Dr. Martens' measures for blisters by symptoms

I've been wearing Dr. Martens for over 10 years. I own more than 20 pairs of Dr. Martens. I wore sandals, 3 holes, 8 holes, 10 holes, Chelsea boots (side gore), steel toes, Mary Janes with T-bars, and so on, and each time I had blisters. Fighting blisters is the fate of Dr. Martens fans, whether new or used. Introducing how to get used to it based on my experience and how to deal with symptoms and parts.

Let's take a bath together! How to break in a new Dr. Martens

There are various information on the net about getting used to Dr. Martens. Using cream, wearing them in the room, or warming them with a hair dryer. I want you to try it. will anything change?

My recommendation is to wear Doc Martens and take a bath together! Details will be introduced in another article. Of course, it is also effective when you get blisters on a used Martin.

Take a bath together! How to break in Dr. Martens - Travel Kurarin

How to break in Dr. Martens, the basics of measures to prevent blisters

Taking a bath is a good way to break in your new Dr. And if you had blisters every time, it would be painful and painful to wear.

We recommend a size that can accommodate another insole. You can buy insoles at 100-yen shops.
(You will not get tired from walking, and it will also prevent blisters around your ankles on the 3rd hole.)
I tried using a 100-yen insole for Dr. Martens - Travel Kurarin

Wear thick socks, such as climbing socks made of merino wool.
(The 8 holes are also good for preventing stuffiness. Once you get used to it, you can wear thin cotton socks.)

By the way, Dr. Martens also sells thick socks.

Shoe blisters according to Dr. Martens symptom and site

Second-hand or vintage Doc Martens purchased at thrift stores are often already worn in, but they are out of shape and can cause blisters. Even in that case, you can take a bath once to restore the shape or take measures against blisters.

I have listed the blisters of Dr. Martens that I have experienced.

1. Blisters near the heel and Achilles tendon (most common blistering symptom)
2. pain on the big toe side, groin or instep pain
3. pinkie side pain, fingertip pain
4. ball of the foot (ball of the foot at the base of the big toe) pain
5. Ankle pain (especially on edge of 3rd hole)
6. Calf and shin pain (side gore, edge of 8 hole hurts)

Introduce countermeasures in order.

Shoe blisters near the heel and Achilles tendon (most common blistering symptom)

Dr. I often hurt myself. The main premise is to wear socks and wear Dr. Martens. After getting used to it in the bath, we recommend the following measures. If it's brand new, your heel will definitely hurt, so I can only think that it's training to become a Dr. Martens fan. Let's take a bath together and get used to it, and take measures so that you can wear it without blisters.

Take a bath together again to acclimate Doc Martens

Maybe I'm the only one recommending taking a bath with Dr. Martens. However, I want you to think that you were deceived and try it once. Maybe if you're reading this you haven't done it yet? If your heel hurts, just rub it in hot water and let it soak in. If you've already done it once, do it again. No matter how many blistering pads you use, there is a limit. And it's important to wear them often.

Apply petroleum jelly directly to the heel

This is what works for me personally. Apply petroleum jelly to prevent blisters. I've tried using lip balm instead, but it didn't do much. Vaseline is best. It's even safer if you divide it into small pieces so that you can quickly get wet when it starts to hurt on the go.

First, apply petroleum jelly to the areas where your feet are prone to blisters. After that, just wear socks normally and wear Dr. Martens OK. It's quite effective, so please try it.

Alternative substitutes include baby powder or shampoo. Sprinkle baby powder on your bare feet and wear socks. Just apply a small amount of shampoo on your bare feet and wear socks. However, baby powder is unexpectedly dirty with powder, and it is troublesome to sprinkle. Shampoo is not suitable if you are worried about your socks getting sticky. Vaseline is highly recommended.

Recently, Protect J1, which has become a hot topic when it can be used to prevent blisters on pumps, is also quite useful. Originally used as a skin chafing cream for sports, it is highly effective for shoe blisters. It's a little more expensive than Vaseline, but J-1 is much more comfortable to wear. For women, it is convenient to have one because it can be used with other boots, pumps, and heels.

Put anti-friction pads on heels

Goods to prevent blisters at 100-yen shops. There are also gel pads.

The paste type isn't bad either.

These heel chafing prevention goods are made for pumps and business shoes, but they can also be used for Dr. Martens. I personally think gel pads are very effective. When I applied it vertically on the area from the heel to the Achilles tendon where blisters tend to occur, the blisters disappeared dramatically. However, it looks delicate. Also, it is troublesome to be careful not to peel off when you put it on or take it off. After all, the best way to prevent blisters is to take a bath a few times, wear them over and over again, and apply Vaseline to prevent blisters.

Buff your heels and blisters with Tokonol

Tokonol is a finishing material used for leather products and handmade products. The inside of the shoe that Dr. Martens puts his feet into, the leather underside, is called the floor (tokomen). Tokonol is a polishing agent that prepares the floor surface.

How to paint is easy. Just take an appropriate amount with your finger, apply it, and rub it with a towel. The rough back surface of the leather becomes smooth. Surprisingly, it doesn't work unless you rub it quite a lot, so if you apply it and rub it with a towel about twice, it will reduce the blisters on your heels. Socks and tiles can also be a little prevented from scraping and tearing due to friction.

Before brushing the blistered Doc Martens heels with Tokonol. The whole heel counter of the heel hit and rubbed and hurt.

After polishing. When you touch it, you can feel how smooth it is, but it's hard to tell in a photo. The symptoms of blisters were relieved.

Big toe, little finger, ball of toe, fingertip, top of foot pain

A common cause of pain around the toes and toes is that the foot is being compressed by Dr. Martens.

thumb side pain

The toes are often pressed from the left and right, and the size does not match. Or the leather on the upper is hard, and when the base of the toes is bent, the bent leather hits the foot and hurts.

The root of the toe, where the leather of the upper bends and breaks every time you walk, is probably the second most common cause of blisters after the heel. Both are difficult to improve immediately, but Dr. Martens bath + Vaseline is effective. Personally, I often get sore on the thumb side, especially on the 8th hole, so I often rub it in the bath.

Since the socks are thick and the feet feel tight in the shoes, it is easy to hurt, so we recommend adjusting the size with a comfortable size and insoles.

Little finger side pain

If the back of the foot hurts, the measures are roughly the same as the pain on the big toe side.

I have the impression that second-hand Dr. Martens often hurt the little toe side of the sole of the foot. In the case of second-hand Dr. Martens whose insoles cannot be replaced, the insoles may have been trampled and the steps at the joints of the soles may be floating. The fingertip of the little finger may hit the step and the little finger may hurt.

In this case, we have no choice but to add an insole to fill the gap. If the size is perfect, the insole cannot be added, so it is essential to check the condition of the insole when buying a used Dr. Martens. If you have enough room, even if the insole is crushed, you can solve it by adding an insole, so it's OK!

If the whole toe hurts, the top of the foot hurts, or the blisters hurt so much that you can't wear them at all, use shoe stretchers

If you choose the wrong size or you can't wear the shoes because the blisters hurt too much, there is also a method of forcibly stretching the shoes by inserting a shoe fitter or other wooden mold for stretching the shoes into Dr. Martens. 3 holes are OK with the following normal type.

Use a boot-specific shoe fitter for boots such as 8 holes.

If the size doesn't fit you, put a shoe fitter in it, stretch it out, put it in the bath, warm it up, and dry it carefully to make it stretch a little (I think). If you overdo it, the stitches will tear, so be careful. Personally, Dr. Martens leather doesn't stretch that much, so it's not a recommended method. (Dr. Martens also has soft leather that stretches.) Stretching the leather with a shoe fitter is the last resort.

There is a point stretcher that stretches leather shoes with pinpoint accuracy, but I don't recommend it because it forces force with a device like pliers. If the size of the shoe is large, the pliers type may not be able to reach the toe where you want to stretch the leather, so be careful.

Mizuno Strong Oil softens leather shoes. Roast it with an oil lamp and knead it.

The pain at the base of the toe, as mentioned above. It seems that shoe repair shops use the expression of being bitten by a leather shoe. These blisters are troublesome and difficult to deal with, but the most effective method is to apply a large amount of Mizuno Strong Oil, heat it with an oil lamp, and rub it while warming it.

Mizuno's strong oil became popular when George Tokoro introduced it as a way to soften leather jackets. This is also effective when applied to leather shoes such as Dr. Martens.

Take strong oil with your fingertips, apply it to your leather shoes, and heat it with an oil lamp. Be careful not to get too close as it will burn. Also note that the shoelaces and stitches are also flammable. Since it is oil, it melts quickly. If you overdo it, the oil will get too hot to touch and you will get lightly burned, so be careful. Warm and knead, warm and knead, repeat. If possible, apply oil from the inside and rub it in. If you use a stick with a round tip to push it in strongly from the inside, the leather will stretch a little and the blisters will be less likely to occur.

Sore in the ball of the foot (the ball of the foot at the base of the big toe)

This is an uncommon symptom, but it can be painful due to thin insoles or weak cushioning in vintage or used Doc Martens. Not limited to Dr. Martens, there are people who have trouble walking due to problems with leaving the room or posture, and the balls of their thumbs are weak and painful.

The ball of the foot is the bulge at the base of the big toe on the bottom of the foot. When walking, running, jumping, etc., it is the part that bears the weight and kicks the ground.

Ball of the Toe - Wikipedia

As mentioned above, in second-hand Dr. Martens, the insole may be crushed. If you can replace or add an insole, it's fine, but if you can't, use a thumb pad from a 100-yen shop.

You can find toe pads at shoe corners such as Daiso and Can Do.

The ball of the thumb hurts even in business shoes, leather shoes, and women's pumps, so there are plenty of countermeasures.

Try putting on the thumb pad.

Vintage British Doc Martens. Can you see that the insole on the left side is crushed and the steps stand out?

Cando padding. It looks weird, but it's much more comfortable to wear.

Daiso's gel pad. It protects only the ball of the thumb, so it can be used to prevent blisters. It works, but looks weird.

If you care about the appearance, you want to replace or add the insole. If you have room in the size, try adding an insole. Even 100 yen insoles can be used enough. I often forcibly peel off the crushed insoles of old vintage Dr. Martens and replace them with black plain 100 yen insoles. Also, if I find a cheap second-hand Dr. Martens even if the size is a little big, I buy them and add insoles.

I tried using 100 yen insoles for Dr. Martens - Travel Kurarin

Ankle pain (especially 3rd hole ankle, pain on edge)

Especially in the 3rd hole, the ankle hurts against the edge. I tried stretching the leather around the ankle, and trying to widen the circumference of the edge by sticking a tennis ball or a baseball in it, but it didn't work very well.

If your ankle hurts no matter what, there is no choice but to put an insole only on the heel and raise the position of the ankle so that Dr. Martens and the ankle do not hit directly. The effect is outstanding because the physical ankle does not hit Dr. Martin. If it gets damaged on the go, you can put a pocket tissue in it, buy a sole at a 100-yen shop, and put it in as a first aid measure.

Insoles for heels are also sold at 100-yen shops. It might be killing two birds with one stone because I've grown a little taller (laughs)

However, there are heel insoles that tend to shift when walking, so if you have room in your size, it would be ideal to replace or add the insoles for these blisters.

Dr. Luckily, it was a little big, so I put a heel sole and a thin insole from a 100-yen shop on top of each other.

The position of the heel has risen, the ankle does not hit Dr. Martens, and the blisters have stopped. And by adding an insole, the size fits and I can wear it! If you put the heel sole under the insole, it will not shift, so this order is recommended for large Dr. Martens.

Calf and shin pain (side gore, pain from contact with edge of 8 holes)

Shoe blisters that don't happen in 3 holes. Or is it called a shoe blister because it is no longer above the ankle? No, it hurts from rubbing against your shoes and it's a shoe bruise. A pattern in which the edge of the boot above the ankle hits the foot and hurts.

Isn't there a lot of people who especially have pain in the front of the side gore?

This is a little trickier. First of all, it is essential to wear socks that are longer than boots. If the edge of Dr. Martens touches your foot directly, no matter how comfortable your boots are, you will definitely get blisters. I often see women wearing long dresses, ankle-length socks, and Chelsea boots. No, I wonder if I'm going to be able to get over the pain and wear it.

If it still hurts, it is better to take a bath and stretch the leather around the edge, or apply Vaseline if you know where it hurts. It hurts when it hits and it hurts when it rubs, but just applying petroleum jelly to the edge of the shoe tongue relieves the pain, so I think it's a little better.

After the 10th hole, the leather on the mouth of these boots was cut off and it rubbed against my feet and hurt. Even in 8 holes, the current Dr. Martens is reinforced with vinyl chloride, and if it cracks, it rubs against your feet and hurts. In this case, you can burn it with a lighter or smooth it with sandpaper to prevent blisters. In the case of leather, there is a way to clean it with Toconal, but it is not very effective. It is true that the underside of the leather (floor surface) becomes smooth, but this pattern of blisters is meaningless. If the leather is left uncut, it might be best to burn it with a lighter or wear socks.

It is most effective to get used to the shoes, but since it takes time, it is also effective to prevent blisters by wearing thick wool socks or socks for mountaineering or trekking until then. I understand that women want to wear a dress and Chelsea boots, or just tights and light socks because it's cool, but it can't be helped at first.