Relieve Tired & Swollen Feet

While most of you are too conscious about your face, did you ever think that your feet also require some attention? Your feet are the most used and abused part of your body. Right from the time you wake up in the morning, to the time when you go back to bed at night, your feet are constantly being used. Though most of us exploit our feet to the maximum, we rarely bother of consciously resting or relieving them. The result - extremely tired and swollen feet!! The need to relax, revitalize and soothe the feet, after a long day of standing, walking or wearing uncomfortable shoes, scores high on many people's wish list. In the following lines, we have provided some tips for getting relief from swollen and tired feet.

Tips To Relieve Tired & Swollen Feet

• The easiest way to get relief from tired and swollen feet would be to dip them in a bucket of cold water. You can even keep your feet under a cold-water tap.
• Another effective method would be to take cold drink cans from the refrigerator and roll them over the feet. It will provide relaxing effect, kicking away bouts of tiredness or swollenness.
• Place your feet on a pillow and rest for about twenty minutes. Elevated feet helps in getting relief from tired and swollen feet.
• Rubbing feet with peppermint oils and fragrant herbal oils are effective in treating swollen feet. Massaging would improve circulation, which in turn will reduce edema.
• This might come to you as a surprise but rolling a tennis ball under your feet for several minutes is an effective way of exercising the feet and treating tiredness.
• Take two buckets of hot and ice-cold water respectively. Soak your feet first in the bucket of hot water (keep it as hot as you can bare) for about 10 minutes. Thereafter, quickly switch to the bucket containing ice cold water for about 30 seconds. Repeat the process several times a day.
• Mix 2 tsp of castor or jojoba, 3 drops of lavender essential oil, 1 drop each of German chamomile essential oil and geranium essential oil in a small bowl and massage gently into your feet. Once you do this put your feet up for sometime. Wash your feet with a mild soap and apply nourishing cream on your feet.
• Massaging from ginger essential oil is effective for reducing swelling. Apart from alleviating pain and soothing aches, it also improves circulation.

Natural Foot Care Products

The skin on your feet needs to be taken care of in the same manner as the skin of your face. You need to clean it, exfoliate it and moisturize it like you would any other part of your body. There are a number of foot care products available in the market. But you can make your own natural foot care products at home. These products are simple and easy to make and use naturally available material. Given below are a few simple recipes of natural foot care products.

Lime Cleanser

Ingredients:

• Paper towels
• Lemon juice

Take a bowl and mix half water and half lemon juice. Then dip paper towels into the mixture and apply on to your feet. This will soften, smooth and remove odors from your feet. This recipe does not contain preservatives and requires refrigeration. The shelf life of this product is approximately one week.

Strawberry Foot Exfoliator

Ingredients:

• 8 strawberries
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil or safflower oil
• 1 teaspoon of kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon finely chopped almonds

Mix all the ingredients together and make a paste of it. Do not blend too much as the strawberries have a lot of water and this will make the paste too watery. Massage it onto your feet, rinse off and dry your feet. This foot care product has no preservatives and has to be refrigerated. Shelf Life is about one week.

Relaxing Foot Lotion Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon almond oil
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon wheat germ oil
• 12 drops eucalyptus essential oil or fragrance oil

Put all these ingredients into a dark colored bottle and shake it well. As and when you require rub into the feet and heels. Store in cool dry place. This recipe does not contain preservatives and requires refrigeration. Shelf life is approximately one week.

Homemade Foot Scrub

The skin of your feet also needs to be exfoliated and renewed like the skin in any other part of your body. There are different types of foot scrubs that are available in the market today. However, since most of them are quite expensive, people tend to skip them altogether. Do you know that you can make foot scrubs at home also? They are almost as good as the market ones and also cost much less. In order to help you out, we have listed a number of homemade foot scrub recipes in the following lines. After making these foot scrubs, all you have to do is wet your feet, ankles and calf and rub them with it, using circular movements. Thereafter, rinse off with warm water, dry with a towel and apply a moisturizer.

Homemade Foot Pedicure Scrub Recipe

Lime Foot Scrub

Ingredients

• 3 Limes
• 2 tbsp White Sugar
• 1 tbsp Sweet Almond Oil
• 15 Fresh Mint Leaves (chopped)
• 5 drops Lime Essential Oil

Instructions

• Cut the limes into small pieces.
• Put all the lime pieces into a blender and form a pulp.
• Mix the lime pulp with almond oil, mint leaves and essential oil.
• Your lime foot scrub is ready to be used.

Sugar Foot Scrub

Ingredients

• ¼ cup Sugar (white or brown)
• ¼ cup Sweet Almond Oil
• 6 drops Orange Essential Oil
• 1 drop Ginger Essential Oil
• 1 tsp Powdered Cayenne Pepper

Instructions

• Take a plastic bowl and in it, mix together sugar and almond oil.
• Add orange oil and ginger oil and mix well.
• Stir in cayenne pepper as the final ingredient.
• Your sugar foot scrub is ready to be used.

Peppermint Foot Scrub

Ingredients

• 1½ cups Sea Salt
• ¼ cup Sweet Almond Oil
• 2 drops Peppermint Essential Oil
• 3 drops Lavender Essential Oil

Instructions

• In a bowl, combine together sea salt and almond oil.
• The mixture should hold well. If it doesn't and seems dry, add almond oil, by the tablespoon, till you get the desired consistency.
• Add peppermint oil and lavender oil. Mix well.
• Your peppermint foot scrub is ready to be used.

Brown Sugar Foot Scrub

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp Brown Sugar
• 2 tbsp Ground Oats
• 2 tbsp Aloe Vera Gel
• 1 tbsp Honey
• 1 tsp Freshly Squeezed Lemon Juice
• 1 tsp Almond Oil/ Olive Oil

Instructions

• First of all, you need to grind the oatmeal, in a coffee grinder or food processor, to a sandy consistency.
• In a large bowl, put ground oats and add all the other ingredients. Mix them well, until the mixture resembles a paste.
• Your brown sugar foot scrub is ready to be used.

Foot Care Tips

It is true that most of us neglect out feet. Taking care of our feet normally takes a back seat when compared to other beauty treatment. But we need to take care of our feet if we want to stay active and comfortable all through out lives. Taking care of our feet is important as if they do get damaged then a simple job like walking can become a painful exercise. Foot care can be simple and easy. Here are a few simple foot care tips that are not only good for the feet but are relaxing as well.

• Take care of your feet regularly to keep calluses under control. Use a pumice stone or an abrasive foot scrub to remove the dead and rough skin. If this skin is not removed it will become hard and thick and can become cracked and infected making walking difficult.
• Give your feet a foot bath. Put a cup of marbles in the bath water and roll your feet around on top of them to stimulate the nerve endings. Pick up the marbles with your toes, flex and contract your feet and toes and then let go off the marbles. This will allow the arches and muscles of the feet to stretch.
• Get a foot massage once in a while. Ask a loved one to take time off to give you a foot massage. At the same time you can have a foot massage, which is extremely relaxing. Add a few drops of peppermint essential oil to your lotion for a sensational treat for your feet.
• The skin on the soles of your feet does not have any oil glands to soften them. So use a good moisturizer every day. Every night put a generous amount of cream on your feet before you go to bed and then pull on a pair of cotton socks.
• Every time you buy shoes ensure that you get your feet measure. Measure your feet standing and not sitting. The shape of your feet changes with age as a result of the daily pressure and pregnancy. Your feet are likely to expand and lengthen with age.
• Replace your shoes every 6 months as well-worn shoes lose their ability to support your feet properly. This can lead to feet, leg and back fatigue and problems. If your job requires you to be on your feet all day it is best you change your shoes every 6 months.

Foot Care Information

It is important to take care of our feet, just like we do for the rest of our body. One of the reasons is that they also form a part of our body and the second is that they add to our overall appearance and personality. At the same time, our feet serve as an indicator of our overall personal hygiene. However, even while taking care of our feet, there are some things that we must keep in mind. Otherwise, in our enthusiasm to ensure that our feet are well cared for, we might end up damaging them. In talking care of your feet, you find the information given below to be quite useful.

Foot Care Information

Foot Care Dos

• While drying your feet with towel, make sure to wipe the area between your toes as well.
• Always wash you feet before going to bed, dry them well and moisturize with a cream or lotion.
• While applying polish on your toenails; always start with the smallest toe and move across to the rest.
• Always wear cotton socks with your shoes. Not only are they comfortable, but also let you feet breathe well and avoid foot odor.
• If you have any hard skin on your feet, rub the area gently, with a pumice stone or a skin file.
• Always cut your toenails straight across and make sure that they are not too short.
• While wearing a shoe, keep in mind the activity that you will be indulging in. For instance, you should not wear tennis shoes if you want to go jogging and vice-versa.
• Make use of foot powder on a daily basis. It will keep your feet dry and free of unpleasant odor.
• Indulge in walks on a daily basis. The activity is not only good for your health, but also provides proper blood circulation to your feet.

Foot Care Don'ts

• Do not ignore even the slightest pain in your foot, as it might be the sign of a major ailment.
• Do not apply any lotion or cream between your toes, as it can lead to a skin infection.
• While trimming your toenails, make sure not to cut down the corner. This might lead to in-growth of toenails.
• Never ever make use of a razor on your calluses. It might lead to an infection later on.
• Do not cut out a corn with a pair of scissors. Rather, make use of proper corn caps, available with a pharmacist.
• Do not wear the same pair of shoes everyday. It is better to alternate between different pair of shoes.
• Never ever wear socks or stockings that are either too short or too tight. They will interfere with the circulation of blood to your feet.

Foot Exercise

Our body needs exercise to stay healthy and function properly. Foot is also one of the most important parts of our body. It is this part of our body that helps in movement and therefore, demands appropriate care and attention. It absorbs a tremendous amount of pressure the whole day. However, when it comes to exercises, we mostly tend to neglect it. Excessive walking and pressure can lead to the weakening and fatigue of the foot and toe muscles. Performing simple foot exercises can go a long way in building muscle tone, relieving fatigue, preventing cramping, and foot pain. The best exercise for your feet is walking barefoot on green grass. Apart from that, you can practice a number of exercises to strengthen your feet. Some of the beneficial foot exercises have been mentioned below:

Foot Exercises

Foot Stretch
Sit on the floor and keep your legs stretched out in front of you. Now, loop a towel around your feet. While keeping your heels on the floor, pull the towel with both ends, using it to draw the middle of the foot and toes towards the body. Hold the position for 4-5 seconds and slowly come back to the starting position. Repeat the exercise 5-6 times.

Ankle Stretch
Stand straight, with your legs pressed together. Now, lift up one of your knees, as high as it is possible for you. Next, flex your ankle back as far as you can. Then, extend your leg forward, pivoting at the knee, and flex the ankle forward as far as you can. Repeat the exercise 5-6 times.

Marble Pick-up
Place about 20 marbles on the floor. Try picking up those marble with the help of the fingers of your feet. This exercise provides flexibility to your feet and also helps strengthens it.

Cycling
To strengthen the muscles of your feet, cycling is one of the best exercises. When you indulge in cycling, almost all the muscles of your feet are put to work and get strengthened. It also helps ensure proper blood circulation to your feet.

Toe Pulls
Put a thick rubber band around your toes. Now, try to stretch the foot fingers as far as you can. You can repeat the process for about 10 times. Avoid the exercise in case of any injury in the fingers or toes.

Toe Raises & Toe Curls
Sit on the floor and keep your legs stretched out in front of you. Try to curl the fingers of your feet and raise the heels of feet. Hold the position for about 5 seconds and repeat 4-5 times.

Foot Care

It is said that you can have an idea about the hygiene of a person by simply taking a look at his shoes or feet. In fact, the way your feet look can tell the other person much about your personal cleanliness. In other words, we can say that the health of your feet plays a much important role in your overall personality. Thus, it is quite obvious that people want to have beautiful and healthy feet. However, for the purpose, you need to take proper care of your feet, washing and scrubbing them properly, moisturizing them on a regular basis, and so on. At the same time, you need to wear comfortable shoes, which allow your feet to relax and breathe easily. Read on to explore some more foot skin care tips.

Tips For Healthy & Beautiful Feet

• Wash you feet on a daily basis, in lukewarm soapy water. Thereafter, rinse them with cool water, dry with a towel and apply foot cream.
• Whenever you get your feet wet, make sure to dry them thoroughly, especially between the toes.
• The best time to buy shoes is later in the day, when the feet are a bit swollen. The shoes that feel comfortable at that time will surely be comfy at all times of the day.
• If, and when, you go out in the sun wearing sandals, make sure to apply a sunscreen on your feet, just like the rest of your exposed body parts.
• Scrub your feet, especially the heels, with a foot scrubber on a regular basis. It will help remove the dead cells and make you feet softer.
• Before going to bed, wash you feet thoroughly, dry them with a towel and apply moisturizer generously, especially at the heels.
• Whenever you are applying moisturizer or cream on your feet, avoid the area between the toes.
• To keep you feet dry and odor free, make use of products like foot powders, foot sprays and specially designed insoles.

Natural Foot Care

Feet Soak

Supplies Needed

• 1 cup Lemon Juice
• ¼ tsp Cinnamon Powder
• 2 tbsp Olive Oil
• ¼ cup Milk
• Water
• Tub

Instructions

• Fill a tub with warm water and put the lemon juice, cinnamon powder, olive oil and milk in it. Mix well.
• Put your feet in the tub and let them soak in the water for 10-15 minutes.
• Now, wash your feet with a mild soap, dry them with a towel and apply a foot care cream.

Foot Lotion

Supplies Needed

• 1 tbsp Almond Oil
• 1 tbsp Olive Oil
• 1 tsp Wheat Germ Oil
• 12 drops Eucalyptus Essential/Fragrance Oil
• Bottle (dark-colored)

Instructions

• Take a dark colored bottle and put almond oil, olive oil, wheat germ oil and eucalyptus oil in it.
• Shake the bottle shake extremely well and store in a cool, dry place.
• To use the lotion, just rub it into your feet and heels, after you have cleaned and dried them.

Foot Care Routine

When it comes to beauty care one aspect of our body that we tend to neglect often is our feet. Your feet carry the weight of your entire body and if often one of the most abused and least cared for parts of your body. Foot care is very important in order to keep your feet healthy and beautiful. The skin on your feet is very delicate and foot skin care on a regular basis is a must if your feet are to look beautiful. Given below is a foot care routine, that is simple and is not time consuming and that you can follow a few times a week.

• The first step to good foot care is to remove the hard skin from your feet. You may have to use a pumice stone or apply cream generously on the area in order to remove the dead foot skin. Soak your feet in a bowl of slightly hot water. This will soften the dirt and the dead skin, which will allow you to remove it easily. You could use a foot file as well, rub your skin gently and rinse off the flaky residue.
• After this soak your feet for about 10 min in a bowl of warm water. Add some mineral salts or palm sea salts, along with a few drops of lavender essential oils that will relieve the aches and reduce the swelling.
• Dry your feet, especially between your toes. Trim the nails of your toes by cutting straight across the tip. Shape the corners with an emery board.
• Massage your feet with rich foot skin cream. Cup your hands on either side of your foot and with your thumbs firmly press the upper part of your foot while pushing your thumbs outwards.
• Gently massage the anklebone in a circular motion to remove any stiffness in the ankle.
• Remove the extra cream from your nails. Then place cotton wool tufts in-between your toes to keep them apart.
• First apply a base coat of nail polish and then apply a second coat if required. When you apply nail polish, begin from the middle of the nail with one quick stroke and then work outwards.
• Wait for ½ an hour before wearing your shoes.