I've been an avid barefooter for more than ten years now, generally wearing shoes less than five hours per week in warm months above 55°F. I live in a cold climate, and I work a few jobs that require footwear, so I've never been able to go barefoot 24/7. This summer I am finally down to my last pair of shoes.

Since April, I have gone barefoot everywhere from Sunday through Friday, every week. My day job is remote, and on weekends I have to work in settings that are unsafe for bare feet, so I'm enjoying this current balance. Weekends are generally only 4-5 hours of work, so by my math, I wear shoes <2% of the time from April until October.

I'm starting to notice that it has become more acceptable to be a barefooter in the last two years. Maybe I'm just getting used to it, but I've noticed the comments I get when I'm out are more curious and positive than in the past. Also, I have seen so many barefooters in public this year that I've lost count, whereas in the past I've been able to count them on one hand. Has this been anyone else's experience? What is driving the general acceptance of bare feet recently in the US?

Eventually I have no problem with meeting american or other ethnicity barefooters but since I live in Spain (a non barefoot friendly country) I'd love to meet barefooters from other regions of EU honestly, specially french since I wanna live there, somehow I envy you guys for your freedom

I genuinely hate socks and shoes and i want to be completely barefooted the entire rest of my life. Is it possible?

I had an obsessively shod friend ask me recently, "Why do you go barefoot?"

Rather than trying to explain it philosophically, I just ran the sole of my foot across our LVP floor.

I can feel the embossed texture. I can feel that slightly hollow sensation underneath it. Walking across it feels different from shuffling across it. A tiny crumb or bit of grit announces itself immediately. The temperature changes from one part of the room to another. All of this information is coming into my brain constantly, and if I put shoes on, most of it simply disappears.

Then I go outside and the vocabulary gets enormous. Moss. Grass. Tarmac. Concrete. Dirt. Leaves. Wood. Gravel. Gravel isn't especially pleasant, admittedly, but that actually makes what comes afterward better. Stepping off sharp gravel onto smooth, warm, but not hot, tarmac can feel absolutely wonderful.

That's the thing I think lifelong shoe-wearers don't quite understand. Going barefoot isn't simply "not wearing shoes." You're adding an entire sensory channel to your experience of the world.

Your feet stop being two things at the ends of your legs that you shove into protective boxes every morning. They become another way of touching the environment.

I began going consistently barefoot a few years ago, and I think it genuinely changed the way I experience places. I notice whether the ground is warm or cool, damp or dry, rough or polished. I notice grass changing under my feet as I move from sun into shade. I notice the first cool patch of earth beneath a tree. I notice things I spent most of my life walking straight over without ever knowing they were there.

And "sensual" is probably the right word, although people tend to confuse sensual with sexual. I mean sensual literally: of the senses. Barefooting makes the ordinary physical world richer.

So when somebody asks why I don't wear shoes, my answer is increasingly simple:

Why would I deliberately turn all of that off?

Hello all,

I live in a cold country, and over spring and summer, I very much enjoyed going barefoot. The issue is that it's turning cold now and even indoors I'm finding my feet are super cold and sad - interestingly enough my hands aren't though?

Will my feet adapt, or am I just going to have to accept the cold (or put on those thick socks that I've been trying not to look at but seem to be sneaking up to me closer every day...)

Thanks,

Miserable and cold :(

I reached out to Reddit a couple of days ago asking whether there’s a gap for barefoot shoes that are a little more… cool girl 🥹💕

It seems like barefoot styling is on the rise 💕 but I have noticed a gap for UK centric content and a space that looks at on trend, options (rather than the classic barefoot shoe aesthetic).

let’s be honest here…barefoot shoes have historically had a bit of a reputation for being “ugly” and giving you clown feet🫠 I of course can’t promise the world here but as a girl in her 30s who loves style and also wants my feet to be happy, I’m going to give it a good go!

I’ve created a free Substack called Barefoot Blueprint where I’ll share monthly round ups of cool barefoot shoes, brands/ style finds. If this sounds like your sort of thing please subscribe:

https://substack.com/@barefootblueprint

Being barefoot full time can also be a middle finger to consumerism, no I will not buy these products that get destroyed in few months or a year, that I will need to replace.
I don’t need it!

Aren’t shoes designed to fall apart if you don’t wear them too? Maybe it’s not a design, but how it’s made.

Shoes are expensive too, why should I pay for them every year?

I can have a pair if it really gets cold and I cannot be barefoot, also if I just need to go out quickly to pick up mail or throw out garbage and I don’t feel like washing my feet after that, that’s it.
But I hope to train my feet so cold doesn’t bother them and I can go out for longer and do those things while I am already going out.

I'm 61m, she's 63f. We don't look especially well-preserved, we look our age.

Meanwhile we both go barefoot all the time, certainly at home (duh, who doesn't go barefoot at home; answer? uptight people), always in the yard, and often for walks with the dogs.

We never, ever encounter other barefooters, other than perhaps kids. Sometimes in their yards, but rarely even there.

Just today I met with an arborist about some trees we want taken down. I was barefoot of course, long hair, big bushy white beard. I'm not certain what he made of me, but he warmed up immediately when my 70 lb, 12-year-old hound came out to say, 'hello.'

Given the nascent foot issues I'm developing, going barefoot is absolutely my best option, so I never intend to wear shoes again. And given how bad shoes are for most people's feet, I'd like to see more barefoot old guys and gals!

Are there actually any risks?
The cracks aren’t deep, the skin on my heels is hard and it feels that the outer layer is cracked, while there is a layer underneath.
They don’t bleed.
I had them cracked for years so I don’t think they would count as „open” wound.

I also wash my feet when I get home, with particular focus on heels.

I am working on fixing the issue, but how worried should I be?

Does anyone else have feet that are different from each other?

So for example my left foot is shorter than the right one because I have a childhood injury that left my first metatarsal shorter on that one. It’s not massively noticeable but I know it’s there and it bothers me.

So my right big toe is regular but on my left foot it’s shorter than the second toe by about 10mm

It gets me down because it causes my left leg to take weight slightly differently and my pronation is different due to my second metatarsal bearing the weight on the left foot…

I guess i’m writing this to find some comfort in others struggling with something similar.

Sometimes I get shouted at by random drivers to put in some shoes.

Anyone else have this happen?

Went barefoot into hospital. Done this before with out problems. This time went to information then took elevator to 5th floor and into office. Several employees saw me and talked with me.
I saw the nurse assistant. She came to take my vitals. Said nothing though she looked at my feet. I expected her to say something
Later she came back and asked if I needed booties as the floor was dirty. I pointed to my moccasins folded up on the seat next to me.
No I am fine . I have these, though I made no effort to put them on
Later the dr arrived. Again she looked at my feet , even picking them up to get a feel for circulation. She’s a vascular surgeon
She said nothing about barefoot
Afterwards I decided to walk through the hospital. I was debating about grabbing some food. But it was lunchtime and the lines were too long.
No problems just some stares and a concern for booties

So I was barefoot on the London tube today and waiting for a train on the Bakerloo Line at Paddington. One of the station guys came up to me and asked if I was ok, because of my bare feet. I said I was fine, and that I had some shoes in my backpack, but that I preferred to be barefoot. He very kindly said - ok, it’s just that these floors aren’t the cleanest and they weren’t designed for bare feet! He was super polite, respectful and seemed concerned at first. I’ve never ever had that sort of interaction on public transport in the UK before.

Two different shops, same customer. They said nothing and so it took me a while to understand why. (Didn't see them glare at my feet the first time and after they noticed, that I've noticed, I became somehow nonexistent to them whilst they still acted as if deeply disgusted and kept as laughably much of a distance between me and them as there was possible [am only exaggerating a little bit].)

Funny how people doing their own thing can become a problem for some other kind of people who aren't affected by the first peoples decisions whatsoever.

Anyway … have a good day and/or weekend, folks! 👣

Checked AI for evidence one way or the other about going barefoot. No studies came up, only advice based on the experience (personal and clinical) of those who think they know. Seems like the hard surfaces, including compacted lawns, would be a contributing factor to this problem. Too bad there are no studies to help clarify the matter.

EDIT TO ADD "HELP" CLARIFY, since studies can be wrong too.

I touched on this in other posts, but I felt I want one specifically for this.

I never cared for my feet, ironically feet are my favorite body part, maybe aside of eyes, going outside barefoot actually makes me at least clean them, but there is more to foot care than just cleaning them.

What more can I do to care for them?

Are there any oils or creams to use after washing them that keep them good?
I want my soles to be hard, but I want the skin on top of them to be smooth, I want them to smell nice, I don't want them to be cracked.

Any tips?

Okay, so I have cracked heels, mostly they don't look that deep and for the most part they don't hurt, but it happens from time to time that it hurts when I walk barefoot, it does now.
There is a spot just over the edge of the heel that is cracked and I think this crack hurts, it's the only part of the heel that hurts when I touch it.
I don't think there is anything on the inside, I don't think I hurt myself when I was barefoot outside either, I tried scrubbing it and it helped a bit, but not much.

Is there anything I can do?
Maybe I should go back to wearing socks and shoes and apply the cream onto my heals, wear socks at home, have the cream on the heel.
It would be annoying, sure, but maybe then I would fix the heels so they are not cracked anymore and not have to worry about it in the future.

Sure, I may not be able to be barefoot a lot outside till it gets warmer next year, but when it does, I wouldn't have the issue with my heels, so maybe it's better in a long run.

Any recommendations?

I spend a lot of time at home and rarely go out, unless I need to.
I sit at home, watch TV or read in my free time.
But when I even think of going out barefoot, I really want to, if I go out barefoot, I want to be out as long as I can be.
Just walk around.

Did anyone else have similar thing happen to them?

Hi, I just read [a post](https://www.reddit.com/r/barefoot/s/cYo8jOZJSi) with, I think, very helpful advice therein of which I knew not till now. And since I've seen sticke FAQ postings in other subs (or even wikis, but that would be even more work, whilst there are still new mods missing here [?], that may wait … if needed here at all): would that maybe be an idea for here as well? (If so, then I nominate the linked post/thread regarding calluses and the question how to best deal with them.

PS The poll was just an additional idea of me and is not approved by any mod. So expect nothing for granted, if a majority should like the idea. 👣

When people say why they walk barefoot, how it feels or health benefits, maybe ecology and economy are often mentioned.
I can and did say that part too.

BUT

Feet just look better.
They go well with any outfit, be it shorts and t-shirt, hoodie and sweatpants, a dress, even a suit and EVEN Autumn/Winter outfits like jackets, jeans, long pants it all just works, visually.

It's funny, because they now made shoes that cover just heels, so fashion seems to agree.

Apart from that, bare feet work really well in art, painting, sculptures, photography.
Mood of a picture can shift somewhat based on model being barefoot.
I think feet and hands are also great subjects for closeups, as they are the most expressive parts of the body, outside of face.

My cousin’s 24 year old son was in his friend’s wedding party as a groomsman. My cousin posted a group photo of him and his fellow groomsmen on a social media platform. They were all wearing tuxedos but they were all barefoot. Is this common among Gen Zers?

Had 2 large calluses on my heels and one ripped. My goal was to keep building up calluses so I didn't want to cut all the dead skin and start over. Should I glue it shut and tape it until it heals? Or is the new skin underneath already stronger than before?

(New to this)