Ever feel like your feet need some vitamins? Or possibly an extreme makeover, some moisture, a snake oil miracle cure, perhaps even Jesus? I was feeling that way after I got back from Comic Con, which was after a week of hiking. My feet felt hideous enough that I was going to try Tony Moly Magic Foot Peeling Shoes, a concept which would usually put me off. But then I found out that those peels can be dicey to use while pregnant so I decided to avoid.

Instead, partially inspired by Foodstuff’s podcast episode on honey, I made up this honey-based foot mask instead. I think it turned out to be at least two, possibly three, of the foot needs listed above. You’ll still have to find Foot Jesus for yourself, but this should provide some moisture and general foot feel better. 

What you will need: 

Honey

Coconut oil

Almond oil

Cinnamon

Cloves

Soap/scrubby stuff accordinging to preference

Moisturizing socks or just regular thick socks

Mixing bowl and spoon

1. Get together your ingredients, mixing bowl and utensils. 

2. Combine several spoons of honey, a bit of cinnamon, about a half spoon of coconut oil, a sprinkle of cinnamon and a few drops of almond oil in the mixing bowl. 

Make the mix mostly honey. (I never measure anything, but the spoons above show the actual amount I used.) I wanted honey to be the primary ingredient; it traps in moisture, it has anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties, and it promotes healing of little scrapes, cuts, cracks, ECT. I included some coconut oil because it also may have some anti- properties, and to make the texture more manageable than pure honey. Almond oil is good for soothing skin; I have this to allegedly help prevent stretch marks (I don’t have any yet, but I might just be lucky..) Cinnamon supposedly has anti-inflammatory properties, although I don’t know if it works topically. But I added it for smell if I’m being honest. I made sure to scoop up the parts of the honey with comb particles in it for this; I don’t care for comb chunks in my coffee but don’t mind it on my feet. 

3. Mix this up really well, until it looks something like molasses. If it’s cold in the room you might have a little trouble getting it to combine without chunks, but Dallas summer was willing to help out with this. Add some cloves for smell, if you like that smell. 

4. Now soak the feet in hot water so they can get softened up for the honey mix. I didn’t do anything fancy here, I just soaked in a bathtub with water and a tiny bit of Castile Soap. (I swear this is not a foot fetish post… ) 

My feet and ankles are also super swollen in these pictures, and there might be a bit of broken capillary rash on my ankles, but I didn’t have any non-pregnant get available, so you’ll just have to look at them. (Full disclosure: I did try to get more flattering angles.) 

5. Scrub the feet. I just used Castile Soap of the mint variety and a natural vegetable sponge. 

6. Put the sticky topping on the feet. Again, I swear this is not a foot fetish thing… ) Rub it all over the foot, leaving a good coating. Stop where ever your socks are going to stop. 

I had to do this, and the next step, one foot at a time.

7. Put on socks to cover and hold in the honey mask. I used the kind with a gel liner to keep sticky stuff from soaking through. Mine are Earth Therapeutics. I put the socks on by turning them almost inside out and then flipping them onto my feet, to avoid residue on the outside. I cleaned up the couple of drops that got on the edges with a face cleansing wipe too. 

8. Clean up your tub, if you’re into that. 

9. Go chill somewhere in your squishy socks, preferably with your feet up. I left mine on for a couple of hours. Be careful if you walk around, because your socks are squishy. 

Final verdict: I did feel like this softened and moisturized my feet. They also felt less irritated afterwards. I don’t really think the mask did anything for the swelling, but I do think that taking the time to let the mask sit and to stay off of them helped the swelling go down. There’s also just a psychological boost to doing something nice and out of the ordinary for yourself. 

Similar items to those used:
Earth Therapeutics Aloe Socks, 2 Pair Per Package (Light Blue, White Dark Blue, and Aqua Dots)

Dr. Bronner’s Pure Liquid Castile Soap – Peppermint 32oz.

Dr. Bronner’s Pure-Castile Liquid Soap – Almond 32oz.

Natural Loofah Exfoliating Bath Sponge

100% Pure Raw Chunk Honey Comb in Jar of Raw Honey 1 lb.