detox foot bath at home
Of late, we have been hearing a lot about ‘detox foot baths’. But what is a detox foot bath? What are the benefits associated with it? Can we try going for a homemade detox foot bath? Well, if you too have been wondering about these various aspects of detox foot baths, I am sure this article will help you get your doubts cleared.
Did you know that a detox foot bath is often referred to as a ‘medical marvel’? In fact, it is claimed by practitioners that after the treatment is successfully done, the water tends to turn dark and rusty in colour, which in turn, is the result of toxins being extracted out of your body! Now, that sounds interesting, doesn’t it? Let us find out some the other significant details associated with detox foot bath.
There have been debates regarding whether or not you really get to benefit so much and doctors as well as scientists tend to have different opinions. However, a detox foot bath definitely gives you a revitalizing effect and you feel relaxed.
Homemade Detox Foot Bath Recipe
You can certainly like to try out a homemade detox bath recipe by mixing a cup of sea salt and a cup of Epsom salt with two cups of baking soda. Now fill a tub with hot water in which you can immerse your feet comfortably. Pour the mixture in the tub and sit with your feet immersed for about half an hour. This unique combination of salts and hot water is known to draw toxins from your system and offer you a refreshing feeling! After bathing your feet, use a natural fibre foot brush for exfoliating your feet and then, smother your feet with fresh aloe vera gel. Do it regularly for a week and then, switch over to a twice a week schedule during the next month. After that, do it once every week to make the most of this homemade treatment.
Ionic Detox Foot Baths: The Procedure and Treatment
Choose to go for the treatment at your favourite wellness centre or a reputed spa that provides specialised ionic detox foot bath services. During the treatment, warm saltwater is ionized while you relax and breathe easy. Your feet enjoy bathing and in the meantime, your body does away with toxins through the minute pores on your feet. These toxins are often the result of unhealthy food habits and certain medical conditions. Two electrodes are immersed in the tub of water containing salt and electrode. An electric current passes through the water, and the water gets discoloured, supposedly because of the toxins released from your body.
Whether you go for it at a nearby spa or make the most of it using a homemade foot bath treatment, the detox foot bath treatment is surely worth a try! When do you plan to give it a shot?
We demand a lot from our feet. They carry our bodies around all day, often from within uncomfortable shoes. It’s no wonder many of us end up with blisters, pain, odor, and fungus like athlete’s foot. But there is a simple solution to your woes, and it’s in your kitchen.
Why vinegar?
Vinegar is a diluted form of acetic acid that is both versatile and harmless. We use it to cook and clean — and to treat our tired, aching, stinky feet. According to one study, the antifungal activity of vinegar is more powerful than that of other food preservatives, all while being safe enough to eat. It’s this action that’s credited for some of its most notable benefits.
A note: You should avoid the treatments listed below if you have diabetes. People with diabetes should have their healthcare team treat any foot issues they have.
For athlete’s foot
Athlete’s foot is a fungal infection that affects the toes. The toes appear red and the skin may peel. Athlete’s foot often burns and itches.
For mild forms of this condition, a vinegar soak works well. The antifungal properties also make vinegar soaks a good idea for people who have toenail fungus. Soak your feet for 10 to 15 minutes daily in a vinegar bath until the infection subsides. It may take 2 to 3 weeks or longer to see improvement in symptoms. Improved symptoms indicate that you have treated the fungal infection long enough.
If the symptoms don’t improve, of if they worsen or spread up the foot, you should seek medical attention. If you note increased dryness and cracking, you may need to decrease your soaking to a couple times per week instead of daily.
For foot odor
Vinegar can also disinfect the feet. This helps eliminate or reduce foot odor by getting rid of the bacteria that make them smell.
Before soaking, wash your feet thoroughly with soap and water. Then relax with your feet in a vinegar soak.
In addition to soaking, lifestyle choices are important to consider when treating foot odor. For example, try wearing shoes made of leather or canvas. These allow your feet to breathe, unlike shoes made from plastic materials. Also, wear breathable cotton or wool socks. When you’re at home, go barefoot.
Vinegar is a mild exfoliator, so you can also use it to treat callouses and warts. After soaking, you can file your feet with a pumice stone to help rid it of hardened skin. You can also apply vinegar directly to the affected areas with a cotton ball.
Vinegar foot soaks can also soothe dry, cracked feet. Use cool water, as hot water has a tendency to dry out your skin. Soak nightly, then moisturize your feet and put on socks. Soaking too often or for too long may cause your feet to get even drier, so use this soak sparingly for dry and cracked feet.
Vinegar will not hurt your feet, but you should still dilute it for a foot soak. Generally, using 1 part vinegar to 2 parts water is a good ratio.
While the soak will smell strong, the odor will dissipate after the vinegar dries from your feet. You can also use essential oils to change the scent slightly.
Takeaway
Vinegar is an inexpensive and easy-to-find remedy for a variety of foot ailments. Not to mention, soaking your feet after a long day can be quite relaxing.
If you find a daily bath to be too much for you, reduce it to two to three times a week. The opinions on what a good frequency is are mixed, so listen to your body’s responses and adjust.
Before using Epsom salt, consult with a health care professional, especially if you have a specific condition or any concerns regarding its effects and interactions.
The baths for weight loss should not be used if you are pregnant, have high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, kidney stones or kidney disease.
Many health conscious people realize that gentle cleansing baths are a necessary undertaking in our polluted world. From the many emails I receive on the subject, however, a basic bathtub is surprisingly not available in some living complexes. In those situations, a foot detox is absolutely the next best thing!
A relaxing foot soak is also a good way to destress while watching a movie or reading a book in the living room. It is also preferable to a full body bath if you live in a warm climate and the thought of a hot detox bath is not appealing. I can relate! No detox baths for me during June, July and August!
If the idea of a foot soak is something you would like to try, below are some health boosting recipes for you to consider. Depending on your physical condition and health status, one particular foot detox recipe may prove preferable to another.
Before we get started on the how-to, let’s discuss the what.
Detox foot bathing is best accomplished when the soak itself won’t contribute additional toxins to the process. In other words, it is best to avoid the use of a plastic foot tub if at all possible. Adding hot water and ingredients like vinegar have the potential to leech chemicals into the water. This would be counterproductive to the cleansing process.
If detoxing the feet is something you will be doing often, it is probably best to invest in a wooden mini tub or large porcelain bowl.
A galvanized bucket is a budget friendly, nontoxic option as well.
While a plastic foot spa works fine for alkaline soaks in warm (not hot) water, it is not ideal for all foot detox recipes like those using vinegar.
A soak in epsom salt is probably the most popular way to sooth and detox the feet.
If there are any bruises or an injury like a sprain or plantar fasciitis present, dissolve 2 cups of epsom salt into a gallon warm to hot water. A water temperature of about 100-102 °F/ 38-39 °C is ideal. Add additional hot water to fill the foot tub and soak for 20-40 minutes.
An epsom salt foot detox is not appropriate if there are any open ulcers or wounds present on the skin.
It is not a good idea to add vinegar to the water in the foot tub as the acidity of the vinegar competes with the alkalizing effect of the epsom salt. This renders the foot detox less effective. Feel free to add a few drops of essential oils if you desire instead.
I prefer epsom salt to magnesium flakes as epsom salt contains both magnesium and sulfur. Many people are deficient in both of these critical minerals. Sulfur, in particular, is important for effective detoxification. Magnesium flakes, on the other hand, contain magnesium and chloride. They also tend to be significantly more expensive.
A vinegar soak is very helpful for an all purpose foot detoxification effect. I prefer raw apple cider vinegar (ACV) packed in glass for this purpose (sources). This is because vinegar packed in plastic will leech toxins into the vinegar. These toxins will end up in your detoxing foot bath.
In addition, GMO corn is the typical crop used to make conventional white vinegar, so beware!
If the price of quality apple cider vinegar deters you, try making ACV yourself. Note that some brands of ACV packed in glass are pasteurized and not raw. Read the label carefully to know what you are buying!
Wine vinegars can be used for foot soaks but tend to have an overly strong smell in my experience.
To do a vinegar foot soak, add 1 cup of ACV to a foot tub filled with warm to hot water and soak for 20 minutes. Again, a water temperature of about 100-102 °F/ 38-39 °C works well. Step out onto a towel and gently dry feet without rinsing. The ph balancing effect of the vinegar on the skin serves as a deodorant that helps keep tootsies sweet smelling.
I don’t suggest adding essential oils to a vinegar detox. Doing so may interfere with the pH balancing effect of the vinegar on the skin of the feet.
Keep your feet in the foot tub for about 45 minutes until the water has cooled down. If the foot bath is too hot, you can add some cold water if this is the only way you can manage to stay in for at least 30 minutes. Don’t add more hot water after beginning the foot soak, however.
Do not rinse the feet but simply pat them dry with a towel when the detox is complete. This foot bath may leave you very tired so do it before a nap or in the evening before bed if possible.
According to Dr. Hazel Parcells, this bath recipe is therapeutic for any exposure to environmental radiation, x-rays, plane flights or airport screenings by TSA
I don’t personally use bentonite clay for soaking the feet or the body for two reasons. First, it makes a bit of a mess to mix and clean up afterwards especially if a foot bath is used. Secondly, there is some concern that unless you are very comfortable with your source, the clay could be contaminated with lead. While lead is a naturally occurring mineral, the levels in bentonite clay according to some tests are unnaturally high according to the FDA
Again, if you are very comfortable with your source, then by all means use clay for detoxing. As for me, there are plenty of other foot detox choices available that are very effective, so I don’t choose to use bentonite clay.
To use bentonite clay (also called montmorillonite clay) for a foot detox bath, mix 1 cup of clay in a foot tub half filled with warm to hot water (about 100-102 °F/ 38-39 °C). Mix well with a whisk until all the clumps are dissolved. You might want to wear a mask so that you don’t inhale any clay dust.
Fill the rest of the tub with warm to hot water and soak your feet for a minimum of 10 minutes to as long as 40 minutes. Rinse you feet and pat dry with a towel. The clay foot soak will help remove dead skin and leave the feet soft and smooth. The negative ions in the clay will also help draw out impurities and detoxify the body.
Some sources say that a 10 minute foot soak in 1/4 cup of Listerine mouthwash, 1/4 cup of white vinegar, and 1/2 cup of warm water will leave your feet soft and free of dead skin. While the experience will definitely tingle your tootsies, it won’t really remove dead skin as promised. An organic pedicure will do the job much better!
As for detoxing, given all the chemicals in Listerine including the preservatives benzoic acid, sodium benzoate, and carcinogenic caramel coloring, don’t count on the process helping to cleanse much of anything.
If you desire the antiseptic nature of Listerine to help with infections on the feet or ankles, then simply do a hydrogen peroxide soak instead. Add a cup of 3% food grade H2O2 to the warm water in foot bath and soak for 20 minutes for a chemical free experience!
