The 9 Very Best Callus Removers (2024)

$17

Method: Manual | Material: Multidirectional stainless-steel grit | Strength: Gentle-to-medium

Foot files are a safe and effective way to remove calluses. This Footlogix file has both a fine grit and coarse, offering gentle to medium strength. As someone who doesn’t get bad calluses on my feet often, I can appreciate how gentle Footlogix’s file is for weekly to biweekly maintenance. In under five minutes, I’m able to smooth out rough patches on my heels and on the outside of my big toes with just the fine-grit side. I’ve never worried about overdoing it or scratching my skin raw in the process.

Multiple experts brought it up — Emily Splichal, D.P.M. at the Center for Functional & Regenerative Medicine; Dana Stern, M.D., board-certified dermatologist specializing in nail health; and Sundays nail-salon founder Amy Lin —for having a stainless-steel multidirectional grit. Lin uses the coarse side if she hasn’t had a pedicure in a while and the fine side every day and for the tops and sides of her feet that sometimes get calluses. If your calluses are more hardened, be sure to use an exfoliating foot cream (more on that below) before filing to break down the hardened skin. Lastly, be sure to use it in an up-and-down direction, as opposed to side to side, because this follows the natural cracks and curvatures of our skin, minimizing the chances of creating cracks or cuts.

$15

Method: Manual | Material: Multidirectional nickel grit | Strength: Gentle-to-medium

This Probelle foot file is a couple bucks less and, like the Footlogix above, has a coarse and medium side. Instead of stainless steel, it’s made of nickel, which doesn’t easily oxidize or rust. It’s worth noting that this didn’t come out as our best-overall pick because nickel is a more common cause of skin allergies or reactions than stainless steel. But if you know you don’t react to the material, it’s a perfectly fine and affordable option.

$16

Method: Manual | Material: Disposable abrasive paper | Strength: Gentle-to-medium

If you prefer something you can dispose of after use, go for this stainless-steel file kit with exfoliating stickers. Each sticker is meant to be used once before being thrown out. This kit comes with 15 sheets of both the coarser 80-grit paper and the medium 180-grit paper, so you can use it on areas with lots of built-up skin and more sensitive areas. And once you’ve gone through those sheets, you can easily restock on the medium or coarse abrasive stickers.

$20

Method: Manual | Material: Refillable roller heads made of micro-abrasive particles | Strength: Medium

Electric foot files take away the elbow grease that comes with the above manual foot files. “A flick of a switch rockets the electronic foot file to a gentle rotation,” the Cut’s senior beauty editor Ashley Weatherford writes. “In about five minutes, the roughest of feet can be transformed into buttery-soft morsels.” Because this is so easy to use, be sure to take it slow. “It is possible to go too deep, down to dermal layers of skin, which can cause infection, pain, increased cracking, and scarring,” Sutera says. This particular Amopé tool comes with the regular coarse roller head, but there are also extra-coarse and ultracoarse grit options. The company recommends replacing heads whenever they “no longer remove hard skin as thoroughly,” which can be indicated if the “roller appears to be lighter and the grain size is abraded.”

$8

Method: Chemical | Active ingredients: Potassium hydroxide, glycerin, propylene glycol | Strength: Intense

For something more intense and fast-acting, this callus-removal gel is used at some nail salons for removing calluses in minutes. Back in 2017, writer Alison Freer peeped it at her local salon and bought it for herself. “It was one of the smartest things I’ve done in forever, because I’m now the owner of two soft, smooth, very uncalloused feet,” she writes. You simply apply it to calluses, let it sit for three to five minutes, and follow up with a pumice stone or foot file. Be sure to wear gloves for applications, use only a small amount on the callused area, and follow the instructions to a T. Don’t exceed the time it says on the bottle or you may start to feel a burning sensation.

$13

Method: Chemical | Active ingredient: Urea | Strength: Gentle-to-medium

For a cream-based option that’s not as intense as the aforementioned gel, go for PurSources’ foot cream. It contains 40 percent urea, an exfoliating ingredient that dissolves superficial dead skin cells and calluses. While it works well for rough patches on its own, it can also be used in conjunction with a manual foot file if you have a particularly stubborn callus. Stern recommends following up with a rich cream, like shea butter to seal in moisture.

$9

Method: Chemical | Active ingredients: Urea and salicylic acid | Strength: Gentle

Kerasal Intensive Foot Repair is slightly more affordable than the PurSources and still offers satisfying exfoliation. Its active ingredients are urea and salicylic acid, which slough away dead skin. Edgard Nau, D.P.M., a podiatrist at Manhattan Home Podiatric, says this works with consistent use and recommends wearing gloves while applying it or any other cream. This creates a barrier between your hands, maximizing its penetration and effectiveness on your feet.

$18

Method: Chemical | Active ingredients: AHA + BHA botanical blend | Strength: Medium

A foot-peel mask also uses chemical exfoliation like the above creams and gel, but doesn’t require following up with a foot file or pumice stone. This one’s especially great if you have hardened calluses, since it’s made with a blend of AHAs and BHAs. Last summer, I turned my fair-weather running into a more consistent habit, which caused me to get more calluses than usual. That paired with more sandy beach days caused the buildup on my heels and edges of my feet to be more noticeable than ever before. Instead of reaching for my Footlogix file, I gave Patchology a try. To prep, I soaked my feet in hot water for 30 minutes and mixed in the packets of AHA-packed essence into each of the foot-mask socks. Then I simply placed my feet in them, turned on an episode of The Real Housewives of New York, and waited an hour. At the end of the 60 minutes, I washed my feet and dried them off. In a week’s time, my feet shed an almost scary amount of skin, but the results were worth it. My feet felt even smoother than they usually feel after a standard pedicure.

$5

Method: Chemical | Active ingredients: Natural AHAs | Strength: Gentle

Tonymoly’s Magic Foot Peeling Shoes are less than half the price of the above Patchology and an excellent choice for exfoliation, since the product is made with AHAs from apple, lemon, and grape extracts. I recently tested these out for myself, following the instructions exactly. These didn’t require soaking or much prep at all. I just took out the foot-mask socks, slipped my feet into them, and waited a little over an hour before taking them off and rinsing off the residual ingredients. My skin didn’t shed as much as when I tested the Patchology peel, but I was still left with silky-smooth feet after about four days.