Foot Love

Summer can be hard on your old tootsies.  Flip flops, hot sand, exposure to heat and dirt and water, long walks in non-supportive sandals, and funky nail polish colors can all take their toll on your dogs. My feet are a rugged, heinous mess after this long, hot summer.  In fact, I considered snapping a "before" foot photo to go with this post, but there was truly no filter or photo editing trick that was good enough to make them appropriate for public consumption.  And yet, I'm still sporting my flops around town!  Pregnancy hormones mean I'm roasting all the time, and 37+ week foot swelling means they are my only comfortable shoes.  I'm more than a little embarrassed to be showing such haggard feet to the world, so it has been on my list to give them some love.  Yesterday, with the rain pelting down and the little man down for a nap felt like the perfect time to deal with my man feet.

My goal was to give some relief to my aching soles and make my nails presentable again, but sans polish because I am physically incapable of painting my own toenails and getting any amount of polish on the actual nail.  Plus, open-toed shoe season really is drawing to an end, even for me, and I like to give my nails a nice long break from polish in the winter months for their overall health.  I just want clean, trimmed, fresh and healthy looking nails in the months to come... plus heels that don't feel like sandpaper.

All of this brings me to the point of this post: sharing an awesome little foot beautifying trick that I just learned (via Pinterest, the source of all things wonderful and useful) to get your nails looking clean and bright after a summer of abuse.  This trick removes stains left by dark polish and makes your nails look white and clean, naturally.

photo via Pinterest

Start by soaking your feet.  My favorite foot soaking elixir is about a tablespoon of Peppermint Dr. Bronner's Soap mixed with several drops of lavender essential oil in a basin of warm water. The peppermint and lavender together make a relaxing aromatherapeutic blend that fills the whole room. After a good long soak, brush and trim your nails (I also went to town on my softened heels with a pumice... what a difference).  Then here comes the trick: simply make a paste with 1 tablespoon of peroxide and 2 1/4 tablespoons of baking soda.  Rub the paste into each nail, and allow to sit for 5 minutes before rinsing.  I actually repeated this process twice, as my nails were just that awful after the summer.  The result?  White nails!  Beautiful, clean and fresh feet with healthy looking nails without any sign of discoloration.  It actually almost looks like you're wearing the perfect pale/buff polish shade.  Such an awesome little tip that costs next to nothing and can be prepared with ingredients you likely already have on hand.  I love that.

I wrapped up this whole thing process by slathering my feet with Burt's Bees Coconut Foot Cream, a soothing potion made with coconut oil and extracts of rosemary and peppermint that I got hooked on during my waitressing days when my feet were working their very hardest.  Warning: this foot cream is so thick that it needs to have socks put on over it immediately or you'll be slipping and sliding like Bugs Bunny on a banana peel.

It is amazing what just taking a little half hour to take care of yourself can do.  Getting rid of my man feet made everything seem better in the world.  If your feet are hurting after a summer of beach days and neon polish take a moment and give 'em a soak + try this cool baking soda/peroxide potion.  Lovely lady feet are right there for the taking!