Gena Ultimate Spa Fission Likepumice

Cuban socialite Aline Johnson gets a pedicure, 1946. Image: Nina Leen/TimeLife Pictures

LikePumice by Gena, a spa and salon brand, is one of the most effective and interesting foot care product I've encountered. It's a foam that makes dead skin melt away within minutes and leaves my feet delightfully soft between pedicures, even after a summer day at the flea market. The canister and the dispensed product look like hair mousse at first, but after you let it sit for a minute and start massaging the stuff into your feet this impression changes drastically.

A few things to note:

* You need to shake the bottle very very well, especially after you've had it for several months, because the product tend to separate. It doesn't became less effective, but you need to mix the stuff back together.
* It's highly recommended to do the sloughing in the bath or shower, because things get messy and you want to be able to rinse away the icky skin debris.
* Your hands also get exfoliated at the same time, which I like, but if you have a reason to avoid it (sensitivity, injury), wear plastic or latex gloves.
* While LikePumice is extremely effective on dry skin and feet that are between pedicures, if you have serious callouses I'd recommend starting with a good soak and a foot file (this is the elventy seventh time I'm mentioning Diamancel Foot Buffer #11, but seriously, it should live in every shower). I never tried this Gena product on anything worse than "regular" dry feet, so I can't comment on heavy duty performance, it's just a logical assumption.

Bottom Line: Highly recommended. As long as you don't get freaked out by dead skin floating in the tub.

Gena Ultimate Spa Fission Likepumice is about $12 on Amazon, but can be found cheaper (as well as more expensive) at select nail salon and online supply stores.

2016 Update: Please read this post for more information about ingredients and effectiveness.