoe bite.

These tips were to prevent shoe bites. But what to do if you already have shoe bite marks which are making your feet look ugly?

I accidently came across this tip while I was living in Gurgaon. I had many shoe bite marks on my feet when I moved to Gurgaon for my MBA. And I had no clue what to do with them. Now, as you must know, Gurgaon becomes extremely cold during the winters. Being a Mumbaiite, I especially felt the cold badly. Also, we were not allowed to have heaters in our hostel rooms. To combat the cold, I started living in knee high boots or sneakers with socks during the cold winter months. This sure kept me warm!

But I received a very pleasant surprise at the end of winter. Since I had been wearing socks for more than 3 months continuously, there was no contact between my feet and any shoes. The ugly shoe bite marks on my feet had mostly disappeared! Even my mom was surprised to see my clear feet when I visited home.

So my suggestion would be to wear socks as much as possible during the winter months, especially if you are living in a cold city. If not socks, stockings would also work, and would look really nice with short dresses while keeping you warm.

In addition to the above, go for regular pedicures (or do them at home), scrub your feet regularly with a good foot scrub, put almond oil or cream on your feet when you sleep at night, and you will have beautiful, smooth and blemish-less (is that a word?) feet within a few months.

I know wearing socks or stockings continuously for 3-4 months sounds like a hardhsip, but believe me its not difficult if you live in a cold city. Even in Mumbai, during the 3 months of "relative" cold, try and do this as much as  possible and the results will be worth it!

And during the summer months, wear those thin feet socks (don't exactly know what they are called - so have put a picture below) which are skin colour and only cover your toes and heels and a bit of the upper part of your feet. Again, this will prevent friction and shoe bites.

So do you have any other tips on how to prevent shoe bites and how to get rid of shoe bite marks?