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Calluses, the hardened patches of skin on your hands and feet, act as both a protective layer and a potential inconvenience. Gymnasts focus on removing them, while runners aim to keep them intact. With proper care, it’s possible to maintain resilient, healthy skin without facing issues.
The Causes of Calluses
A callus is a thickened area of skin that forms due to excessive friction or pressure. This could occur where the ball of your foot presses against your shoe or where your palms meet the bar during a pull-up. Guitarists even develop (and appreciate) small calluses on their fingertips.
The outer layer of your skin, known as the stratum corneum, consists of dead skin cells. While this may seem odd, it’s a natural part of your skin’s structure. These flattened dead cells act as a barrier, protecting the living layers of skin beneath. When there’s increased friction or pressure, your body responds by generating additional cells to reinforce this protective outer layer.
At times, you might hardly notice a callus. However, it can sometimes grow so thick and bumpy that it becomes more of a nuisance than a help. That’s when it’s a good idea to consider removing or thinning the callus, which we’ll discuss later.
The friction that leads to calluses can also cause or worsen blisters. A blister forms when rubbing separates layers of skin from one another. Since your cells are surrounded by clear fluid, some of this fluid fills the gap, forming the watery bubble that’s often unpleasant to deal with.
As a beginner runner, your sensitive feet may develop blisters after your first long run. But as you gain more experience, your feet will toughen up: calluses will form to protect the skin in those areas. However, blisters do not turn into calluses; they’re not a guaranteed result.
It takes several weeks for a callus to form. If you stop the activity that caused it—whether you take a break from running during a long vacation or put down your guitar for a while—your skin will cease to generate the additional dead cells. Since we lose skin cells continuously, the callus will eventually fade within a few weeks.
When Should You Consider Filing Down a Callus, and When Should You Hold Off?
People have strong, contrasting views on their calluses. Visit any specialized forum—whether it’s for dancers, roller derby athletes, Crossfit fans, or violinists—and you’ll encounter countless opinions on why you should, or shouldn’t, try to remove them.
To gain insight into these discussions, I spoke with Dr. Paul C. Kupcha, section chief of the Foot and Ankle Section at the Orthopaedic Division of Christiana Care Health System in Delaware.
Dr. Kupcha explained that shaving down a callus is unlikely to cause significant harm. Even if you remove too much, it will grow back in no time. His main concern is when a callus becomes too thick and absorbs excessive pressure. “That callus, that hardened epithelium, turns rock solid—it’s like sticking a pebble to your foot or hand,” he said.
Caring for your skin requires finding a balance between having enough callus to protect you and keeping it thin enough to avoid issues. Here are a few things that can go wrong when a callus gets too thick or out of control:
Similar to a rock in your shoe, a callus can cause even more irritation. In some cases, a blister may form underneath the callus.
A thick, large callus buildup can eventually crack, and these cracks can painfully reach into the living layers of your skin.
Gymnasts and rowers are familiar with this one: a callus on your hand can tear off, leaving an open wound beneath. If you're gripping bars or weights, it’s important to keep that callus thin and smooth enough to protect you without becoming a problem.
Calluses can also sneak up on you, so you might not notice them until they've been around for a while. If a callus isn’t causing discomfort, there’s no need to remove it.
You don’t have to worry excessively about them either. If your calluses soften after a post-race soak or if your pedicurist wants to smooth them down, you’ll likely be fine—just ask them not to remove too much.
How to Manage Calluses on Your Hard-Working Hands and Feet
If you've found that a callus is hindering you, there are multiple ways to deal with it. In each case, you're essentially just removing the dead skin cells—the same ones that naturally shed from your body. You're simply speeding up the process. Below are several methods you can try:
For regular upkeep, soften the callus by taking a warm shower or bath, then gently rub it with a washcloth or pumice stone to slough off some of the softened skin.
Use an emery board or a dedicated foot file to file down the callus.
If you're ready for more intense filing, try a Microplane grater designed specifically for feet. Just make sure it's not the same one you use for zesting lemons.
Consider using one of the various tools in the surprisingly extensive callus filing market, like the PedEgg, which even has an electric version called the PedEgg Powerball. These are essentially high-end files.
If you prefer precision, carefully shave the callus with a specially designed razor.
If you're dealing with a particularly stubborn callus and the previous methods haven't done enough, Dr. Kupcha suggests using salicylic acid treatments, such as Dr. Scholl’s Liquid Corn/Callus Remover. Apply the solution at night, cover it with tape, and by morning, your skin will be soft enough for easier removal of the callus using one of the methods mentioned earlier.
For those who frequently develop calluses and find them troublesome, it might be worth exploring ways to prevent them. If the calluses are on your feet, check whether you're wearing the wrong size or style of running shoes, or if adjusting the way you lace them could alleviate pressure. Dr. Kupcha also recommends placing padding around the painful area, not directly over it, to avoid worsening the issue.
We’ve shared various tips to prevent blisters, many of which can also help with calluses (or in the case of a combination of both—a callus with a blister underneath). To reduce friction, try applying bodyglide or gel deodorant to sore spots. You can also wear cut-off pantyhose beneath your socks or, based on a recent study of ultramarathon runners, apply paper tape (available at drugstores) to areas that are prone to hot spots.
For those prone to calluses on their hands, gloves could be a helpful solution. Some people, particularly in sports like Crossfit, may oppose using gloves, but the reasons aren't necessarily strong. There's nothing inherently wrong with opting for gloves, if that's your preference. However, using gloves means you'll need to consider whether the skin on your hands will rub against the glove rather than the weight or pull-up bar. If that happens, you might want to use lube or tape to reduce friction. If a callus ever tears, Dr. Kupcha recommends trimming off any hanging skin with nail trimmers and treating the exposed area like a wound—keeping it clean and covered until it heals.
Finding the right level of callus maintenance is something that you'll need to adjust over time, based on your specific sport and possibly the fit of your shoes or gloves. Handle your callus razor with care, and good luck!
Illustration by Sam Woolley.
