While flip flops can be minimal footwear and allow the foot to breathe, there are crucial differences between wearing them and going barefoot. Many barefooters believe that long-term use of flip flops can lead to foot pain due to the mechanics the toes use to keep flip flops from flying off your feet.

What's more, lab tests have shown that flip flops are often carriers of potentially harmful bacteria because people so rarely wash their footwear. Flip flop wearers may be in constant contact with organisms that can harm them, especially if there are cuts on the soles of the feet. When walking barefoot, your foot may come into contact with bacteria, but they are not carried next to the foot as with flip flops. Any organisms that are transferred by going barefoot will also likely be wiped off with subsequent steps or shielded from the skin by dirt on the soles.

Some flip flops have a raised or overly-cushioned heel, which doesn't allow you to stand or walk naturally. To find out what makes a good, minimal flip flop, please visit our Footwear page.

Finally, wearing flip flops puts a barrier between the ground and the thousands of nerve endings of the feet. Feeling the ground is a key factor to our feet and legs making miniscule adjustments as we walk. Any footwear that creates a barrier between our soles and the ground -- like flip flops do -- inhibits that.