Is Wearing Two Insoles Bad?

In the world of footwear, a common question among many people has been the same for years, “is wearing two insoles bad?”

The answer is No. Not in itself. While using two insoles in your shoes may make it feel very tight, however, if your shoes are way bigger, two insoles will help make them fit better if you are unwilling to return the shoe.

Note that, two insoles will probably not add more comfortability or more cushioning to your feet unless you remove the original insole in the shoe and replace it with an orthotic insole.

Although some people solve certain footwear problems with the adoption of double insoles, it doesn’t work quite well for others. It is a thing of “same doings and different strategies.”

Reasons why people wear two insoles?

Table of Contents

Is Wearing Two Insoles Bad

For arch support and padding
To solve foot problems
To cover up for too much shoe room

For arch support and padding

Sometimes people need the perfect blend of padding and arch support underneath their feet. This reason calls for the use of two insoles.

While there are insoles that are very soft and provide little or no arch support. There are some that provide excellent arch support and are moderately stiffer.

It is only good that you stack shoes that come with the former using the latter. That will be a perfect blending of padding and arch support. The added insole will help eliminate overpronation, especially when put in dress shoes.

A major culprit of foot fatigue is long-distance walking. Pressure gets built in your feet and travels up across bringing pains to your hips, knee, and back.

Other factors that cause this are bad gait and wrong shoes. Slicker shoes, especially at the bottom, with worn-out soles and heels will further increase your pains and stress.

In a case like this, you must put an added sole on the existing one so that certain parts of your foot get relieved of your weight for comfort.

Although, when people are faced with the need to improve the level of insole impact and opt for a better insole, they sometimes just want to take off the one inside and put a better one.

People most times do not mean to add extra insoles to the existing ones, but they are left with no choice in cases where the existing insoles are not removable.

This is a common case with casual Van sneakers and dress shoes.

To solve foot problems

Another reason why people use two insoles is to ease the pain that comes with some foot problems ranging from ba union, metatarsus adductus, ball of foot pain, or Norton’s neuroma.

All of the aforementioned foot problems need extra padding and cushioning underneath your feet. Especially if you’re going to be standing for long hours.

You just need to ensure that the size of the new orthotic insole you’re stacking perfectly sits well on the existing one or the footbed of the shoe in a way that will not overlap to cause discomfort.

To cover up for too much shoe room

The sides and upper of your shoes become lopsided from emptiness when there is too much space in your shoe.

This isn’t even much of a problem that poses a threat to your foot’s safety. The main reason is your shoe will cause you imbalance and lose its shock absorbency when there’s too much space in it.

Appearance-wise, footwear, especially converse, do not look good when there is too much space inside. The factory shape turns out different and becomes an eyesore when laced. Other people opt for small pieces of clothes to fill these spaces up.

The spaces are usually the toe area. While this method works to an extent, it always results in discomfort as the pieces of clothes change direction on their own accord. The one solution that solves this is the use of an extra insole.

The insertion of the extra midsole pushes up your mid arch such that it gets in more contact with your shoe’s upper. This way, your foot, and the shoe become more of a single component, hence there is balance.

Factors to consider before using two insoles

Custom orthotic insole
Design and compatibility
Material

Customer orthotic insole

As one of the main reasons people opt for double insoles is due to foot problems, people don’t get just any sole and use. It is usually custom orthotic insoles.

Your custom orthotic insole, as provided by your specialist, is specifically designed to fit your feet’s anatomy and help ease whatever pain there is.

But it can only function properly when aligned and sits properly over the existing insole on your shoe’s footbed.

It is only through this way that you can create a level plane to give your feet the perfect even support.

An added insole that doesn’t sit well will be an undoing to your feet, leading to joint discomfort and increased pressure on several body parts.

Design

You must check to know if the design of the new insole you wish to add to your shoe is compatible with the said shoe.

Most insoles are specifically made to fit certain brands and varieties of shoes. As such, using insoles and shoes of distinct brands will lead to too much-slanted arch, reduced cushioning and constant shift and change of position of the new insole.

You should first compare your foot type and the insole if they are compatible. Some insoles are made to support the forefoot, midfoot, and heel – they all come with different designs and sizes specifically for the foot type they’re made.

If this is the case with you, simply make research on your foot type and the type of sole that should fit it.

Even insoles that are designed to help solve some particular foot problems will turn out to cause harm if used by a person with an entirely different foot problem.

For example, if an insole is built for arch support, it should not be used by a person whose feet need heel support. Insoles are designed to function differently.

Material

Consider the materials of the insole you’re introducing. While some insoles are made from materials that easily get deformed by little pressure, some last relatively longer.

There are also some insoles, when your feet sweat, their material makes them slippery if they are placed on other materials and not directly on the shoe footbed.

Other insoles are designed to hardly answer the flow of liquid such as when you sweat. Any insole that slips when on another insole has defeated the purpose for which it is put.

Are you supposed to remove the old insole?

The answer to this question is not a “Yes” or “No” type, rather, it has more to do with the peculiarity of the type of shoes and feet involved. Here, you will stick to what works for you.

But here is what you must know:

Understand that while some people do not take out the old insole before stacking in the new ones, others pull out the old ones before inserting the new ones, and the situation surrounding both cases makes both works.

In a case where you have a high arch and your shoe’s upper is not very high such that your shoes become less roomy when you put your foot in, it is only ideal that you take out the old insole before putting a new one to avoid foot compression.

But in a case where the situation surrounding it causes much room in your shoes when you put in your feet, then it is only ideal that you carefully place the old insole on the one therein for proper fit.

Do you remove old insoles when using Dr. Scholl orthotics?

You can either use Dr. Scholl’s orthotics shoe brand itself or the brand’s insole in another footwear brand product.

If you’re using Dr. Scholl, you’d have noticed the feel of a thick gel pad in the insole which feels like a lump under your feet. It is there for comfort.

But if like me, if you can’t get used to it and decide to remove it, carefully peel them off and replace them with any type of insole that would fit.

However, if you are using Dr. Scholl insole in some other footwear brand, and by virtue of necessity or discomfort, you need to make use of a new insole, you can either take out the old one before the insertion of a new one or not, depending on how roomy the shoe is to accommodate double insoles and your foot.

Do you need bigger shoes for two insoles?

There are different answers to this question depending on who you’re asking. But the bottom line is, your feet will be comfortable with any shoe that gives it the desired space.

With varieties of footwear in the market, finding one that fits your feet is not difficult.

Any footwear that helps with arch and ankle support is crucial to a person with foot pain. A person with this reality will need moderately roomy shoes for the insertion of double insoles.

Another thing to understand is, some shoes are big and not roomy, while some are roomy on the inside and not very big on the outside.

This fact eliminates the veracity of necessarily needing a bigger shoe for the accommodation of two insoles.

Shoe size sometimes isn’t a prime factor to be considered before considering two insoles in shoes. It mostly depends on your foot type, the new sole’s material, and size.

The shoe itself is not a core determining factor to suggest whether or not you should use two insoles.

Can you wear two different insoles in running shoes?

Yes, you can. If you are comfortable with it it’s fine. But the balance that most original glued insoles come with is not common in cases where there is the introduction of newer soles that are not glued to the footbed.

You should know that running is a type of exercise that exerts pressure on the footbed (where the insole lies) owing to the fact that jogging is usually done on the toe.

When you jog, your midfoot and forefoot pull the sole backward and cause a constant change of position of the new sole.

Except if you’d adopt the use of adhesive to hold both soles together and glue them such that there is little or no shift and change in position during use.

Is wearing two insoles better than wearing one insole?

Whether or not wearing two insoles is better than wearing one boils down to the reason you wear either one or two and the satisfaction you get from both cases.

While foot problems can make you pad up two insoles in a shoe for arch support and better cushioning, a person without the said problem will be cool wearing just one.

But having tried both, I can say that wearing one insole is better. It keeps your mind at ease because you’re not saddled with the burden of being too careful while walking so that there is no shift.

The right comparison should be made between good single insoles and good double insoles.

Not between a shoe with a worn-out (bad) single insole and another case with two good insoles. This comparison will be logically erroneous.

Nevertheless, except in cases where foot problems are involved, history has always proven that the use of a single insole is better.

Conclusion

The world of footwear has its dynamics. With the constant changes in trends and the advancement of fashion technology as it relates to health, it is pivotal that you should get abreast with every recent development so that you know how to properly combine a perfect blend of health and style.

I am dedicated to always bringing it to your doorstep. I hope that you read through and follow the guidelines.