Pampering Your Feet

Foot Care
A pedicure is not a luxury. Your feet deserve to be treated at least as well as the rest of your body. Warm water and salts soothe tired and sore muscles caused by high heels, new shoes, or long days on your feet. Exfoliation lifts off layers of dead skin cells and accelerates cell renewal, keeping your skin soft and smooth. Foot detox helps circulate blood and reduces pain in you body.

If you’d like to do some serious pampering, treat yourself to a sugar or salt scrub, foot detoxification, feet massage, hot wax hydration dip, or overnight hydration and peppermint foot lotion and foot mitts or socks.

What you’ll need:
Peppermint oil, crystals, pumice stone, emery board, peppermint, tee tree essential oil, mint leaves, foot roller, towel, foot file, shea butter, foot bootie/cotton socks, and moisturizer.

Peppermint Foot Soak:
Peppermint cools, refreshes and energizes. This soothing soak begins with a warm sensation that turns into a cool tingle. Begin by filling a large bowl with warm water so that the water level is just below your ankles, and then add one-tablespoon peppermint oil minerals crystals. Soak your feet for at least ten minutes to soften and refresh your skin, making exfoliation easier and more effective.

Peppermint Foot Mask:
To really refresh and hydrate your feet. Finish with a peppermint foot mask. Scoop out the mask and spread a thick layer over your feet, covering the tops and soles as well as in between your toes. Do not rub the mask in. Leave the mask n for 15 minutes, then remove it with a wet washcloth or rinse your feet in a tub.

Pumice Smoothing and Grooming:
To smooth the skin on your heels, use a pumice stone after a foot soak. Grasp the pumice stone in one hand and firmly rub it up and down from the back of your heel to the bottom of your foot. Continue until the skin feels smooth. Repeat on your other foot. Dry your feet thoroughly, especially between your toes. To groom your toenails, cut them straight across, filing any short edges. Then just as you would with your fingernails, gently push back your cuticles with a cotton-wrapped orange stick. You can also buff your toenails for a healthy looking shine.
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Cucumber Mint-Soak:
Fill a large basin with cold water. Add six drops tee tree essential oils; add a sliced cucumber and a handful of torn fresh mint leaves to the water. Place the basin at the foot of your favorite chair and ease your feet into the water. Tee tree oil has antibacterial properties and cucumber has a mild astringent, mint gives your feet a fresh scent. Soak for 15 minutes and dry your feet.
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Foot Roller Rub:
Place your right foot on a wooden foot massage roller. Press your feet against the roller and move it forward and back over the roller, varying the speed and pressure. Continue massaging for 5 to 10 minutes, then switch feet, but also to massage the four-reflexology zones of the foot. When pressed, these zones affect corresponding parts of the body, the head and neck, chest and shoulders, vital organs and lower abdomen and pelvis.
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Wrap and Rest:
Wrap your feet in a towel, elevate them, and relax for 10 minutes. Wrapping your feet keeps them warm prompting for complete relaxation. And deep absorption of the lotion and ensuring maximum hydration. Elevating tired feet and ankles reduce fluid retention and helps improve circulation.
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Heel Filing:
While your feet are still damp, use a foot file to remove hard, dead skin. Most people have hard skin on their heels; other likely spots include the balls of the feet; the bottoms of your big toes, and the tops of your little toes. Using a firm back-and-forth motion, file the hard skin of these points. Stop filing every few strokes to feel your skin; when it no longer feels rough, move on to the next area (stop at any sign of pain). If your feet are severely dry and cracked it may take several treatments to smooth them.
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Overnight Foot Hydration:
Hydrate your newly pampered feet with shea butter balm or other body butter or an intensive moisturizer such as hemp oil or deep penetrating lotion. Leaving a heavy application of moisturizer on overnight can have a dramatic effect on dry skin. Apply the balm generously to one foot then cover it with a deep moisturizing foot bootie (you can use a cotton sock if you don’t have a bootie). Repeat with your other foot then leave the booties on overnight.

Ella Patterson is a published author