Put a Spring in Your Step!
Treating Your Feet!
Before you start thinking about sandals, bare feet or peep-toe shoes, check out what’s been hiding in your boots all winter!
Any sign of dry, cracked heels? Rough skin? Dry patches?
Start a little tender care regime for your feet – just as you do with your skin and hair – and be ready to bare all!
Don’t let the good weather days ambush you suddenly!
For What it’s Worth
If the idea of footcare seems like adding to an already-packed day, think about what it’s worth to you: Your feet carry you everywhere you go. They withstand a beating everyday, especially for anyone who wears high heels. A little foot pampering and attention will ensure you notice them, and may spot problems such as corns, calluses, athlete’s foot, bunions, ingrown toenails etc before they make your life a misery.
Remember – your feet have the highest concentration of nerve endings in your body!
Play Footsie with a Foot Soak!
Soaking your feet will start to soften the harder skin to make it easier to slough off.
An excellent soak for feet is to mix 2 – 4 teaspoons of sea salt in a pint of warm water. Allow your feet to soak in the water for 10 -15 minutes. (If you have the fungal condition of athlete’s foot, do this daily until it is cured)
You can Play a little Footsie by adding marbles or small smooth pebbles to the water for your toes to play with! This will flex the toes. Or roll your feet over them to stimulate and activate pressure points, massaging and soothing tired fee.
Why use a Foot Scrub?
Exfoliation does more than just get rid of dead skin – it also encourages and improves circulation, which can help soothe stiff, aching feet. You are essentially revitalizing the feet – and that’s good for the rest of you.
Salt Scrubs typically contain ingredients that stimulate circulation and condition the skin while sloughing away dead skin cells. Pure essential oils such as the ones in Gifted by Nature peppermint soap and in our lemongrass oil also help to eliminate odours as well as being antiseptic and cleansing.
How to Exfoliate your Feet
You will get a better result with the right tools such as a pumice stone (as in our Smoothing Scrub Pressie Pouch) or foot file.
After soaking the feet as above, take a little of the salt scrub onto a pumice stone and scrub hard with a back and forth motion around and under the heels. Move on to the ball of the foot, then the bottoms of the toes. Do the sides of the foot as well. Use firm strokes, but it shouldn’t hurt.
Take the scrub on your hands and massage all over the top of your foot – don’t use the pumice stone here – rubbing in between toes.
Rinse off in the warm water – add more if it’s cooled too much. Leave one foot to soak further while you do the other.
Remove feet and wrap in a warm towel, patting dry.
Moisturiser and Foot Socks
Ideally, the feet should then be coated in a rich, moisturizing cream – especially one containing shea butter which is wonderfully penetrating for smooth and supple skin. (Our Organic Velvet Balm for example)
If you can, cover up now with light cotton or bamboo socks so your skin can breathe, but you don’t get cream everywhere.
With regular treatment and treats like this, your feet will be smooth and supple and look beautiful.
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