Beautiful You: Your Feet Are Your Greatest Asset
I have a sneaking suspicion that most women ignore their feet more than they would care to admit. After all, let’s face it, it is much more alluring to spend time dolling up your face–which everyone sees, than your feet–which you are more likely to stuff into shoes, socks, or slippers on a routine basis. Foot care is important for obvious reasons. Your feet carry the entire weight of your body around all day long. If your feet aren’t in good shape, chances are your face will have a sour expression too, so it’s worth it to take the time to treat your feet to some TLC every day. Here are some quick tips for keeping your feet in top shape…
- Don’t wear shoes all the time. You probably don’t want to do this in the dead of winter, but when spring comes around, take a day off from wearing shoes, slippers, or socks around the house and give your feet some breathing space.
- Give your feet a nice soak at the start and end of every day. (This is one of my personal favorites and something I practice myself.) Soak your feet in hot water and give them a little rub to work out some of the stress. Crack your toes if you feel so inclined, and don’t forget to rub your toenails to bring blood flow to to that area as well. I find it easiest to soak my feet in the bathroom sink while I sit on the counter; that way I don’t have to fuss with a wash tub.
- Mix a couple drops of pure peppermint essential oil with some unscented body lotion and slather it on. The peppermint will wake up tired toes and soak up the stress of worn out soles.
- Find a nice, thick foot lotion (such as Burt’s Bees Coconut Foot Cream) and liberally apply it before bed. Put on a pair of cotton socks and leave overnight. You’ll wake up with silky soft feet!
- Take a foot file to wet heals and scrape away at your calluses. Some callused tissue can be good to keep you from getting tender feet, but too much callus buildup can cause pain and discomfort. Be sure to moisturize after this.
- Take a nail file and go to work on your toenails. Focus on the corners as these can cause ingrown nails if allowed to grow too long.
- Stop work for a while and prop your feet up on some pillows. Allow fluid and blood to drain away from your feet and recirculate through the body.
- Ditch the high heels and stick with flats when shoe shopping. High heels severely distort the natural form of the foot, causing a myriad of foot disorders and misaligning the entire bone structure of the body, causing back pain among other problems.
- Have fun and give your toenails a nice polish, but stick with the non-toxic organic stuff! Most of the nail polish found in drugstores ranks among the most toxic substances on earth (think hazardous waste dump in a bottle). Steer clear of it and try something a little more human-friendly, such as Suncoat organic nail polish. Also be sure to use a natural nail polish remover.
- For a quick stress-reliever, take that laundry ball you’ve been using to de-static your towels and roll it around under your feet. The little spikes hit reflexology points and provide a nice release for tired feet.
Have fun, and remember to put your feet first!
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Great!!! will have to remember that… :)
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I do have a tendency to forget about my feet (until they hurt). However, I have fewer problems now since I quit wearing heels regularly about a year ago.
I will have to try a few of these things though because avoiding certain shoes is only part of caring for feet.
Thanks for the ideas! :)
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My husband bought me a mani, pedi and 1 hour massage for my birthday last year. I loved the massage and pedicure the best! I couldn’t believe how soothing it was to have the pedicure. Afterwards, I went out about bought pedicure tools. I kind of want one of those jacuzzi tubs for feet now. I also want to try those “yoga toes” thingies that help stretch out squished toes.
I used to buy those “ballet slipper” bedroom slippers at Walmart, you know, those inexpensive polyester stretchy ones. They fell apart quickly and made my feet stink terribly. Now, I go to Payless Shoes and buy real all-leather beginner ballet slippers. My feet love me for it. Unfortunately, if wear any size larger than a 7 you probably won’t find your size.
For my heels I bought a pair of character dance shoes in black. The heels are just the right size and the shoes are meant for dancing so they’re more comfy than many heeled shoes out there.
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