1. Break-in your new shoes painlessly in less than 2 minutes.
All that is needed for this simple trick is a hair dryer and a pair of wool socks. Here’s how to do it:
- Put on the wool socks and put your shoes on.
- Aim the hairdryer on the tight section of the shoes for a few seconds, while wiggling and stretching your feet inside the shoe.
- Keep the shoes on until they cool.
- Remove the socks and try out the shoes again.
At this point the shoes should be stretched out. If you still find them a bit tight, simply repeat the process until they feel comfortable.
2. Walk Pain-Free in High Heels by Taping Your 3rd and 4th Toes Together
Have you ever hobbled home after a night in heels? If so, this trick is for you.
Tape your third and fourth toes together to reduce any pain in the ball of your foot. We recommend nude medical tape for a more inconspicuous look, although Scotch tape will work too. Why would that possibly work, we hear you say? Here’s the reasoning: there’s a nerve that splits between these two toes, which can cause pain from the pressure you put on it when you wear high heels. The tape will reduce the strain on the nerve, allowing you to dance pain-free all night long.
3. Waterproof your canvas shoes using beeswax and a blowdryer
Tired of getting your feet wet in those canvas shoes you bought last summer? Here’s a quick and easy way to waterproof them using nothing but beeswax (get some at Amazon) and a blowdryer.
Rub the beeswax over the entirety of the shoe. If you have a pair of rubber gloves near by, put them on to keep your hands clean. This isn’t that important though, since the beeswax will wash off pretty easily.
Next, take your blowdryer and use it to melt the wax all over the shoes. Let set for several minutes before wearing! Splash a little water to test out your new waterproof shoes.
Note: The beeswax will also stiffen up your shoes a bit, but don’t worry – you just need to break them in a little.
4. Sandpaper slippery soles to get better traction
Fall for new shoes, not in them! Get some medium-grit sandpaper and rub it over the soles to give traction to slippery soles. Don’t go overboard, however, you’re not trying to create a new air-conditioning vent.
5. Use Baby Powder to Stop Squeaking Shoes
Squeaking shoes can get pretty annoying. Check out this tutorial to learn how to stop them from making all that noise and keep your friends in the process.
6. Fix slippery heels with a homemade cloth
Oftentimes the insoles of women’s high heels are uncomfortably slippery. This quick hack will help you make your heels more stable.
You should use fabric that is strong and not too silky, too thin, or too thick. It should have some texture and should be approximately the thickness of a cotton T-shirt.
Once you have chosen the fabric, trace your foot on it with a pen or pencil and cut out the outline. Use spray adhesive to apply the cutout to your insole, and voila! No more sliding.
7. Avoid blisters with clear gel deodorant.
Rub some clear-gel deodorant on spots that are prone to give you blisters before stepping out in a stiff new pair of shoes.
8. Stretch the shafts of tall calf boots with leather stretch spray and newspaper.
Check out this tutorial on how to stretch tall leather boots using nothing but leather stretch spray and some newspapers.
9. Use teabags to remove bad odor from shoes.
10. Use moleskin to cushion uncomfortably tight shoe straps.
Getting blisters from wearing shoes with harsh straps or just painful rubbing is definitively not our idea of fun.
To prevent this from happening, you can use moleskin, like this one from Dr. Scholls:
Moleskin can be applied directly on your feet like a band-aid, or it can be put directly on the shoes.
The moleskin is made out of soft-spun cotton, and can be cut to any size, including thin straps. You can also use moleskin to prevent chafing from zippers, which seem to be on many shoe models nowadays.
11. Fix your worn out heels with heel caps.
Check out Go Go Heels for instant heel caps and instructions on how to easily fix your heels without a trip to the shoe repair shop.
12. Repair the heel of running shoes with cloth
Do the heels of your running shoes wear out before the rest of the shoe? Here’s how you can fix them:
- Remove the insert.
- Get some glue that is flexible (ideally you should use glue designed for gluing soles together), and use it to fasten the cloth into the heel.
- Find a cloth that is durable, but not too thin or too thick. Denim from an old pair of jeans is usually ideal.
- Glue the cloth over the worn out part of the heel.
- Put back the insert.
13. Prevent your heel from slipping out of your shoes with heel grips.
Do your feet rub or slip in the back? Time to fix it with some heel grips!
14. Make your flip flops comfortable with some fabric.
Check out this tutorial on how to make your flip flops more comfy and stylish on the cheap!
15. Save your soles with gel arch inserts.
Support your foot arch and prevent pain with gel arch inserts.
