Top 9 Foot Care Tips You Should Follow

Having soft and beautiful feet is a common dream of everyone. But, very few people have pretty feet naturally. Don’t worry because there are many products that can help you have beautiful feet. Besides, you can also follow some simple and easy foot care tips that can boost the natural beauty of the feet, ensure optimal moisturization, provide pain relief, and combat bacterial and fungal infections. Now, I am going to share with you top 8 simple foot care tips you should follow regularly to have the satisfied results.

1. Keep Your Feet Moisturized

Your feet become creaked and dry because they experience wear and tear. Thus, applying moisturizer on your feet is very important. You need to apply it a few times every day and especially prior to going to sleep. Remember to rub the moisturizer all over the bottom and top of the feet, including the toes when applying it. You also apply a little foot cream on the feet and slightly massage for about 10 minutes with circular motions before going to bed. After moisturizing, you wear socks to bed to retain the moisture longer if your heels crack during the winter season. You can also use natural products such as coconut oil, cocoa butter, or olive oil because these products help to keep dry skin moisturized. As using oil, gently warm it before use to help your skin absorb it fast.

2. Wash Your Feet Frequently

It is important to wash your feet regularly because they tend to get sweatier and dirtier than other regions of the body. It’s advisable to wash your feet two times every day. You remove sweat, dirt, and bacteria present on your feet by using an antiseptic soap or milk soap and lukewarm water. Never use very hot water since it can strip away the natural oils of your skin. You also avoid using hard water for washing your feet, since it can make the skin prone to dryness and make the feet more likely to crack. Then, dry your feet thoroughly with a soft towel, especially between the toes after washing. For drying your feet, keep a separate towel because water between your toes can cause fungal infections like athlete’s foot.

3. Massage Regularly

One of the easiest and simplest ways to keep the feet healthy as well as free from all types of foot problems is regular foot massages. Just several minutes of foot massage every day provides some benefits such as promoting sound sleep, helping you relax after a long and tiring day, improving blood circulation to the legs, eliminating pain and inflammation, making your ankles flexible and strong, and decreasing discomfort related to burning feet sensation. For this, you can use warm coconut or olive oil. While massaging, press into your feet’s soles in a circular kneading pattern with the help of your thumbs. Plus, pull your toes back & forth one by one gently to stretch them out and soothe soreness and tightness as well. For your foot massages, a foot roller also works well.

4. Exfoliate Twice Every Week

It is also important to scrub your feet and heels frequently. It’s essential to eliminate dead skin with exfoliation in order to keep the feet soft and smooth because the skin on the feet is thicker.  Plus, regular exfoliation reduces the chance of developing calluses or corns. You can easily fade dead skin cells by using a pumice stone or foot scrubber. Use a mild filing motion while scrubbing and avoid rubbing the feet too hard using the pumice stone. Before scrubbing, remember to soak the feet in lukewarm water for around 10 minutes. Alternatively, you can make a food scrub at home. Firstly, mix salt or sugar with baby oil to form a thick paste. Later apply this paste all over the feet and massage for 5 minutes in circular motions. After that, take a gentle pumice stone scrub. Use cool water to rinse your feet off, pat dry, and follow up with applying one high-quality foot cream. Keep your feet smooth and soft by exfoliating your feet two times a week.

5. Care for Sweaty Feet

For many people, smelly and sweaty feet are an embarrassing trouble. Perspiration makes the great environment for bacteria to nurture and ultimately causes smelly feet. The sweat and dirt can even cause athlete’s foot as well as other foot infections when they stay on the feet too long. Thus, to prevent foot odor, you should always wear cotton socks and replace them daily. Plus, to reduce odor, you need to keep your shoes clean. Try sprinkling talcum powder or baby powder in your shoes before putting them on to help to prevent sweaty odor. After you get home, take your shoes off to let your feet breathe. Avoid wearing socks that are made of synthetic fibers and excessively tight pantyhose because they trap moisture.

6. Trim Toenails Properly

To keep your toenails strong and healthy, you must trim them every couple of weeks. Make sure to use proper nail clippers and don’t use scissors. Don’t trim the nails too short because this can lead to discomfort while walking. Remember to trim the toenails straight across and later smooth the corners by using a nail file or emery board. Also, never trim the toenails down the edges or at an angle since this can cause ingrown toenails that can be quite painful and unsightly as well. In addition, remember to push the cuticles back and never cut the cuticles. Take some cuticle oil and apply it to your toenails, leave it on for 5 minutes, and push the cuticles back by using an orangewood stick. Ensure that you don’t push too hard, as it can increase the chance of developing an infection.

Note: Elderly people and small children should have somebody help them trim the toenails.

7. Use Foot Packs

Like your hands and face, the skin on the feet can be damaged from tanning. The feet often get darker in color and tanned because the sunrays fall straight over them when you’re out in the sun. Tanning can make the feet look ugly. Applying a few foot packs on daily basis can solve this problem. Below are two methods to make foot pack at home:

>> Method 1:

You mix glycerin, lemon juice, and rose water in equal amounts. Then, apply this foot pack on freshly washed feet. Leave it to sit for twenty minutes and after that, rinse it off to show brighter looking feet. For best results, use this pack two or three times week.

>> Method 2:

Alternatively, you can make another foot pack by mixing dried orange peel powder (½ cup) and some milk. Mix them well and apply this pack on the feet and let it dry on its own. After that, scrub off the pack with your wet hands and lastly, wash your feet by using lukewarm water. For quicker results, you should apply this pack three times per week.

Note: Before you go out in the sun, remember to apply sunscreen on the feet. In addition, during the summer, avoid wearing open sandals or flip-flops.

8. Soak Your Feet Regularly

Soaking your feet often will help to keep them clean, luscious, and soft as well. In addition, it will help to reduce foot odor, relax the body, ease stress, and rid the body of toxins. For a healthy and effective foot soak, one of the greatest options is Epsom salt. For this purpose, you need to add Epsom salt (½ cup) to 1 tub of warm water. Take any aromatic essential oil of your option and add some drops for added luxury. Then, in this water, soak your feet for a gap of ten and fifteen minutes. Rub your heels with the help of a pumice stone to get rid of the dry and rough skin. After that, use warm water to wash your feet and pat dry. Finally, to keep your feet soft and supple, apply lotion all over them and put on socks. For most beneficial results, apply a foot soak one time a week.

9. Use Foot Lotion

Using foot lotion regularly also helps to keep the feet healthy and soft. All you need to do is preparing almond oil (1 tablespoon), olive oil (1 tablespoon), wheat germ oil (1 teaspoon), and eucalyptus essential or fragrance oil (12 drops) and taking a dark colored bottle. Then, put olive oil, almond oil, eucalyptus oil, and wheat germ oil in it. After that, shake this bottle extremely well and store it in a dry, cool place. Rub it into the feet and heels with this lotion after you have dried and cleaned them.

In conclusion, to have beautiful feet, you should follow all the above-mentioned tips regularly. Have you ever tried one of these tips?  What are your preferred tips for beautiful feet? Share your thoughts with us by commenting in the box provided below.

By Mai Cao, a blogger with many years of experience on searching the best natural home remedies for beauty and health issues.