Home-made Foot Balm

      According to an old saying, "Your heart shows you the path, but your feet carry you on it." Surely your feet - complex structures of 28 bones laced with muscles, ligaments and tendons - deserve a little appreciation. The weight they bear and the daily beating they take are good reasons to give them special care.

      Massaging your feet with a foot balm may seem indulgent, but in fact it offers health benefits for body and spirit. Balms keep the skin elastic and prevent calluses and cracking. Using balms is especially important for the sole because it has no oil-secreting glands. If you have a foot problem, from athlete's foot to sweaty or cold feet, you can prepare an herbal balm to give you relief. Don't take your feet for granted: If they feel good, you will, too.

Sea-Salt Scrub
      Scrubbing your feet with sea salt before applying a foot balm will help remove dead skin cells by allowing the balm's active ingredients to fully penetrate the skin. Soak your feet in warm water for 10 minutes. Then massage your damp feet vigorously for a few minutes with coarse sea salt, using circular motions. Rinse thoroughly and dry well. Then rub in a foot balm (below).

Application:
      Apply a foot balm generously to dry feet and ankles after scrubbing well. Use circular strokes from the toes upward to the calves; repeat this massage until the foot balm has been completely absorbed by the skin.

Wheat-germ oil for nourishment
       Golden yellow with a pleasant, grainlike smell, wheat-germ oil is obtained by cold-pressing wheat kernels. It contains high-quality plant lecithin and large amounts of unsaturated fatty acids. Its abundant levels of vitamins B and E smooth and nourish the skin, which make it an excellent remedy for dry skin.

Jojoba oil for rashes and inflammations
       The pea-sized seeds of this evergreen desert plant yield jojoba oil, a liquid wax which solidifies when allowed to cool. The many unsaturated fats in jojoba oil moisturize and protect the skin's surface; the oil also deeply penetrates into the skin to keep it supple. Jojoba has anti-inflammatory effects, bringing relief to skin plagued by eczema or psoriasis.

Beeswax to prevent moisture loss
       Unfiltered, unrefined beeswax is obtained naturally by melting empty honeycombs. It gives foot balms a creamy consistency and a hint of sweet honey fragrance. Beeswax contributes to the health of the skin by coating it to prevent dehydration. Plus, the propolis, or "bee resin," in the wax is a mild natural antibiotic that aids the healing of minor infections.

Essential oils for cold feet
       Cold feet are often caused by poor circulation. A foot balm containing the essential oils of ginger and sage will help stimulate blood flow. Ginger oil warms the feet, and sage oil helps reduce the perspiration that makes feet feel clammy.

First Aid:
 For cracked skin: Soak feet for 10-15 minutes in a footbath. Add ½ cup of baking soda to deodorize and cleanse. Dry feet thoroughly. Massage balm into the feet and then place a plastic bag over each foot. Put socks on over the bags and leave on for an hour, so balm soaks in.

Balms for Problem Feet
For Athlete's Foot


For cold and damp feet


  1. In a small double boier, heat the wheat-germ oil with the jojoba oil and the beeswax just until the beeswax melts. The mixture should have a creamy consistency.
  2. Remove the pan from the heat and stir the cream vigorously until it has cooled enough to touch easily with your hand.
  3. Mix the essential oils into the cream. Pour the cream into a small cosmetic jar and apply as necessary. The foot balm will keep for about 1 year.

CAUTION: Avoid sage essential oil if you are pregnant or have epilepsy.

Footbaths
       Treat yourself to regular footbaths. They help you unwind and soften corns and calluses. Adding vinegar to the footbath will also help guard against infections by reinforcing the skin's acid mantle. Add 1 cup of cider vinegar to 1 gallon of warm water and soak your feet for 10 minutes.
CAUTION: Avoid footbaths if you are diabetic. They can cause your skin to become soft and soggy, leaving it prone to ulceration - a serious danger if allowed to progress unchecked.

Foot Hygiene
       Thorough hygiene protects your feet against athlete's foot and inflammations. Bathe your feet regularly with a few drops of tea-tree or lavender essential oil added to the bathwater. The oils help to cleanse, refresh and deodorize.
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Sources:
      All information provided in this article is the result of research using (but not limited to) the following books and guides: Herbs for Health and Healing, Rodale; Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs, Scott Cunningham; Magical Herbalism, Scott Cunningham; The Complete Guide to Natural Healing, International Masters Publishers; Earthway, Mary Summer Rain; Teach Yourself Herbs, Susie White; Natural Beauty from the Garden, Janice Cox; Nature's Prescriptions, Editors of FC&A Medical Publishing, and The People's Pharmacy Guide to Home and Herbal Remedies, Joe Graedon and Theresa Graedon, Ph.D