6 Things Every High-Heel Owner Should Know

Heels are a fact of life. If you're gonna rock 'em, you might as well be smart about it. Here, a handful of hacks for preventing stiletto mishaps.

(1) Tape Your Toes

Put your foldable flats back in your bag: A night in heels shouldn’t mean you have to hobble home. Before going out, tape your third and fourth toes together using nude or clear medical tape (the flexible kind). This helps take pressure off the ball of the foot. (A bit of biology for those who are interested: There’s a nerve right between these two toes, and the tape minimizes any strain.)

(2) Break in Heels with Socks

Put on a few pairs of socks (or one pair of thick, woolen ones). Next, stuff your feet into your pumps and strut around your place for about 20 minutes a day, a few days before you wear them out.

(3) Stretch 'Em Out with Ice

OK, this one's admittedly a little weird but does help with new pumps that pinch in the toes. Fill plastic baggies with water and smoosh them into the toe box. Put the shoes into the freezer overnight (yes, really). As the water freezes, the baggies will expand and magically stretch out your shoes.

(4) Sandpaper Your Soles

New shoes, no traction? Yeah, we’ve skidded our way across a couple of dance floors ourselves. A simple trick for extra grip: Use a sheet of sandpaper to gently rough up the bottoms of your new heels. We repeat, gently. Don’t go scraping the red off the soles of your Louboutins.

(5) Toss in a Tea Bag

To kill foot odor, we love this fab double-duty trick: Dry out used tea bags, then place them inside shoes for 24 hours. Your nose (and everyone else’s) will thank you.

(6) Blister-Proof Your Feet

Ah, the annual Achilles' heel gash. To prevent your flats from digging into your skin, take a stick of clear deodorant and rub over any problem areas where you think you might feel a pinch later. The deodorant provides a barrier between you and the leather.