Feet covered in boots and shoes all day, dry air and lack of proper care can traumatize your feet in the winter. As we transition into deeper winter days, the feet start drying rapidly asking for more moisturizing, sloughing and scrubbing. But how to do it, what precautions should you take and what are the best ingredients to use for, for example, foot masks? We answer all your questions here.
1. Get rid of the rough skin
There is no point moisturizing dead skin cells in the feet. So before you moisturize your feet, it is important to get rid of the rough, hard, chafed skin first.
2. Soak your feet in warm water
What can help you get rid of the rough skin without punishing it with vigorous sloughing exercise is, soak your feet in warm water for about 10 minutes. Do not soak your feet in hot water because hot water can actually cause further drying. Soaking softens the skin that makes scrubbing it easier. Dry your feet using a towel.
3. Pumice stone
While your feet are still wet, use a pumice stone to slough away the dead skin. Rub your feet gently with the stone in a circular motion. This action helps remove the difficult calluses and dead skin cells.
4. Scrub your feet
You can make a foot scrub right at home for exfoliation and to keep foot infections at bay. You have a bunch of options here.
a) Baking soda
Add 3 tbsp. baking soda to a wider bucket filled with warm water.
You can scrub your feet with baking soda paste also for better results. Baking soda has anti-fungal benefits.
b) Sugar and olive oil
Sugar and olive oil or other essential oils is also a great option. The sugars granules help exfoliate the feet better. The olive oil helps to nourish and moisturize the skin.
c) Coffee ground
Ground coffee can be added to sugar granules in the mix above to make the perfect exfoliating scrub for your feet.
5. Apply a foot mask
Once you have gotten rid of the dry skin, it is important to cover the feet by applying a natural foot mask. Here we share a couple of foot mask recipes for you to pick from!
a) Oats and brown sugar
You will need rolled oats, brown sugar and a cup of honey in equal measure along with a tbsp. of lemon juice and olive oil. After you apply it to your feet, wrap your feet in a pouch to cover your feet. Let it sit for 10 minutes. After then, wash it off with a mild cleanser and water.
b) Banana
Take a softened overripe banana. Mash it. Add some lemon juice to it. Apply it to your feet. Cover it with a foil or pouch. Let it sit for 10 minutes and then wash it off with lukewarm water.
6. Moisturize moisturize moisturize
We cannot emphasize this enough. No matter what foot masks and foot scrubs you use, if you do not moisturize them at the end of the foot treatment with a recommended natural foot oil, the dryness is likely to come back. The fresher layers of the skin that have been exposed to the environment after scrubbing off the dead skin needs to be sufficiently moisturized.
Shankara’s Nourishing Foot Oil comes with the goodness of rich nutrients and antioxidants found in 22 herbs, actives and essential oils like sunflower oleic oil; sesame oil; kukui nut oil; jojoba oil; grapeseed oil; vitamin E Tocopherol; lemon basil EO; peppermint EO; butcher’s broom extract; dashmoola extract; neem extract; cardamom EO; cassia EO; camphor EO; lemongrass EO; tea Tree EO; manjista extract; lavender extract; clove EO; ginger EO (root); olive leaves extract; ashwagandha extract, that are deeply moisturizing and refreshing. They stimulate and energize your feet and helps to keep your feet clean.
After all the scrubbing and sloughing, when you moisturize your feet with the oil, the oil action is soft on your skin and the moisturizing helps to heal cracked heels, does away with the risk of infections from overuse of socks and shoes during the winters, while keeping away the dryness.
