Foot Care Tips

It is true that most of us neglect out feet. Taking care of our feet normally takes a back seat when compared to other beauty treatment. But we need to take care of our feet if we want to stay active and comfortable all through out lives. Taking care of our feet is important as if they do get damaged then a simple job like walking can become a painful exercise. Foot care can be simple and easy. Here are a few simple foot care tips that are not only good for the feet but are relaxing as well.

* Take care of your feet regularly to keep calluses under control. Use a pumice stone or an abrasive foot scrub to remove the dead and rough skin. If this skin is not removed it will become hard and thick and can become cracked and infected making walking difficult.
* Give your feet a foot bath. Put a cup of marbles in the bath water and roll your feet around on top of them to stimulate the nerve endings. Pick up the marbles with your toes, flex and contract your feet and toes and then let go off the marbles. This will allow the arches and muscles of the feet to stretch.
* Get a foot massage once in a while. Ask a loved one to take time off to give you a foot massage. At the same time you can have a foot massage, which is extremely relaxing. Add a few drops of peppermint essential oil to your lotion for a sensational treat for your feet.
* The skin on the soles of your feet does not have any oil glands to soften them. So use a good moisturizer every day. Every night put a generous amount of cream on your feet before you go to bed and then pull on a pair of cotton socks.
* Every time you buy shoes ensure that you get your feet measure. Measure your feet standing and not sitting. The shape of your feet changes with age as a result of the daily pressure and pregnancy. Your feet are likely to expand and lengthen with age.
* Replace your shoes every 6 months as well-worn shoes lose their ability to support your feet properly. This can lead to feet, leg and back fatigue and problems. If your job requires you to be on your feet all day it is best you change your shoes every 6 months.

Natural Foot Care Products

The skin on your feet needs to be taken care of in the same manner as the skin of your face. You need to clean it, exfoliate it and moisturize it like you would any other part of your body. There are a number of foot care products available in the market. But you can make your own natural foot care products at home. These products are simple and easy to make and use naturally available material. Given below are a few simple recipes of natural foot care products.

Lime Cleanser

Ingredients:

* Paper towels
* Lemon juice

Take a bowl and mix half water and half lemon juice. Then dip paper towels into the mixture and apply on to your feet. This will soften, smooth and remove odors from your feet. This recipe does not contain preservatives and requires refrigeration. The shelf life of this product is approximately one week.

Strawberry Foot Exfoliator

Ingredients:

* 8 strawberries
* 2 tablespoons of olive oil or safflower oil
* 1 teaspoon of kosher salt
* ½ teaspoon finely chopped almonds

Mix all the ingredients together and make a paste of it. Do not blend too much as the strawberries have a lot of water and this will make the paste too watery. Massage it onto your feet, rinse off and dry your feet. This foot care product has no preservatives and has to be refrigerated. Shelf Life is about one week.

Relaxing Foot Lotion Recipe

Ingredients:

* 1 tablespoon almond oil
* 1 tablespoon olive oil
* 1 teaspoon wheat germ oil
* 12 drops eucalyptus essential oil or fragrance oil

Put all these ingredients into a dark colored bottle and shake it well. As and when you require rub into the feet and heels. Store in cool dry place. This recipe does not contain preservatives and requires refrigeration. Shelf life is approximately one week.

Relieve Tired & Swollen Feet

While most of you are too conscious about your face, did you ever think that your feet also require some attention? Your feet are the most used and abused part of your body. Right from the time you wake up in the morning, to the time when you go back to bed at night, your feet are constantly being used. Though most of us exploit our feet to the maximum, we rarely bother of consciously resting or relieving them. The result - extremely tired and swollen feet!! The need to relax, revitalize and soothe the feet, after a long day of standing, walking or wearing uncomfortable shoes, scores high on many people's wish list. In the following lines, we have provided some tips for getting relief from swollen and tired feet.

Tips To Relieve Tired & Swollen Feet

* The easiest way to get relief from tired and swollen feet would be to dip them in a bucket of cold water. You can even keep your feet under a cold-water tap.
* Another effective method would be to take cold drink cans from the refrigerator and roll them over the feet. It will provide relaxing effect, kicking away bouts of tiredness or swollenness.
* Place your feet on a pillow and rest for about twenty minutes. Elevated feet helps in getting relief from tired and swollen feet.
* Rubbing feet with peppermint oils and fragrant herbal oils are effective in treating swollen feet. Massaging would improve circulation, which in turn will reduce edema.
* This might come to you as a surprise but rolling a tennis ball under your feet for several minutes is an effective way of exercising the feet and treating tiredness.
* Take two buckets of hot and ice-cold water respectively. Soak your feet first in the bucket of hot water (keep it as hot as you can bare) for about 10 minutes. Thereafter, quickly switch to the bucket containing ice cold water for about 30 seconds. Repeat the process several times a day.
* Mix 2 tsp of castor or jojoba, 3 drops of lavender essential oil, 1 drop each of German chamomile essential oil and geranium essential oil in a small bowl and massage gently into your feet. Once you do this put your feet up for sometime. Wash your feet with a mild soap and apply nourishing cream on your feet.
* Massaging from ginger essential oil is effective for reducing swelling. Apart from alleviating pain and soothing aches, it also improves circulation.