5 DIY Simple Steps to Smooth and Happy Heels.

Summertime is Sandal Weather!

…but are you reluctant to sport your favorite pair of sandals this season?

At this point of the summer, many of us have been walking barefoot a lot, or have been frequently wearing flip flops.

Let’s face it, our feet might be ready for a little extra love. When you think about it, we often take our feet for granted. They are the unsung heroes as they carry us places all day long, every single day. From the minute we get out of bed until we retire for the evening, our feet take us everywhere.

My feet used to not be ready for sandals at all. Like many, I walk around barefoot a lot in our garden, in our backyard and even in our house. My feet usually show it. For this reason alone, I used to be very self-conscious and not wear sandals at all. But not anymore as now I followed these 5 simple steps.

When I recently attended a summer networking event, I received a number of very kind yet unexpected compliments about my feet and sandals. Yes, I wore sandals. And yes, I did not expect receiving such compliments at a networking event either but I guess my easy preventative steps are paying off.

What Are the 5 Simple And Easy Steps To Smooth & Happy Heels? 

Whether you get regular professional pedicures or not, here are 5 simple steps that will help you keep your feet looking and feeling healthy this summer. Obviously if you get regular pedicures, you might want to consider incorporating the below 5-step maintenance routine in between your regular visits, depending on the frequency of your professional pedicures. I typically get professional pedicures only during summer months every 5 weeks or so and maintain my feet in between with this 5-step routine. From autumn until late spring, I prefer to give my nails a rest even if I use natural and toxin-free nail polish during summer time. I just do my own pedicure at home without any nail polish and adjust the frequency of the 5-step routine as needed.

What do you need to start?

• medium size basin,

• warm water,

• large towel,

• 1/2 to 3/4 cups of Epsom salts,

• your favorite essential oils (optional),

• your favorite natural body or foot scrub,

• pumice stone, and a foot brush

• plus your favorite moisturizer/balm for your heels.

1. Fill in a medium size basin with warm water so your feet are fully covered. I always place the basin on a large towel so I can use it to dry my feet when I am done. Add Epsom salts (1/2-3/4 cup), and essential oils*. Let your feet soak in for 20-25 minutes.

Add 5 drops total of either: lavender (calming), geranium** (balancing), peppermint**(rejuvenating and energizing), or eucalyptus** (fresh and clean scent). All these oils are great for dry skin. 

**Avoid use: with children under 6 years old, if pregnant or nursing, suffering from epilepsy or estrogen-dependent cancer.

2. Get the pumice stone wet & gently rub in circles over the rough skin, especially on your heels. Sometimes, you might have to press a wee bit more to get the rough skin off. If needed, also use a foot brush to remove any stubborn dirt from your toes and heels.

Note: Personally, I am not a big fan of using a razor to remove the dead skin cells from the heels as I do not want to accidentally cut too deep into the skin, injure the healthy tissue and/or possibly introduce infection. I tend to err on the side of caution, so no razor for me!

3. If you prefer to use gentle ways to remove some of the dead skin cells, improve circulation and help with muscle tension, we suggest you apply and massage in your favorite foot scrub. There are a lot of wonderful natural body and foot scrubs on the market or you can make your own.

We enjoy natural body sugar scrubs made locally by @lavbloom2 . These come in several wonderful scents. My favorite is their Lemon Lavender sugar body scrub.

In general, I always stick with sugar-based scrubs since the salt-based ones might cause potential irritation in the case you have a minor cut. Once done, rinse your feet off.

4. Dry your feet & massage in your favorite moisturizer.  

Depending on condition of your heels, we like to use one of the following:

A. Are You Looking to Maintain Your Already Healthy Feet?

We suggest applying a solid moisturizer that contains some beeswax, such as one of our MyLotionBars rather water-based lotions that typically also contain alcohol, evaporate quickly and do not really hydrate the skin long term. They might actually be doing the opposite and unnecessarily be drying out your skin.

B. Is The Skin On Your Feet a Bit Rough?

We suggest applying heavier duty, balm-based moisturizer such as our Botanical Glow Calendula balm, or

C. Need Something Heavy Duty For Your Feet, Especially Those Super Dry Heels?

There exists a variety of natural options on the market that you can use in lieu of the traditional petroleum-based products. It is simply a matter of finding the right fit for your feet.

Again, we would just recommend that the product contains beeswax (in this case higher percentage) which is considered a humectant. It creates a wonderful protective yet loose barrier between our skin and environment while it seals in moisture. It has both anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties.

We like to use our Sweet E's Gardeners Hand Balm or as we affectionately refer to it as our natural version of the traditional paraffin (petroleum-based) application as it checks off the above boxes. 

Our Final Touch!

Many people only apply cuticle oil to their finger nails and cuticles on their hands, if they use it at all. We like to apply cuticle oil, both on hands and feet.

Not that we are partial at all, but we love our Wild Meadows Cuticle Oil. 

5. Apply your favorite heel moisturizer/balm 3-4 x a week before bedtime. Once I massage our gardener's hand balm in, I like to wear socks to seal in all that botanical goodness. Yes, we use our hand balm on our feet as like many of our products, it is multi-use. 

Note: I recognize that some people like to just apply foot cream or balm without including rest of the steps hoping that their heels will stop from cracking and being dry.

The key is consistency. Repeat the above simple 5- step approach as needed but minimum once a week at the beginning and apply heavy duty balm/moisturizer every evening until the condition of the heels improves. Use the above 5-steps as prevention. It is easier to maintain healthy heels rather than to react when your heels feel like they are cracked, dry and beyond the point of any help. 

Is Dry Eczema Preventing You From Wearing Sandals?

The BEFORE…

A few years ago, one of our sons developed a dry eczema that acts up occasionally, usually at most inopportune times. In addition to removing certain inflammatory foods from his daily diet, I developed two products that we apply to keep his eczema under control and are now part of his regular prevention.

What Are These Two Products?

THE AFTER…

When his eczema starts to flare up, we alternate between applying Herb Garden in a Tin, herbal balm loaded with amazing herbs and botanicals and our Herbal Calm for Eczema MyLotionBar, solid lotion bar containing locally sourced beeswax, herb-infused oils and our own blend of essential oils to help calm and soothe the skin.

Feel free to DM me @rodinabotanicals on Instagram or Facebook if you decide to incorporate the 5-steps into your routine as we would love to hear how it is going.

Enjoy rest of your summer and be light to those around you!

Anita

LESS IS MORE!,

in product ingredients +

application.

Anita is a founder and owner of Rodina Botanicals. Rodina Botanicals is a maker of small-batch, clean skincare products for the entire family.

We at Rodina Botanicals:

• want our clients to enjoy their life to the fullest and not be distracted by mosquito bites, dry cuticles, eczema, or dry and cracked skin.

• make all our products in Barrington, IL, U.S.A.

• use eco- and travel-friendly packaging.