Links to Useful Products Related to Barefoot Shoes, Leather Care, and Movement

This page will be updated regularly to be a reference location for specific products mentioned on my Instagram page. It’s a mix of affiliate (Amazon) and non-affiliate links.

From time to time, I include informational posts such as leather care and in such cases the products will be listed here as a central reference point and to keep my linktr.ee. This isn’t a page I will promote alone, but rather something I can link to as needed.

Shoe Accessories

  • Moleskin Pads These (or any similar version) work great when shoes create hot spots on your feet. For me, this usually happens at the back of my heel, right on the Achilles tendon. Wearing the pads a few times allows the shoes to break in without breaking you.
  • Shoe trees can be a great way to keep your shoes in their right form. This is especially helpful for foldable flats that begin to feel very tight on your heel after a bit of storage. They come in wood (men’s and women’s) or plastic (men’s and women’s).
  • Once you nail down your sizing you can start to amass a collection, especially if you are a savvy resale shopper. A storage bag like this, which I use for my special old-sole Be Lenka City shoes collection, can be a nice way to keep them organized.
  • If you’ve given up your boxes and have shoes loose in your closet, storage bags can be a nice way to deal with out-of-season shoes. Options like this and this protect your shoes from dust and scrapes when not in use.
  • If you have low-volume feet, or different sized feet like I do, you may need to add things inside your shoes to get the right fit. Some options include felt sticky pads, Flat Socks, or insoles (sold by size – get bigger and trim for the right shape). The Northsole Insoles and Naboso are also very popular.

Shoe Care and Cleaning

People have their favorites, but there are definitely a variety of options. Here are some of the main ones. Please read your shoe’s instructions carefully and remember that different types of materials, and different types of leather as well, require different cleaning, protecting, and overall care techniques. It’s imperative that you not use something waxy on suede, for example. And also read the instructions of each product carefully as well. Some of these products can change the color of your shoes permanently.

Aquaseal is used to glue soles, including Wildling split soles to cover the microfiber and increase protection against water penetration.

Shoe Goo is a common adhesive used to reattach soles or fill in small holes.

Foot Health and Massage Gear

  • I’ve been using Xero Shoes Rox mats (under Accessories & More -> Foot Care) since 2019 and love them for standing or sitting work to keep the feet alive and happy. See them in action here and how I clean them here.
  • Happy Feet Socks are the original toe separator socks and can be purchased directly from the company or on Amazon. There are knock-offs as well, but I’ve read some negative reviews about the construction quality.
  • Correct Toes can be bought directly from the company or on some other websites, such as Natural Foot Gear.
  • Yoga Toes are one of the alternative systems that’s more like the Happy Feet Socks (IE Not appropriate for walking) than the active Correct Toes. Proceed with caution.
  • Wild Toes from TFC are ‘wildly’ popular
  • Earthrunners also sells a foot restoration kit for a very reasonable price and my affiliate code OWBSHOES saves you 10%
  • Lacrosse balls are a tried and true massage method that can help with minor aches and pains (though they won’t do anything for actual injuries – see a professional!). I have this set due to chronically tight hip flexors from way too much computer time.
  • Yoga blocks are often used as part of mobility exercises to help you isolate specific movements or joint ranges.
  • Spikey balls like these are a favorite to stimulate your feet.
  • Foam rollers are used for massaging problem areas such as your calves.
  • Resistance bands are great! I have both this Theraband set and an off-brand set to use in multiple exercises.
  • This post here on the blog explores 7 toe separator options in-depth.

Movement Gear and Books

  • RingFit Adventure is something we have wanted for a while but COVID pretty well killed the available stock. We finally got one in October of 2020 and my kids, especially, are getting a ton of movement out of it. The bundles are currently all that remain but are low on stock. If it is gone, maybe consider getting something else movement-oriented on the Switch, such as Boxing.
  • Katy Bowman, queen of Alignment Matters and Nutritious Movement, has multiple books on the subject of movement that have greatly helped many barefoot shoe wearers. Check out Simple Steps to Foot Pain Relief, Move your DNA, Dynamic Aging, or Diastasis Recti, to name a few.
  • Older Yet Faster is another program that many people are fond of in the movement world.
  • Born to Run is considered the book that ‘started it all’ for the recent barefoot movement and really brought the idea of minimalist footwear to the forefront for many people.
  • Balancing is an important skill that many people have lost and includes a range of important muscles, connective tissues, and whole-body mechanics vital to gait, alignment, and good health. There are many gear items related to this, such as the TFC beams, balance boards, River rock balance stepping stones, and Rox Mats from Xero (I have 2!)

Healthy Sock Options

  • Injinji – my favorite are the hidden socks and my husband loves the mini crew
  • Toesox – my oldest loves the medium weight ankle socks, I love the hidden (it’s a theme), and my husband wears the crew cut. Medium weight socks are synthetic and run really warm.
  • Tabio – they have the thinnest/best-fitting hidden toe socks and you can get Tabi options (split between big toe and 2nd toe only)
  • Earthrunners – sells Tabi options and my affiliate code OWBSHOES saves 10%
  • Bedrock Sandals – sells Tabi options
  • This Ubumo Tabi option is on Amazon with different colorways
  • Knitido – no personal experience with these because in the US they don’t cover my size, but look like very nice knit toe socks. Katja from Bosenogice has a discount code you can use if you’re in Europe – BOSENOGICE123.
  • Amazon toe socks options include Injinji, Ubomo (colorful, men’s sizing), and off-brand options that are hit or miss on sizing/quality, but we have had good luck with Meaiaguo and Fun Toes. I get a lot of requests for smaller options for women’s socks, so here are 5 that are fun/cute and rated at least 4.5 stars, but we have not tried them in person. Vivi (cat/cute) Satinoir (vibrant stripes) Sintege (pastel stripes) Artfasion (funny) Meuiguo (colorful grey and pastel)
  • Kids can have toe socks too. There are more options than this but I’m trying to only include highly rated ones as we don’t have much direct experience here. TESOON (animal or bicycle options) Hello Mama (cats and dogs) TESOON (cats and dogs). These tend to come in at least 2 size options by age. Search terms like “Kids toe socks” to find additional options.
  • Peunus Sandals makes all-cotton, hand-printed toe socks. Currently must DM to order but they’re working on their site.
  • Be Lenka sells anatomical barefoot socks in a wide range of colorful options and OWBSHOES = 5% off
  • Groundies sells anatomical socks in different heights, in black and white
  • You can get Plus12 anatomical barefoot socks at Wildling or directly from them
  • Amazon sells socks from the Extra Wide Sock Company which we’ll be testing soon to see how well they work as they say they are bigger everywhere, so they may not work for those with narrow heels or ankles
  • If you’re in Canada, Cool East Market sells healthy socks that are less expensive than other options

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