When you’re looking after yourself and enjoying methods of self-care such as massage and going to the gym regularly, do you think about your feet? Most people don’t, and it’s quite surprising. Feet are an essential part of our day – if we are not on them, we are still moving them around even when we are asleep. They take the weight of our bodies, and they pull us in the right direction, so taking care of them must be an important part of your daily routine.
Your feet are exposed to many different damaging conditions, and some issues affect your feet more than they affect any other part of the body – such as ingrown nails, fungus, and other callouses. Taking care of your feet is not that hard and learning how to manage psoriasis on feet or learning how to stop bunions from appearing is very important for your foot health. With a little more time in your daily routine, you can make sure that your feet feel as well as they can. If you are looking for all the ways that you can have beautiful feet, read on because we’ve got all of them for you below.
- You should regularly soak your feet. Even just for 10 minutes every day, soaking your feet will help you get rid of unwanted skin excess. If you consider how much your feet sweat and move within your shoes and socks throughout the day, you can also imagine how many dead skin cells are clinging on. If your face were facing all those dead skin cells would soon exfoliate them, so why should your feet be any different? Soaking your feet in lukewarm water is the ideal thing to do and you can add Epsom salts for essential oils or even sea salt for an additional touch. If you have normal skin and your skin is not too sensitive, you can even mix the water with mouthwash – Listerine is the best – and soak your feet for 10 minutes for better results. Only ever use cotton towels to dry them, however, because then you can avoid any risk of fungal infections.
- Buy an exfoliator just for your feet. There’s no need to buy an exfoliator for your face and share it with your feet but exfoliating once a week will help you to keep your feet feeling soft and supple. If you tend to be barefoot a lot, then you should consider exfoliating more than that. There are plenty of foot exfoliating creams that are sold in supermarkets and if you follow the manufacturer’s instructions, you can exfoliate. If you have a beach nearby, you can use the sand to help your feet to exfoliate just by going for a walk every day.
- Make sure that you are wearing the right shoes. While it feels lovely to walk around with no shoes or socks on, you need to make sure that you are not drying out your feet by just being barefoot all the time. Choosing appropriate footwear is going to help, as things such as high heels can cause bunions, and the wrong style of shoe can be detrimental to your body in general if you are flat-footed. Choose your shoes according to the situation, running shoes for running, walking boots for walking, and orthopedic shoes if you have conditions that are affecting your feet.
- Find a great moisturizer. Every time you’ve had a shower, and before you go to bed, you should moisturize your feet. The best time to do this is when they are clean because the cream will penetrate your skin properly and keep your skin soft. It works just the same as you would moisturize any other part of your body, and you can use it in everyday lotion, or you can buy one that is specific for feet.
- Get a pedicure. Have you ever treated yourself to a pedicure? It’s one of the best things you can do for your feet because not only will the technician look after your nails, but they will also smooth out any calluses and rough skin that you may be dealing with. When you trim your toenails, and you have them looked after by an expert, you can avoid ingrown nails that grow into the flesh and cause painful blisters under the skin. A pedicure can also help your feet look quite pretty, so make sure you choose a good nail Polish colour!
- Use a good pumice stone. If you don’t fancy going out for a pedicure, then just make sure you’ve got a good pumice stone on the side of the bath. When you are showering, you can use it on your feet and around your heels to make sure that your skin isn’t building up or dry. Dry feet lead to cracks, and those cracks can be very painful. You can avoid this with a better shower routine.
- When you have blisters, let them heal! It’s not the easiest thing to do because when you have blisters on your feet you still must go to work the next day, or you still must walk around. If you have a blister, it means that your shoes aren’t fitting you correctly, which can be detrimental to your spine. Always keep blisters clean, and don’t burst if you can avoid them. Use band-aids to cover it or blister packs to help you to keep it supported.
- Get a foot massage. We carry a lot of tension in our feet and when this happens it will become painful for us to walk. If you are dealing with sore muscles around your feet, then getting a massage can be one of the best things that you do for yourself. A foot massage often involves reflexology, so make sure that you speak to the massage tech and find out what kind of massage you will be getting first.
Each of these tips will help you to keep your feet as healthy as possible!
