BzzAgent Review: Dr. Scholl's For Her

Hey guys! So today I am coming at you with a review of the Dr. Scholl's For Her High Heel Insoles!

From the company's website, these insoles are purported to do these things:

• Helps prevent foot pain caused by high heels
• Proven to improve the way you feel in heels
• Unique ultra-soft FabuSTEP^® gel arch shifts pressure off your ball of foot
• Immediate and all day comfort
• Stays firmly in place
• Removable without damage to shoes
• Slim design won't make shoes feel tight
• Practically invisible, even in strappy heels

Now, I will begin by saying that I was SO excited to try these out! I am a flats girl 99.9% of the time because heels are uncomfortable to me! But I do work in an office where business casual is the dress code, and spicing up my work wardrobe with some heels is appealing to me - especially with the comfort and features that these insoles supposedly offer. So I couldn't wait to whip these out of the package and try them out!

Right off the bat, I will tell you that I wear either a size 10 or size 11 in women's shoes. So when I opened this up and saw that *wah wah wahhhhhh* these are the insoles for women with feet sizes 6-10, I didn't have high hopes that they would be very suitable for my feet. Normally, I can make things that fit size ranges work for me just fine. Things such as socks aren't a big deal... but socks stretch! Insoles unfortunately cannot stretch. So as you can see in these pictures, these weren't the best fitting for my larger-than-average shoes and foot size.

However, I was sent them for free and wanted to give them a fair shake and try to see if they made a difference for my feet, even if they were on the small side. So I put them in my shoes like I showed in the picture. I was impressed with their stickiness. They seemed like they would stick to the shoes and stay in place well. I did initially put one in a little on the crooked side, so I did peel it up and restick it down and it seemed like they were just as sticky as the first time I stuck them down. They did not leave a residue or stickiness whatsoever in my shoe, which was something I wanted to consider, because what if I didn't like these insoles and wanted to take them out? Or what if I did like them really well and wanted to put them in a different pair of shoes? So I loved the fact that they can move in and out of shoes, stay sticky and won't leave a residue! That is definitely a bonus.

When I initially put them in my shoes and put my shoes on my feet to walk around a bit, they felt pretty good. I could tell that they were short for my feet, but the heel and toe parts of the insole were both thin enough and spongy enough that I didn't feel an uncomfortable ridge under either place. One of the things they boast is that they're thin enough that they don't make shoes tight... and while that may be true in the foot and heel areas, the thickness of the arch area definitely made my heels stretch a bit tighter. I also do have feet that are on the regular to wide side. I rarely have ever purchased wide shoes, but sometimes my feet look too wide for some sandals in particular, so this is also a consideration for these insoles... they are not very wide at all. While that isn't the best for me, that is something that I'm sure a lot of women would consider a bonus, especially in heels which tend to be on the slimmer side than some shoes. But for me, they made the widest part of my foot even bigger, and stretched the straps tighter. However, like I said, even though they didn't fit the best lengthwise, I didn't particularly see it as an issue, even though my feet probably weren't getting all the benefits of the insoles.

Where I really ran into trouble was with the arches. The company website says that "the ultra-soft gel arch shifts pressure off the ball of your foot while providing guaranteed all-day comfort." That sounds awesome, doesn't it? However, I found that this arch support was extremely painful! It was entirely too high! And it hurt! And it wasn't the whole arch that was supported like that, it was only in an oval shape on the inner part of your foot. I took some more pictures to better show how high that arch support really is.

This last picture was on my steering wheel after I ripped them out of my shoes following hours of discomfort and pain! You can see how thin the rest of the insole is, but that arch is really tall! I found that even while just sitting, I was getting constant pressure and pain on my arches! It would be one thing if it were too much while I was walking around... but the fact that it hurt while I was sitting too was crazy to me! Who would want to wear these when they're like that?? So this was a major factor for me. I gave up after a few hours because I could not deal with that pain! I can honestly say that I considered trying them in another pair of heels to see if it made a difference, but the fact that my arches ached for hours after put on different shoes and took the insoles out made me reconsider.

I also wasn't a huge fan of the texture of the insole. I wore these with bare feet in my sandal heels, as most women would, but it's summer in Indiana and my feet did get some sweatiness going on. Don't lie, you know it happens to you too! And with that bit of moisture, these insoles stuck to my feet in an unpleasant way! It wasn't comfortable to feel like my feet were sticking to the insoles. However, with socks, stockings, nylons, whatever, that obviously would not be an issue! So if you're someone who never puts your feet into shoes bare, don't sweat that detail.

Now, one thing that I saw as a pro, that I know other people will as well, is the fact that they are slim and they are clear. I wore them with strappy sandals and no one would be the wiser that they were there at all. I meant to take a picture of my feet from the side while wearing them and just forgot. But you honestly cannot tell that they're there. I love that it offers concealable comfort for the girls who love their strappy heels.

To recap, my biggest complaints are the size and the arch support. I'm sorry, but something that's suitable for someone who has a size 6 foot will not work for me, who has a size 10-11 foot. It just doesn't make sense! For something like this, one size won't fit most! What makes sense to me would be smaller size ranges... maybe 6-8, 8-10 and 10+. How difficult would it be to offer insoles for smaller size ranges and also ones for larger feet? I am not the only girl out there with bigger-than-average feet! Payless shoes carries women's shoes now in 11s and 12s! Nike finally started making women's shoes in size 11! How can you assume that a size 6-10 is going to work for women with bigger, wider feet?

The pros that I saw were the invisibility of the insole... you really didn't see them when I had the shoe on. And the fact that even though they were short for my feet, they were designed well enough to where I didn't feel a ridge under my feet. I also think that the removability is a great selling point, along with the fact that they stick well.

This obviously is not something I would ever spend my money on. Insoles in general, yes....I've had Dr. Scholl's insoles before and had success with them. But these I would never buy. If you have smaller feet and arch support is something you're looking for, I think these could be really successful for you. I think it's a great concept for an insole, most women are probably looking for something to shift the pressure in their feet when they're wearing heels, but I don't think this was successful.