If that new pair of shoes or boots are giving your feet a hard time, you can break them in quicker than usual with a bit of rubbing alcohol.


Obviously, the best way to break in shoes is to wear them around—the fabric will naturally stretch and crease where it needs to. However, if you'd rather avoid the blisters and pain that often come with breaking in new shoes, you can expedite the process with some rubbing alcohol. WikiHow explains:

Make a spray of 50 percent rubbing alcohol and 50 percent water in a spray bottle. Spray the inside of each shoe and wear for about 20 minutes. An alternative to this is to simply rub alcohol directly onto the parts of the shoe requiring stretching; put the shoe or boot on while still wet, as the alcohol will dry quickly. Another variation is to take a pair of cotton socks, soak them in rubbing alcohol and squeeze out the excess. Then put on the socks and wear with the shoes until the alcohol dries. Repeat several times if necessary.


It isn't the only method of breaking in new shoes (we've mentioned another method using a hairdryer before), but it should work well. Hit the link to read more.

Update: As some of you have mentioned in the comments, this trick will dry out the leather of your shoes, so it's best used on things like work boots or outdoor shoes, not dress shoes. Sorry for the vague information.

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How to Stretch New Shoes | WikiHow

Photo by Staffan Vilcans .