Footbaths

Footbaths always seemed like a luxury, an activity that belonged in ancient Rome, or in today’s world spas and fancy nail salons. In reality, footbaths are an incredibly easy way to lift your spirits after a long day. It turns out that this relaxing activity has a myriad of health benefits as well!

Types of Footbaths

Footbaths have been part of holistic healing practices in many cultures, such as Indian, Japanese, and Chinese, for thousands of years. Nowadays, there are a few types of footbaths to choose from, depending on what you are trying to remedy. Some may want to release toxins from their body, while others may want to solve more specific problems, such as athlete’s foot.¹

• Foot Soaks

Foot soaks are an effective way to improve a slew of common foot problems, especially skin problems. Below are instructions and ingredient ideas.

Instructions:

• ⁱPick a footbath vessel. It can be your bathtub, a large bowl, or you can buy an at-home pedicure footbath unit.²
• Dry brush your feet to remove dead skin and to get your lymphatic system moving.³ For more details on dry brushing, check out this Greeniacs article .
• Pour the hottest water that you can bear into your basin of choice.⁴
• Add your chosen ingredients to the basin.⁵ See ingredient ideas below ☺
• Sit with your feet in the basin for 10 – 20 minutes. You can add hot water as needed.⁶
• After a few minutes, your feet will be soft enough for you to use a pumice stone to remove dead skin, if you choose.⁷
• Remove feet from bath, dry, and apply oil (coconut oil, grapeseed oil, and lavender oil are some of my favorites) or lotion. Remember that anything you apply to your feet post-bath will absorb very quickly!⁸

Ingredient Ideas:

• Himalayan sea salt ⁹
• Epsom salts ¹⁰
• Essential oils ¹¹
  • Lavender – relaxing
  • Peppermint – soothes aches (only add 1-2 drops)
  • Patchouli – deodorizes
  • Camphor – soothes aches and swelling
  • Eucalyptus – anti-inflammatory
  • Tea tree – anti-fungal
• Peppermint tea (you can add a tea bag to your footbath)¹²
• Magnesium flakes ¹³
• Raw apple cider vinegar ¹⁴
• Baking soda ¹⁵
• Bentonite clay ¹⁶
• Ionic Detoxification Footbaths

You can also combine these ingredients!Over the past few years, detox footbaths have grown in popularity. One of these detoxes is known as ionic detoxification footbaths. You can purchase a session at a health spa or you can purchase an at-home unit.¹⁷ During an ionic footbath, you soak your feet for 30 minutes in a basin with distilled water, sea salt, and electrodes that pass an electrical current through the water. This process is said to draw out toxins via the pores on the bottom of your feet using positively and negatively charged ions. The color of the water at the end of the session is supposed to indicate which organs the toxins were removed from.¹⁸

ⁱⁱ

Post-bath water color chart:¹⁹

• White foam – lymphatic system and lymph nodes
• Orange – joints
• Yellow/green – bladder, female reproductive system, kidneys, prostate, urinary tract system
• Dark green – gallbladder
• Brown – lungs
• Black – liver

Currently, ionic detoxification footbaths are not approved to treat health issues by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In addition, many scientists are skeptical about the science behind the ionic detoxification process, stating that toxins cannot be pulled through the skin. Nuran Ercal, a professor of chemistry at the Missouri University of Science and Technology stated, “I’ve been studying free radicals for 25 years, and I’ve never heard of this.” In addition, Andrew Barron, the chairman of chemistry at Rice University, tested the water from an ionic footbath after a 30-minute session and did not find any traces of toxins. Barron said, “If there was a way to pull that through the skin, I’d be shocked. They’re saying things that sound good.”²⁰

Footbath Benefits

Thus, while the ionic detoxification footbaths may or may not be valid, regular footbaths are relaxing and have several great health benefits. Below are a few:²¹

• Calms nerves
• Relieves tension
• Improves sleep patterns
• Reduces inflammation
• Relieves foot infection
• Softens feet
• Relieves pain and stiffness
• Increases blood flow through the feet

People with blood pressure issues, pacemakers, organ transplants, insulin-dependent diabetes, poor circulation in legs and feet, Buerger’s disease, or arteriosclerosis should consult their doctor before using footbaths. Pregnant and nursing women should also consult their doctor.²²

Here’s to smooth and relaxed tootsies!