Thank goodness there are loads of foot soak recipes, methods of hydrating your feet, and various routines to help return my icky feet to glorious, soft, not-embarrassed-to-wear-sandals, feet! But seriously, there are tons of recipes, how the heck do I figure out which one will work?!
I didn't want to spend a lot of money (getting those student loans in the bag!), so I decided to go with one that used things I already have in my house. I recently bought Epsom salts (with lavender, ooh!) at Target (about 4$) with the intention of doing a foot soak, so I looked on my trusty time-vortex that is Pinterest for a recipe with Epsom salts! The one I found and used was this one, by Sherry at This House of Joy. I made the recipe smaller for my foot soak, since the original was for a detox bath. She did also warn against sitting in the bath for too long when you first start, especially if you start to get dizzy. Apparently the detox process is actually a thing. I thought it was just a "health nut" myth. You learn something new every day!
I also used a pumice stone, to scrub dead, dry, hard skin off of my feet, and coconut oil to rub on my feet afterwards to help keep the moisture in. Then I wore thick fuzzy socks to bed, even though it is just so hot here in SoCal.
I was so surprised by how nice and soft my feet were afterwards! I didn't think it would work nearly as well as it did! And if you're like me, and don't really treat your feet, ever, then this will help, but you may need to do it a few times. (I haven't done a second one yet, but when I do, I will take pictures and update!)
What I did (pre-soak):
1) Find a container big enough to hold the salts, baking soda, water, and feet
2) Set up a chair to sit in with the container on the floor
3) Boil water
4) Whisk together 1/4 C Epsom salts with lavender and 1/4 C baking soda, pour into container
5) Get out pumice stone
6) Get coconut oil & socks ready
7) Have a water bottle near by, and make sure to drink water, even if you're only doing this for 20 minutes.
8) Have a towel for drying your feet
9) Pour in boiling water, sit down, and enjoy as long as you like! (I did 20 minutes)
Because I'm a science nerd, I was super excited that there was a chemical reaction between the Epsom salts and the baking soda. It all started bubbling. ("ooooh!") Check on Healthy Living How-To to learn why you may want to use baking soda in your bath/foot soak (aside from the awesome bubbles).
What I did (post-soak):
1) Scrub each foot with pumice stone
2) Rinse each foot in clean water
3) Dry each foot
4) Put coconut oil on each foot
5) Put on socks
As I was cleaning up, I did get a bit dizzy and I realized I hadn't had any water while I was soaking. My suggestion: drink, drink, drink! I actually slept really well that night, too, which was very exciting, considering I'm someone who needs a lot of sleep in order to function, and I'm a new mom. More about that later. I want to know about your experiences!
Have you tried something like this before? How did it work? Which recipe did you use?
