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5 DIY Foot Soak Recipes for Beautiful Feet

Foot soaks are a time-honored practice used for relaxation, therapeutic, and cosmetic purposes. By immersing your feet in warm water mixed with various ingredients such as salts, essential oils, or herbs, you can experience a range of benefits. Keep reading to discover simple DIY foot soak recipes that your feet will absolutely love!

I try my best to take good care of my feet. Prioritizing foot care is one way I practice self-care, and it not only alleviates discomfort and prevents potential problems but also keeps my feet looking pretty.

And who doesn’t like pretty feet? Especially in the summertime when bare feet and sandals are the everyday footwear.

One of my favorite ways to care for my feet is by doing foot soaks on a regular basis.

Foot soaks are simply warm water mixed with various ingredients such as salts, essential oils, or herbs that you soak your feet in.

You can experience a range of benefits by soaking your feet in a foot soak regularly.

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I am not a doctor and the statements on this blog have not been evaluated by the FDA. Products mentioned here are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Please do not ask me for medical advice. Click here to read my full disclaimer.

Benefits of a Foot Soak

Foot soaks have many different benefits. They can relieve pain, heal ingrown toenails and toenail fungus, moisturize the feet, and more.

Another benefit of a foot soak is just pure and simple relaxation. Foot soaks feel amazing and can bring immediate relief to tired feet.

There are many different ways to prepare a foot soak, and the benefits depend on the ingredients used.

How to Make a Foot Soak

Making a foot soak is one of the easiest ways to pamper your feet at home. Below is everything you need to make a foot soak.

Tub or Basin

To start, you will need a tub or basin to fill with water. Amazon sells all kinds of tubs for soaking feet. It doesn’t need to be fancy—a simple dishpan basin will do.

You can also use a foot spa to make a foot soak, but only if it doesn’t have jets or air vents. Salts and soaps can clog the jets and air vents, which will eventually reduce the foot spa’s functionality.

So just keep that in mind.

Water

Obviously, you will need water to fill the tub. Filtered water is best; that way, you won’t be absorbing toxins from the tap water. I love this bathtub faucet filter.

But honestly, I wouldn’t overthink this too much. If you dont have access to filtered water, just use tap water.

Make sure the water is at a comfortable temperature. You want it hot enough to dissolve the salt and other ingredients but not enough to burn your skin.

Salt

Salt is a staple ingredient in foot soaks. You can use Epsom salt or Dead Sea salt.

Epsom salt is rich in magnesium, which can help you relax, relieve constipation, reduce stress, and more. You can click here to learn more about the benefits of Epsom salt.

Dead Sea salt is rich in various minerals and can help promote circulation, reduce stress and anxiety, detoxify the body, and so much more.

You can click here to learn more about the benefits of Dead Sea salt.

Essential Oils

Essential oils are another staple ingredient used in foot soaks. Not only do they smell wonderful, but they also have therapeutic properties. The therapeutic benefits depend on which essential oils you choose.

My favorite essential oils for foot soaks are tea tree, lavender, eucalyptus, and peppermint.

It is also really important to only use high-quality, 100% pure essential oils. A few of my favorite essential oil brands are Plant TherapySimply Earth, and Far & Wild essential oils.

If you’re unsure whether your oils are pure, read this post—fake essential oil brands you should avoid—to learn how to spot fake essential oils.

If you decide to buy from Simply Earth, you can use the code HAPPYHEARTFREE to receive a free $45 Simply Earth gift card with the purchase of your first recipe box.

If you are unfamiliar with Simply Earth or their recipe box, you can check out previous boxes here.

If you order now with the code above, you will receive the recipe box, a big bonus box, and a $45 Simply Earth gift card—all for $29.99 (new customers only)!

Another thing about essential oils is that they dont mix with water, so I don’t recommend adding them directly to the foot soak. Instead, I recommend mixing them into the salt and then adding the salt to the foot soak.

But I will explain more about that below when I share specific foot soak recipes.

Apple Cider Vinegar

Apple cider vinegar is not 100% necessary but is a great addition to a foot soak, especially if you have really dry feet. It contains acetic acid, which gently breaks down thick skin.

ACV can also help with odor thanks to its antibacterial properties. It also has antiviral, anti-yeast, and antifungal properties, which means it may be able to get rid of toenail fungus and athlete’s foot.

Baking Soda

Baking soda is also an optional ingredient. Like apple cider vinegar, it can help combat bacteria and odor and soften skin.

Those are the most popular ingredients used in foot soaks. The specific ingredients you will need to make a foot soak depend on the issue you are trying to address.

Below are several specific recipes targeting common foot issues. But before I share those recipes, I wanted to share more about preparing a foot soak.

Foot Soak Basics

Foot soaks are very simple to put together once you have all your ingredients and vessel.

You can simply add all of the ingredients one by one directly to the water in the tub, or you can mix the essential oils and dry ingredients together first and then add them to the tub.

I personally recommend mixing the dry ingredients and essential oils together before adding them to the water. As I mentioned above, essential oils and water do not mix.

So sometimes, when you add the essential oils directly to the water, they tend to stay on the water’s surface, and they don’t really mix in. This means you don’t get much of the therapeutic benefits of the essential oil.

When you mix essential oils with the dry ingredients first, the essential oils are slowly released into the water as the dry ingredients dissolve, which helps the essential oils mix better.

I prefer this method, but it is not 100% necessary. If you want to keep it simple just add each ingredient one by one to the tub.

Always add warm water to the tub first and your ingredients second.

Tubs and foot spas come in various sizes. The recipes below are meant to be diluted in 1.5 water to 2 gallons of water, so you may need to make adjustments if your vessel does not hold that much water.

DIY Foot Soak for Dry Skin, Calluses, & Cracked Heels

This foot soak recipe is for people with extremely dry skin, calluses, or cracked heels.

Add the following ingredients to a small bowl.

Mix everything together well. Fill your tub with 1.5 to 2 gallons of warm water. Pour the Epsom salt, baking soda, and lavender oil mixture into the tub. Then, add 1 cup of apple cider vinegar.

Soak your feet in the tub for 15-20 minutes.

If you are suffering from really bad cracked heels, I highly recommend checking out this post – How to Heal Cracked Heels Naturally.

DIY Foot Soak for Toenail Fungus & Athletes Foot

This foot soak recipe is for people dealing with any sort of fungal issue, including athlete’s foot and toenail fungus. It is very similar to the recipe above and can also be used for dry skin.

Add the following ingredients to a small bowl.

Mix everything together well. Fill your tub with 1.5 to 2 gallons of warm water. Pour the Epsom salt, baking soda, and tea tree oil mixture into the tub. Then, add 1 cup of apple cider vinegar.

Soak your feet in the tub for 15-20 minutes.

DIY Foot Soak for Pain & Achy Feet

This foot soak recipe is for people who have been on their feet all day and have tired, achy feet. It is also great for those suffering from plantar fasciitis.

Add the following ingredients to a small bowl.

Mix everything together well. Fill your tub with 1.5 to 2 gallons of warm water. Pour the Epsom salt, peppermint, and eucalyptus oil mixture into the tub.

Soak your feet in the tub for 15-20 minutes.

DIY Foot Soak for Ingrown Toenails

This foot soak recipe is for people who have ingrown toenails or suffer from reoccurring ingrown toenails.

Fill your tub with 1.5 to 2 gallons of warm water. Add the following ingredients directly to the tub.

Mix everything together well. Soak your feet in the tub for 15-20 minutes.

What is the Best Homemade Foot Soak?

The best homemade foot soak, in my opinion, is one that addresses not just one but several issues at once. Below is my go-to foot soak recipe.

This DIY foot soak recipe can help combat foot fungus, heal dry feet, relieve pain, and heal ingrown toenails.

Another reason this is my go-to foot soak is that it contains not only Epsom salt but also Dead Sea salt, which is rich in various minerals and can help promote circulation, reduce stress and anxiety, detoxify the body, and so much more.

To make this amazing foot soak, add the following ingredients to a small bowl.

Mix everything together well. Fill your tub with 1.5 to 2 gallons of warm water. Pour the Epsom salt, Dead Sea salt, and essential oil mixture into the tub. Then, add 1 cup of apple cider vinegar.

Soak your feet in the tub for 15-20 minutes.

How to Use Homemade Foot Soak

Homemade foot soaks are simple to use. All you have to do is fill your vessel with warm water, add your ingredients, and soak your feet for 15-20 minutes.

And if you really want to pamper your feet, you can follow up with this homemade foot scrub and this homemade foot cream for cracked heels.

Foot soaks can be used several times a week, and if you are trying to get rid of toenail fungus or ingrown toenails, I highly recommend daily foot soaks until the issue goes away.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Can I Use Instead of Epsom Salt to Soak my Feet?

If you do not have Epsom salt on hand or you would just prefer to use something else instead, there are several other options.

You can use Dead Sea salt or magnesium flakes. You could also use baking soda or just skip the Epsom salt and alternatives altogether.

It really just depends on what benefits you are trying to obtain.

Epsom salt can help you relax, relieve constipation, reduce stress, and relieve pain. If you are not interested in those benefits, skip the Epsom salt.

Is it Better to Soak Your Feet in Baking Soda or Epsom Salt?

Baking soda and Epsom salt have completely different benefits for foot soaks. Neither one is better than the other. Baking soda will help to combat odor and bacteria. It will also help to soften your feet.

Epsom salt can help you relax, relieve constipation, reduce stress, and relieve pain.

So just choose the one that will benefit you more or use both!

Can I use White Vinegar Instead of Apple Cider Vinegar?

I don’t recommend using white vinegar instead of apple cider vinegar. The alpha-hydroxy acid in apple cider vinegar helps soften feet and heal cracked heels.

White vinegar does not contain alpha-hydroxy acid.

I hope these DIY foot soak recipes help you relax and keep your feet looking beautiful. Let me know if you have any questions below!

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