Cracked Heels!!!!!!!!

[Beekissed]

When you shower, stopper the tub, let your feet soak while you shower. After the skin is nice and soft you can use a good sugar or salt scrub and pat dry or use the ol' Bag Balm treatment and socks over night. It really helps to soften the skin with the soaking first so the emollients can sink in.

Epsom salts work wonders as well!

Making your own lovely smelling, wonderfully softening sugar scrubs:

This will make a very large batch, as I make this to sell.

2 c. epsom salts
3 c. refined white sugar or even brown sugar(this will not need coloring) or sea salt
Essential oil of your favorite scent
Food coloring~or not, your choice
Olive oil, added until texture is correct

Mix salts and sugars in a large bowl, add EO a little at a time, scrunching it in by hand until it is evenly distributed throughout the dry mix. If you are adding coloring, add one or two drops at a time and mix like you did with the EO, until evenly distributed and you reach the color you wanted.

Add olive oil a little at a time, mixing with a wooden spoon. Mix completely before adding more each time. When your mix starts to resemble a sno-cone mix, with the darker color on bottom, lighter color on top, you've reached the desired consistency. Any dryer and it will be too crumbley to apply, any wetter and its just oily and goopey. You will get the hang of this with practice.

Place in plastic, wide mouth container and cover with tight lid. If you have made a salt scrub, make sure you don't get any extra water in it and you seal it up each time, as the top will harden. This will not happen with the sugar scrubs.

Shower as usual, then scoop some sugar scrub into your hands and massage gently over skin, especially roughened areas. Rinse completely and pat dry only, do not rub. May make tub slippery, so use caution when getting out of the tub.

Now you have one of my secret recipes....use it well! I warn you, this stuff is addictive.....and men love it! They will use it all if you are not careful.

*warning: anyone with fungal infections on their skin would be advised to make a salt scrub instead of sugar, as the sugar will actually feed your fungus! *

 

[TanksHill]

Thanks Bee, Ill right that recipe do. It reminds me of a time I was at a Mom's function we made a sugar foot rub and I colored mine blue. I thought it would be great on my hands as well. Until they turned blue. It was rather funny.

 

[Beekissed]

Yeah, I stay with light pastels. When using the brown sugar, I mainly mix this with vanilla or cinnamon scenting...or none at all.

Epsom salt soaks are the best, though, followed with the bag balm and socks. But for winter skin maintenance, the sugar scrubs are great for the whole body.

I used pink grapefruit today and I smell great!!

 

[Dace]

Yummmy!

Guess what all the women in the family are getting for Easter?
Thanks Bee

 

[Beekissed]

YW, Dace! Trade secret, ya know? People go ga-ga over the lime and grapefruit scented EOs...if you are trying to find some that have an invigorating scent.

You can even add your favorite perfume into the mix, so you can layer your scents.

 

[cackleberries]

my mom doesnt have cracked feet she has these awful cracks on the palms of her hands and fingers that bleed and hurt really bad do any of you have a suggestion on what she could use?

 

[Wifezilla]

Mix Almond oil, Shea butter and Cocoa butter together until it makes a thick ointment.

Slap it on those hard to heal spots and put on your socks.

Go to bed and wake up healed

This is THE BEST. Sometimes I use just straight Shea Butter. Almond oil alone is good for regular dry skin, but not enough for those horrible cracks.

I avoid commercial lotions like the plague. First of all, they are mostly water. When you constantly reapply water to chapped skin...what do you get? EVEN MORE chapped skin.

Second, a prime ingredient in many lotions is a suspected carcinogen. Right now the reports are saying "don't panic, it is only in mice" but I am not taking any chances
http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/health&id=6327481
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/8...-and-skin-cancer-probably-no-reason-to-panic/

Third, Sweet Almond oil is just plain cheaper than even cheap lotions. You don't need to use as much and it last longer.

Lastly....
A lot of times chapped skin is a symptom of vitamin deficiency. Vitamin D in particular. I supplement daily with D3. And no, the vitamin D supplements in your food or your multi vitamin are not NEARLY enough. Your skin, when exposed to full sun WITHOUT sun screen, produces 10,000 IU in about 15-20 minutes. The 800 IU you get may be enough to keep you from getting rickets, but it isn't nearly enough for optimal health. If you have insurance, get your blood levels of vitamin D tested. If you want to supplement, make sure it is D3 NOT D2.

 

[Beekissed]

my mom doesnt have cracked feet she has these awful cracks on the palms of her hands and fingers that bleed and hurt really bad do any of you have a suggestion on what she could use?

Does your mom wash her hands excessively? If not, is she exposed to any allergen to her hands on a regular basis? If not, this could be a fungal skin condition and she can try OTC antifungals to see if this starts to help.

You can get a fungal infection on your hands, just like the one that makes cracks between your toes.....less common to be sure, but it can happen.

 

[cackleberries]

my mom doesnt have cracked feet she has these awful cracks on the palms of her hands and fingers that bleed and hurt really bad do any of you have a suggestion on what she could use?

Does your mom wash her hands excessively? If not, is she exposed to any allergen to her hands on a regular basis? If not, this could be a fungal skin condition and she can try OTC antifungals to see if this starts to help.

You can get a fungal infection on your hands, just like the one that makes cracks between your toes.....less common to be sure, but it can happen.

No excessive hand washing or use of allergens. These cracks come and go they are bloody, swollen, and sore for about a week then they heal only to come back again in no time at all. I was wondering if it may be a vitamin def. The fungus is something to think about to though. Its impossible to get her to go to the Dr.

 

[Dace]

Bee......I mixed up a brown sugar scrub last night and added some vanilla essential oil. It was delish! (although I used what I thought was a lot of vanilla ...about 1/5th of a $23 bottle!...and the scent was not very noticeable) I made my 15 yr old DD and my hubby try it...they both liked it. I soaked in a epsom salt bath too and the combination helps my bad dry heels.

Question for you. I know that honey has healing properties and is often used in face masks and such...could you moisten the scrub with honey? or part honey and part oil? Just wondering if you have tried or heard of that and if there are any drawbacks.