Despite the cold weather, we may be experiencing in February, now is the time to prepare our feet for the summer!
Some of us are embarrassed about exposing our feet and give up sandals and slippers despite the warm summery weather (which may be just around the corner). We gathered some tips for healthy feet so you can feel more confident and freely show off your feet in the summer.
1. Make it a habit to have a foot bath
Fill a container with warm water and add a little liquid soap. Leave your feet to soak in the water for at least 20 minutes. Make sure to refill with warm water if it cools down. Do not skip this step before continuing to the next one.
2. Enhance your foot bath experience
Before putting your feet in the water, massage the bottom of your feet with sunflower oil. The oil contains fatty acids which are essential for the skin.
To improve your feet’s skin look and feel enhance the water composite by adding:
- Add 3 drops of lemon essential oil (or lemon slices).
This will help the skin look lighter in tone. - Add 3 drops of lavender essential oil.
This will improve overall skin quality. - Add 2-3 drops of geranium essential oil.
This will soften your skin and can be effective for extremely dry skin. - Add 2-3 drops of Rosemary essential oil.
The Rosemary oil will assist in healing cracked heels
You can use a combination of all of the above together or separately on their own.
To save you time on gathering these products you can click here to add the above recipe to the cart.
3. Buff and smooth the hard skin on the heels
Take your foot out of the water. Make sure you leave the soapy water dripping off and do not rinse them. Simply dry your feet with a towel and scrape the dry skin with a coarse stone.
You can also use fine sandpaper if you do not have a coarse stone, but that is not recommended.
Avoid a peeler that is made of metal, as it can cause damage to the skin.
You should now use an exfoliating cream. The small grains will help remove the dead skin cells and reveal lighter and softer skin. Softer skin will absorb the foot cream better. You can continue further to use a loofah to enhance the exfoliating effect.
Exfoliating Cream
Coarse
Stone
4. Quick shower hack
We all carry a busy lifestyle for time to time and you may not have the time for a proper foot bath. That doesn’t mean you need to give up. You can double up on the time you spend in the shower.
Whilst you are waiting for your hair mask to soften your hair, rub your feet with a hard sponge which is perfectly designed for the feet. It can effectively remove dead skin cells. Concentrate on the heels area, the back of the foot and ankles. This is normally where dead and unclean skin cells accumulate.
5. Soften your feet’s skin even more
Follow the below recipe to get even softer feet skin.
Mix 6 tablespoons of wheat germ oil with:
- 10 drops of lemon essential oil,
- 5 drops of lavender essential oil
- and 4 drops of patchouli.
Apply the oil straight onto your feet after following the peeling treatment above. If your skin condition feels like it could use further improvement you can even apply these oils twice a day.
If you would like to add all the products in this recipe to the cart click here.
6. Cut your nails
Sounds obvious, we know. However, it would be much easier to cut the nails when they are softened from the bathwater.
Make sure not to cause any damage to the skin on the sides of the nail as it can an inflammation. This can often cause ingrown toenails to develop. This happens when the corner or edge of your toenail curves and grows into the surrounding skin. This can be very painful and may require medical intervention. You should therefore avoid creating a rounded edge when cutting your nails. If you want to smooth the corners of your toenails you should use a nail file.
7. Use Foot Cream
At the end of your treatment and preferably at the end of each shower, dry your feet well. Take special care and make sure the area between the toes is well dried. When your feet are dry, apply foot cream whilst massaging well into your feet’s skin. Make sure it is completely absorbed.
If you are planning to go to bed after your shower, make sure you apply a generous amount of cream and wear cotton socks. The cotton socks will allow the cream to be absorbed while allowing the skin to breathe. You can use any type of moisturiser but foot cream works best. Foot cream contains a few ingredients which are particularly beneficial for the feet’s skin.
8. Fighting and preventing strong feet odour
The main cause of unpleasant odour coming from the feet is bacteria and fungi. These usually that feed on sweat, and flourish in a dark moist environment. You can dip your fit in warm water with a bit of vinegar. As vinegar is acidic it will help fight the fangs on your feet.
Make sure you ventilate your feet and wash them with soap and water allowing them to completely dry before you put on socks or shoes. There are some special sprays you can use on your feet or shoes or a talcum powder that can help improve the bad odours.
9. Take special care in public Pools or Saunas
The wet floor of the pool area and the shower that are used by many people are an ideal place for catching fungal infections. Do not walk barefoot and use rubber slippers to prevent such infections. The pool’s water itself is usually safe assuming chlorine in the appropriate level is being applied
That’s it. We hope following the above tips will ensure you feel comfortable to present your feet this coming summer. And finally, we hope, these will allow you to walk freely wearing sandals in the warm summer months.
P.S.
We really tried to make it 10 tips to improve your feet’s skin but we only manage to come up with 9. maybe next time. If you have any tips or tricks you use, we would love to hear them!
