Urrrgh! I really need to know how to stop shoes rubbing my little toe …
If these were your sentiments when you wore your shoes or work boots this morning, this article is for you. Life is too short to spend it in agonizing shoes!
They say only the wearer of the shoes knows where it pinches. Thankfully, you don’t have to live with a pinching shoe. You also don’t have to toss it away, give it out or return it. You can fix your shoes rubbing little toe.
If you have pinky toe pain from shoes, we will show you how to stop that and regain your comfort back.
Actually, it does not matter where the shoes pinch. They can be pinching the toes, the edges of your foot and even your heels. The good thing is that you can fix them.
Keep reading to see how.
How To Stop Shoes Rubbing Your Toes
Table of Contents
Shoes too narrow pinky toe gets hurt! Well, what else can you expect from this scenario? It means that your foot is wide at the toe area. Or perhaps you bought shoes that are too narrow.
Whichever the case, there are a few things that you can do for how to stop shoes pinching toes.
Get Shoes with More Room At The Toe Area
If most of the shoes that you have worn in the past rub your little toe, well, there is a constant factor here. It is not the shoes really; it is that your feet are too wide in the toe area.
For the next pair of shoes that you buy, make sure it is extra wide at the toe area. Since you cannot narrow your feet, the most sensible thing to do is to get a pair of work boots with enough room in the toe region.
You can read our article on shoe width sizes so that you can know what to order. Most shoes may come true to size but before you have broken them in fully, they can pinch a bit. If you think that is the case, read ahead. We will show you how to stop shoes rubbing your toes.
Stretch them – how to stop shoes rubbing my little toe
We have already determined that the shoes are too narrow. That is why my pink toe hurts when I wear shoes.
OK, agreed. So what can you do about the narrow shoes?
Simple! You stretch them wide enough. This is not hard at all, but it can take some time. It is more like breaking in the shoes.
Now, there are many ways that you can use to stretch the shoes. However, if they have a steel toe box, you are stuck with it. There is nothing you can do about that. However, chances are that the small toe does not get into the toe box. It stays outside.
So what can you do to stop shoe bite on little toe? Do the following things:
Step 1: Use a hairdryer
This is the first thing to do, to find out where exactly the shoes pinch you most. Since this is on the little toe, you should direct heat from a hairdryer to the area where the shoes are pinching most and sustain it for some time, or until the leather is really warm.
You can then wear the shoes with thick socks and walk about with them. If they still pinch the little toe, repeat the process.
Step 2: Use Ice
If you don’t want to use heat, use ice. Pour water into plastic bags, tie them up and toss them into the shoes.
Place the shoes in a plastic container and then they go to the freezer, where you will leave them overnight. Thaw the ice out the following morning and the shoes rubbing little toe stops.
Step 3: Using water
Toss the shoes in water, let the leather soak up the water and soften the fibers, making them quite flexible. Wear thick socks and then pull on the boots and walk about with them on your feet. Keep them on for some time. It works!
Step 4: Stuff them up
This method also works for how to stop shoes rubbing top of toes. Just find old newspapers, roll them up into small balls and then stuff them inside the shoes.
Stuff as many of these in the shoes as you can and leave the shoes for some time, say for a couple of days, if possible. That should get rid of the shoes rubbing small toe problem.
Use A Shoe Stretcher
This is one of the most effective methods for how to stop shoes pinching toes or you can also use it when dress shoes hurt top of foot. Buying a shoe stretcher could give you a long term solution for breaking in new shoes.
If you ask why new shoes hurt, it is because you wear them to work without breaking them in and then they give your little toe a nasty time. However, a shoe stretcher such as the one below can fix that!
A shoe stretcher is affordable, very easy to use and it can last decades. It has a simple design too. Since it is shaped like a shoe, it goes into any pair without any trouble. However, if you have boots, get a boot stretcher itself.
When inside the shoe, use the manual adjusting mechanism to expand the shoe stretcher sideways. Leave the shoes on for some time, a few to several hours so that the leather fibers can stretch. When you wear them, they will be roomier and more comfortable.
As you have seen here, this is a clean method for how to stop shoes rubbing my little toe.
Take the shoes to a cobbler
Sometimes, you just don’t have the time or the materials to do the shoes stretching yourself. In that case, you can take them to a cobbler for help.
A cobbler will decide the best method to make your shoes roomier. If they need to unstitch a panel and stitch it back on, they can do that. Besides, they will also have all the required stretching tools.
This is going to cost you but not too much. Usually, charges for breaking in the shoes start at about $15. The benefit is that the cobbler will do a clean job while you go about your daily tasks.
Wrapping Up
If you have shoes rubbing little toe, you will be in pain most of the time that you will be wearing the shoes. However, this is something that you can solve as you have seen in this short article for how to stop shoes rubbing my little toe.
If the shoes hurt toes, chances are that they are hurting much more than the toes. They could be rubbing the tops of your toes or your foot. They could also be pressing onto the edge of your foot. The good thing is that the methods that we have discussed here can work for all of these problems.
For shoes rubbing big toe, these methods work. However, it is always good to know your foot width so that you can order the right size. If in the past your shoes bite on little toe, when ordering the next pair, go a size up especially for the width.