How to Stop Your Shoes Slipping on smooth surfaces

how to stop your shoes slipping

How to stop your shoes slipping?

First things first: I don’t recommend wearing high heels on icy surfaces, as shown in the image above. It’s really not a good idea. As most of you know, however, lots of court shoes (and especially ones with stiletto heels) come with very smooth, slippery soles which can make them difficult to walk in on ANY surface. If you’re a high-heel lover, I’m sure you’ve at some point had the experience of feeling your shoes slip out from under you on wooden floors, tiles, lino – you name it. I get a lot of questions about how to stop your shoes slipping, so if you’ve ever asked yourself that very question, here are just a few things you might want to try…

Sand the soles

The main reason shoes like the ones shown above tend to slip on smooth surfaces is because their soles are completely lacking in any kind of grip. One easy solution for this is to simply rough up the soles a little. You’ll probably notice that brand news shoes are the worst culprit when it comes to slippage, and that after a few wears they become easier to walk in, purely because the soles have lost some of their smoothness and gained a bit of much-needed traction. If you don’t want to wait for this to happen naturally, you can create the effect yourself by simply rubbing the soles very gently with a piece of sandpaper. (Alternatively, some people use a knife to very carefully “score” the sole of the shoe in a criss-cross pattern…). This method won’t miraculously turn slippery soles into sticky ones, but it will make them feel a little bit safer: just take care that you don’t go too far and end up ruining your shoes!

Buy some stick-on soles

If you’re worried about damaging your shoes, or are looking for a solution that will add even more grip, you might want to consider purchasing some kind of adhesive outer-sole. These are exactly what they sound like, and are basically insoles which go on the OUTSIDE. ALDO sell these for just $5.99 (buy them here), but any good shoe store/department or cobbler should be able to sell you something similar.

how to stop your shoes from slipping

 

 

How to stop your shoes slipping: Aldo outsole grips

Slip-on studs

As shown in the image at the top of the page, these are heavily-studded bands which slip over the toe of your shoe and give you a lot of extra grip. These don’t look particularly pretty, so they’re probably the kind of thing you’d save for very slippy surfaces on the walk to work, say, when you know you’ll be able to remove them again once you reach your destination, but they could come in useful in a pinch. Bear in mind, however,  that if the weather conditions call for this much extra traction, you probably shouldn’t be wearing stilettos in the first place! The product pictured is available at House of Bath, where it’ll cost you £10 per set.

DIY sole grips

If you don’t want to shell out for a professional solution, there are lots of different ways to add traction to the soles of your shoes, using items you probably have at home. Many people recommend using duct tape, cut to fit the sole, or glueing thin strips of rubber to create your own treads. I have a feeling this might end up looking pretty messy, and ready-made soles don’t tend to be particularly expensive, so I’d personally go for that option, but if you have a cheaper pair of shoes which you don’t want to spend money on, you could always try a DIY option. (Alternatively, if you ARE willing to spend some money, find a decent cobbler and ask them how to stop your shoes slipping: they’ll be able to work wonders.)

How to stop your shoes slipping

How to stop your shoes slipping: Lady’s Secret ‘No Skid’ soles at Sarenza

Hairspray on the soles

This isn’t something I’ve tried personally, so I can’t vouch for how successful it’ll be, but I’ve heard enough people recommend hairspray on the soles to think it must work to some extent, at least! This is obviously going to be a very temporary solution: hairspray won’t stick to your soles forever, and I’d imagine wet surfaces will render it useless, so this could be a better solution for shoes which will be worn indoors.

Carry some spares

These tricks are all well and good, but as I mentioned in my opening paragraph, there are some situations where slippery high heels are just never going to be a good idea, even with as much added traction as you can muster. Shoes are fabulous, but they’re not worth breaking an ankle over, so if it’s really icy out, wear something sensible to walk in, and change into your stilettos when you reach your destination. Those shoes will look far more stylish when you’re actually able to stand up in them!

How do you stop your shoes slipping?

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