The thing about fashionable footwear is that it can often be tight and uncomfortable. When fashion is prioritized over function, the result is often excruciating foot pain.
When you wear shoes that don’t fit your foot size and shape, your feet can develop a ton of problems.
People who have big feet try to wear smaller, closed-in shoes because they want to make their feet appear smaller.
But do small shoes really shrink feet or do they just add to painful foot problems? Let’s find out!
Can Your Feet Shrink If You Wear Small Shoes?
Unfortunately, no they can’t. You can make your feet ‘look’ smaller by wearing smaller shoes but unless you’re opting for surgery, there isn’t any other way to shrink your feet.
A surgical procedure, known as the stiletto or Cinderella surgery, can reshape the feet to make them slimmer and shorter.
But other than that there’s no other way to change the bone structure of your feet. You see, humans have a total of 26 bones in their feet.
The length and width of your feet primarily depend on hereditary factors, which are simply unchangeable.
These bones are connected to each other through tiny muscles and ligaments that influence the strength and flexibility of each foot.
Bones are naturally robust and strong in nature because of which it’s impossible to alter their size, shape, and length.
You can’t make your feet smaller by wearing tight-fitted shoes. If anything, it would just give you painful muscle knots, sprains, and spasms in the feet.
You can, however, make your feet appear less wide by wearing your wardrobe a certain way.
Sporting the right patterns and colors can have a huge effect on how small or big your feet appear. In most cases, your feet aren’t particularly big.
They’re just flat and wide, which is something you can fix to look proportionate head to toe.
Shedding a few pounds overall can also help your feet look smaller or stop them from growing too big.
With that said, here are all the natural and safe ways to make your feet look petite and small without a dreadful surgery!
Natural Ways To Make Your Feet Look Smaller
1. Fixing Flat Feet And Foot Arch
Overpronation can make your feet appear flatter and wider. Simply put, pronation is the way the foot rolls inward while walking and running.
If your gait style leans towards overpronation, the arches of your feet will particularly roll inward and downward.
This can spell bad news for your overall posture as well as your feet. Overpronation can weaken your arches and put excessive pressure and burden on your feet.
As a result, they become completely flat as opposed to having a natural curvature.
People with flat feet tend to wear wider shoes with spacious interior and wide toe boxes to accommodate their condition.
This can automatically make your look bigger and disproportionate. If you think you have this problem, you should try to fix the issue by strengthening your foot arch.
Overpronation can be easily corrected with frequent foot stretches that strengthen the foot arch and improve the natural curvature of your feet.
In addition to this, try to wear shoes that have custom orthotics so that they can maintain a healthy foot alignment.
You should also look for arch supports, heel counters, and overall well-cushioned footwear to allow your feet to gain back their natural shape and size.
2. Losing Overall Body Weight
Another effective way to get rid of big feet is by losing weight.
You may not be able to shrink your feet but you can certainly reduce your body weight to look more proportionate and petite.
Shedding a few pounds around the hips, waistline, and legs can really help tone your body and make you appear slim and smart.
The effect also trickles down to your feet, making them look just the perfect size and shape. The more your body grows, the wider your feet get.
In fact, your feet will spread both in length and width to distribute the extra weight in the body.
When your body weight is lighter, your feet won’t have to work hard to handle all that weight.
They will feel more relaxed and flexible when there’s no weight on them.
Even when your bone structure can’t be changed, you can certainly make your feet slimmer by adopting a healthy lifestyle.
Certainly, losing a bit of extra weight will make a huge difference to the size and shape of your feet.
3. Treating Swollen Feet
Your feet can swell for a number of reasons.
Whether it’s water retention, standing for too long, or a medical condition, swollen feet can appear larger and wider than they normally are.
You might think you have big feet, but they could just be swollen due to poor diet and lifestyle habits.
If so, try to ease the swelling with a detoxifying foot soak.
Add bath salts and your favorite essential oils to a warm foot bath and soak your feet 3-4 times a week to relieve swelling.
You can also try lying down with your leg elevated to redirect blood flow and reduce the swelling around the feet.
Sometimes, a simple stretch or brisk walk can also help sweat out and detoxify your body to ease swelling.
With these quick and effective changes, you can easily reduce foot swelling and make your feet appear smaller!
4. Choosing The Right Clothes And Shoes
The type of clothes and shoes you wear can affect your height, foot size, and overall body shape.
If you really want small feet, try to wear pants that are large and have elegant flares. This way, they can stylishly cover up the feet and make them look small.
You can also accessorize with glittery, attractive jewelry or a wristwatch to divert the attention from your feet.
When it comes to shoes, always choose footwear that’s breathable and fits your foot size and shape.
As far as the question “can your feet shrink if you wear small shoes?” is concerned, you’ve probably realized that you don’t need to torture yourself.
Follow the tips above to make your feet appear naturally petite and proportionate!
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