Greetings from the lakes of Minnesota! I hope you all had a joyous 4th of July and are now taking some time to chillax and recover on this fine Sunday.
As promised, this week is a continuation of last week’s exploration of the wonders of our feet. Missed last week’s or new to the newsletter? It’s posted on the blog HERE. We will now pause this post until you get caught up.
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Great. Welcome back! So now that we all have a basic knowledge of the magnificent nooks and crannies of the feet and how we can tend to them muscularly, let’s have a bit of fun with developing a foot care ritual.
Whether you love primping your feet or avoid it at all costs, foot hygiene on even just a basic level is very important. Not only will you avoid being “that guy (or gal)” at the summer shindig with their claws out or stinking up the joint with their toe jam, but you will avoid nasty infections and injuries that can come foot care negligence.
Though I do have the perk of being able to write off my pedicures when I file my taxes (I know, right?!) I don’t have time or the desire to get a weekly pedi. Just like with bodywork, getting professional pedicures are a complement to my own weekly self-care.
The following is what I tend to stick to, but I share just for guidance. There are endless possibilities and products in this category. But I like to keep is super simple. So here we go.
*Disclaimer: If your feet are in pretty rough shape, I suggest starting your foot care regime journey with a pedicure. Have a polished clean slate to work from. My advice is for maintenance.*
Once a week, usually Sunday or Monday to prep for my workweek of walking on people and having my feet observed in front of a yoga class, I tend to my feet first thing after my shower.
After a shower or bath, the skin and nails of the feet are softer and easier to work with. I do my regular grooming with clippers and cuticle cutters and whatever else until they look nice and neat.
I follow that with a nice rub down of coconut oil, being sure to get in-between the toes and around the nails. Not only is it a great moisturizer, but it also is a natural anti-fungal, so it kills all the gross stuff.
This also a great time for a good foot massage, loosening up the ropey connective tissue and just checking in to how my little footsies are doing.
At the end of the day, to make sure they are fresh for the next day, I do a more thorough scrub. There are a million options for this, but my favorite is Billie’s Turbo and Shea Scrub.
I found this stuff at a craft fair last summer and I LOVE it. It moisturized and exfoliates, and keeps my feet and hands happy for a long time. And it’s made in North Dakota! Yay!
I scrub it along my heels and all over and rinse off in the tub with warm water. Dab and dry off with a towel.
Once dry, I apply a salve or lotion bar of some sort. I stay away from regular lotions due to a lot of additives found in them, but also, it doesn’t moisturize as long as a good salve does. Salves or lotion bars are made of cocoa butter or beeswax and various essential oils and other good stuff.
My favorites are made by Breathe Deep Naturals, Badger Balm, and The Honey Bee Soap Company.
Be sure to massage on your moisturizer of choice to the feet AND calves. Like I mentioned last week, they need love, too.
Then I put on a pair of socks to lock in all of the goodness and sleep with them on overnight. Then I wake up with the silkiest and happiest pair of feet. Ready to go.
Though I can usually get away with this regime once a week, more often in the winter. I'll repeat all or parts of it throughout my week as needed. And I do moisturize and massage daily.
And there you have it. Feel free to have fun with products and massage techniques and find what works for you, but the main principles to apply are cleaning up the nails, exfoliation, and moisturize.
Seems simple enough, doesn’t it? Skeptical of weekly, even daily foot care making a difference in your life? I challenge you to try it just for a week and see how your body feels. And tell me how it goes!