Even though each month I spend three hours at a nail salon getting new nail art masterpieces carefully drawn onto my fingertips, I vehemently refuse to get a pedicure. As someone with extremely ticklish feet, I’ve found that it’s best to just skip the chaos that this would bring on all together. The only hitch? I also wear Dr. Martens and socks—no matter the season—and that means my feet are in less than stellar condition. So when the internet-famous Baby Foot ($25) came up in convo with my fellow editors, I enthusiastically offered to test it out.

A few things to know about the foot peel and why this might be a good time to give it a go: It’s not known for being subtle. User after user describes plenty of skin peeling off the foot after a few days of putting the booties on. It’s meant to leave your skin super soft, but I wondered how long the results would really stick around. And so, to see if they were right and to see how long my digits could remain baby soft, keep scrolling for my very honest experience.

Shop: Baby Foot Original Exfoliant Foot Peel, $25

What is the actual Baby Foot process like?

Let’s pause here to talk about the peel: It’s a combination of lactic and glycolic acids that get dripped into two plastic booties, which you cut open before putting on and tapping closed around your feet. To my nose, the formula smelled rather strongly of an astringent, but once I sealed them around my ankles, the scent went away. Then, I just sat like that with the plastic sacks around my feet for about an hour. Yes, it was mushy. Yes, it was moist. Yes, it made me imagine that I was soaking my feet in snail slime. No, I couldn’t walk around—but this was perfect timing for me A) to polish off a few episodes of The Office  and B) to Google what was in store for my feet.

According to Google images: So much peeling. There are images of skin coming off feet in sheets. In other pictures, heels flake up and look as though they’re deteriorating before your very eyes. It’s not for the faint of heart. After my hour was up, I waddled to the bathroom to take off the sacks and used a towel to wipe off the sludge and see if my feet would start peeling (despite the fact that the box told me this would last a few days). They had not. And so now… I waited.

What happens after?

About five days later, I had completely forgotten about the whole thing until I took my socks off and realized like my feet were—how should I put this?—flaking off. Like dandruff. And the more I touched them, the more the skin on my feet flaked. Instead of shedding foot dust all over my carpet, I opted to get into the shower and give them a proper scrub down. Half an hour later, I emerged with mildly softer and more buffed feet.

Note: You really shouldn’t be scrubbing or picking at your feet to peel off the skin, but gently washing them to encourage skin to move away is generally considered fine. When I was done, they didn’t exactly remind me of the feet of a baby, but they were noticeably less scratchy and more well-groomed, especially on my outer heel, which can become rugged and rough, resembling something like a single giant callus.

I didn’t experience any of the insane peeling that makes for ASMR viral internet videos (not sure whether this is a testament to my feet being in better or worse condition than I thought) but I suspect that should I keep this up with the same frequency and fervor I devote to face masks (once a month while nodding off to Queer Eye), I could be mistaken for someone who very regularly has pedicures.

How long do the Baby Foot results last?

I know you’re not going to fully believe me when I tell you that it takes a full seven (I repeat: seven!) days for all of the shedding to stop happening, but it’s a long process. If you tally up the number of days that you’ll need for the baby softness: That’s five for it to fully kick in and seven for your feet to stop shedding, which tallies up to about twelve days of lead-up to the super soft feet of your dreams.

All told, my feet remained super smooth for about two weeks following the treatment, which is really only two days longer than the whole thing took when I did the math. The results are pretty good, all things considered. Like, maybe my feet aren’t as soft as a baby’s but they are definitely better than they were. I still have some calluses on the parts of my feet that consistently rub up against my shoe. Once I cram my foot back into my shoe, the calluses do reappear, reminding me that there’s no permanent solution for nixing dead skin on your feet.

While the whole process is satisfying, from start-to-finish, it’s not exactly easy. If you’re someone who just needs to buff your heels or you find that you have dead skin that builds up in one place, you might find a foot file to be a better solution. However, if you want a show, then sign yourself up for Baby Foot, because the theatrics are worth the $25 all told.

It’s certainly not an instant cure but it is (another) pretty easy way to make it seem like you weren’t completely surprised by the sudden appearance of sandal season. And… if you have the time on your hands, why not go for it? Softer feet, in twelve days time.

For more foot related news, see the most common issues a pedicurist sees and the weird reason your pedicure seems to last longer than your manicure.