About FootMedix from Dermal Medix
Formulated by Dr. David Watts, MD, FootMedix by Dermal Medix is a topical solution that claims to strengthen skin, stimulate new growth, and increase circulation, aimed at protecting and restoring severely dry, cracked, and painful feet.
FootMedix by Dermal Medix claims to use a medical formulation of human epidermal growth factors (hEGF) to start nourishing the skin on your skin, reversing dry patches, boosting circulation, and healing fissures and calluses, within just five minutes of use.
After gently massaging a small amount into the skin of your clean, dry feet twice per day, Dr. David Watts tells us that FootMedix targets a variety of problems, including numbness, corns, and fungus.
With continued use, the website claims FootMedix can stimulate new skin growth and ultimately leave you with stronger, smoother, more attractive feet—regardless of your age or condition.
It’s no secret that FootMedix by Dermal Medix is up against a lot of competition. But before paying its meaningfully higher price, you want to learn more to help you understand if you’ll get more value for the money.
Even though it’s formulated by a doctor, can you expect FootMedix to leave you with healthier, more attractive feet? Is it worth the higher price? Let’s help you make a more informed decision by taking a look at the facts.
Who Is Dr. David Watts, MD?
According to his bio on the FootMedix website, Dr. David Watts is a double-board certified plastic surgeon, President of QuadASF, a proud Army Major, and a former Assistant Clinical Professor of Plastic Surgery Johns Hopkins University.
Currently, Dr. Watts works as CEO of Dr. Watts’ Skin Care International (no additional information available online) and President-Elect for the American Association for Accreditation of Ambulatory Surgery Facilities, Inc. (AAAASF).
He’s also Medical Director and CEO for Watts Plastic Surgery Association, Ambulatory Surgery Center.
Reasons for Calluses and Dry Skin
Calluses aren’t much more than the flat build-up of hard skin, usually located on the bottom of feet and hands and caused by repeated pressure or friction in a specific area. These are different than corns, which typically feature a soft core that falls inward.
Although not directly related, dry skin (insufficient moisture)—which is often caused by environmental factors like weather, humidity levels, hot showers, and more—can cause calluses to become increasingly uncomfortable.
In general, calluses cause little more than minor discomfort and can often be addressed by wearing shoes that fit, adding padding where needed, using salicylic acid to soften the callus (or soaking in warm water) and removing with a pumice stone, and more.
In some instances (creams like FootMedix aside), you might need to visit your podiatrist for professional callus removal, and/or to purchase specialized orthotics that can help prevent calluses from getting worse, while relieving at least some measure of discomfort.
From a moisturization perspective, the American Academy of Dermatology recommends avoiding excessively hot baths or showers; using a gentle, fragrance-free cleanser, applying an ointment or a cream (instead of lotion) immediately after bathing, and using a humidifier at home, especially during the winter months when heat can dry out skin.
How Does It Work?
DermalMedix was created by Dr. David Watts, a doctor and an Army Major who speaks each year to the United Nations regarding medical safety and ethics.
According to their website, many skincare formulas rely on low quality ingredients that may actually damage and weaken your skin over time, taking any short term improvements and making the situation worse.
FootMedix, on the other hand, works by stimulating and fortifying new skin growth, promoting increased circulation, eliminating pain, and giving you stronger, smoother skin. And it doesn’t just heal dry skin, but a variety of other problems as well, including numbness, corns, foot fissures, and fungus.
Their website says that FootMedix should be applied to clean, dry feet, beginning with a small amount that is massaged directly onto dry, damaged skin. They recommend applying this product twice a day, and that a single tube will generally last about a month. Because every customer’s body is different, the website says it is difficult to determine when you see results, but many customers begin to see improvement after the first use.
Ingredients In FootMedix and Is the Formula Clinically Proven?
According to the Dermal Medix website, FootMedix contains the following ingredients.
Water, Glycerine, Glycine Soja (Soybean) Oil, Emulsifying Wax NF, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter) Dimethicone, Alcohol, Cetearyl Alcohol, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Propylene Glycol, Glyceryl Stearate, PEG-8, PEG-100 Stearate, PEG-40 Stearate, Beta-Glucan, Glyceryl Caprylate, Tocopheryl Acetate, Panthenol, Clotrimazole, Human Oligopeptide-1, 1,2-Hexanediol, Caprylyl Glycol, Disodium EDTA, Triethanolamine, Melaleuca Alternifolia (Tea Tree) Leaf Oil
Of these, we learned the vast majority work as surfactants, emulsifiers, humectants, emollients, and cleansing agents. This is common for any cream, foot-related or otherwise, since they help clean skin and trap moisture, thereby improving symptoms of dry skin and helping to prevent irritation.
Clotrimazole is often used in over-the-counter creams to treat (or prevent) fungal skin infections, like athlete’s foot and jock itch. Tea tree oil is thought to perform a similar function.
What about the human epidermal growth factor (hEGF) mentioned on the FootMedix website? This appears to reference the human oligopeptide-1, which Amarte Skincare defines as:
… a small polypeptide of 53 amino acids that serves as a cytokine to stimulate epidermal cell growth and proliferation. This peptide is derived from non-human sources using recombinant DNA biotechnology. Also known as EGF or epidermal growth factor.
However, we didn’t find any clinical evidence on authoritative websites like WebMD, Natural Medicines Database, and Examine.com supporting this claim, or that human oligopeptide-1 can reliably lead to improved skin condition (at least compared to other traditional moisturizers).
Speaking of which, Dermal Medix claims that in clinical trials conducted by Dr. Watts, “100% of users reported improvement in foot calluses and dry skin, and a staggering 96% of FootMedix users reported results they classified as “phenomenal.” Again, no support for these claims is provided.
We didn’t locate a copy of this trial on the FootMedix website, so we reached out to the company for more details and they confirmed that they did conduct an internal study and showed us the results. However, due to their internal policies, we were asked not to make it public.
Will FootMedix Cause Any Side Effects?
Unless you have especially sensitive skin, these sites indicate you probably won’t experience anything worse with FootMedix’s ingredients than mild, temporary redness in the application area.
However, when it comes to PEG-8, PEG-100 Stearate, PEG-40 Stearate, Truth in Aging writes that PEGs applied to broken skin (specifically, severe burns) have been shown to result in kidney damage. This means you should only apply creams containing this cream to unbroken, non-irritated skin.
Important note: After hearing from a Dermal Medix representative, we were informed that the amount of PEGs needed to cause any type of harm “would be extremely high.”
FootMedix Cream Cost and Refund Policy
FootMedix is only available directly through Dermal Medix, and is priced as follows:
- 1 Bottle (no amount listed, although company claims it’s a 30-day supply): $49, plus $4.95 S&H
- 2 Bottles: $86
- 3 Bottles: $120
On the other hand, if ordered on their Product page, you’ll pay:
- 1 Tube (again, no amount listed): $120
- 2 Tubes: $228
- 3 Tubes: $324
All of these secondary options come with free S&H.
Regardless of how much you pay, though, Dermal Medix provides a 90-day risk-free guarantee on FootMedix purchases, less S&H charges. To request one, customer service can be reached at 800-425-0243 or support@dermalmedix.com.
Our Reviews for FootMedix?
Readers had chimed in about their experiences with FootMedix, giving the formulation an average rating of 4.7 stars.
Common compliments revolved around fast, effective results (reduced cracking, improved appearance, relieved pain and discomfort, etc.). More than one customer claimed it was the best foot cream they’d ever used.
On the other hand, what few complaints there were seemed related to high price. Many, though, reported that it delivered a lot of value for the money.
From a company perspective, Los Angeles-based Dermal Medix had an A+ Better Business Bureau rating and just one closed complaint, as of 5/23/17. No details were available.
Are There Other Cracked Skin Creams Like FootMedix?
If you’re looking for a clotrimazole-based antifungal moisturizing cream, you have hundreds of different options to choose from, several of which could be available at local pharmacies and priced as low as $8.
Do any of these feature FootMedix’s same formulation? No.
In fact, we turned up little-to-no results when searching online for terms like “PEG foot cream” or “hEGF foot cream.” So, if you’re looking for the exact same (or even a similar) formulation, FootMedix was the only game in town at the time of our research.
With this said, we learned that the discovery of epidermal growth factor won the 1986 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. However, we didn’t find any clinical evidence on authoritative websites drawing a direct link between oligopeptide-1 and improved cellular growth and differentiation in humans.
How to choose the best option? Just like when purchasing any other personal care product, the right foot cream for you depends on a unique balance of your specific needs and preferences.
For example, if you’re on the hunt for the absolute lowest priced option, FootMedix seems to have a lot of competition in front of it. However, if you’re primarily focused on customer feedback and a unique formulation, it seems many people reported that its meaningfully higher provided meaningfully better results.
On the other hand, if you’re primarily focused on getting rid of a bacterial infection, a clotrimazole cream might provide more value (although probably not the same level of moisturization) than FootMedix for the money.
What does all of this mean for you? We’ll wrap everything up in just a second, but let’s first talk about the person behind FootMedix.
Will FootMedix by Dermal Medix Cure Your Foot Problems?
Even if you don’t have diabetes, calluses can cause a great deal of discomfort, and can even be a cause for concern under the right circumstances. And almost all of us have experienced dry skin at some point, as well as the tight itchiness that can result.
Will FootMedix’s ingredients help address either of these issues? Based on what we learned from authoritative websites like WebMD, it seems the vast majority could help trap moisture against the skin and relieve dryness.
In turn, it’s reasonable to believe that this moisturization could also help soften calluses and reduce the discomfort they cause.
And while FootMedix seems to be up against a lot of other callus and cracked skin creams, you won’t find their unique formulation anywhere else. And not to sound like a broken record, but it appears most customers are pleased with the formulation’s results, despite its (sometimes much) higher price.
But if FootMedix ultimately doesn’t provide the results or the value you were expecting, Dermal Medix seems to stand behind their formulation with a 90-day money back guarantee.
So you could give it a try Since there is 90 days money back Guarantee. So you could try it without fear. And if you were dissatisfied with the product you can take your money back.