Foot care

Feet are probably the most neglected part of our bodies. Most of the time no one cares about them until they are going to put on a pair of sandals. If you think about how much we put our feet through during the course of the day, they have to support the weight of our hole bodies, frequently in high heels or otherwise uncomfortable shoes, surely they deserve some pampering just as much as our faces?

I frequently spend the whole day standing up so by the time I get home if I am honest all I want to do is collapse on the sofa and eat something unhealthy. Instead I make myself follow a simple routine. If my feet are hurting I give it half an hour to let the heat of the day escape them (they seem to get painfully hot after a long day) then I wash them with water that is slightly on the cool side but still of a pleasant temperature. After I pat them dry, I will use one of the two products while giving my feet a massage.

Barefoot botanicals S.O.S. foot balm. This is a lovely foot cream that has a slightly lemony scent. It is very moisturising yet not heavy ( I really do not like extremely heavy foot creams, have you tried going to the toilet after applying one of those? not fun). When you first apply it feels cooling on the skin and feels like my feet are "breathing".

The massage helps with circulation and it releases the tension of the day. I do this even if it feels like my feet are too painful to touch, it is just the only thing that insures that I will not have any discomfort the next day (nothing worse than having feet that hurt from the day before, when you have to spend yet another day standing). One other reason that I like this foot cream is that it contains neem which is antibacterial. In the summer, when your feet tend to sweat more, they become more susceptible to getting rashes and so on, and neem helps to minimise that. I think it might be discontinued but there still are a few places that stock it.

Badger foot balm. My first ever foot cream had a peppermint scent and ever since then I have had a soft spot for peppermint foot care. This balm includes eucalyptus and peppermint and feels very refreshing when applied to your feet.

I mostly tend to use it when travelling because the little tin is just convenient and doesn't leak. I do really like this balm, it absorbs well and leaves a slight tingling sensation (lovely for tired feet), but if  my feet are very sore I prefer to use a cream as there is less rubbing involved. This balm is one of the few staple products that I tend to buy as soon as I run out.

I'm not going to pretend that I do this routine every single day, sometimes I forget, but I do it most days and always after a day standing up. I also like to use a salt scrub every few weeks. Skin on the feet is just like elsewhere on the body, it needs to be moisturised and looked after. You could use a body cream, I like these specific products because they offer benefits that body products don't (antibacterial essential oils) and also I am not a minimalist person I like to have different bottles for different things instead of one that does everything.