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With the change of seasons, everyone is itching to get those layers of dry skin off and smooth out cracked heels. Yet, professional treatments can be expensive. The good news is that you can make your own foot scrub bar at home. With a little bit of time and effort, you will be enjoying a foot scrub bar that is far cheaper while just as effective as anything bought in a store. Slather on the cream, slip on socks, and in no time, your feet will feel as smooth as a baby’s bottom.
Table of Contents
- What are Sweet Orange Peppermint Foot Scrub Bars?
- Are They Worth the Effort?
- How Do They Work?
- How to Use Scrub Bars
- DIY Sweet Orange Peppermint Foot Scrub Bar Recipe
- Substitutes
- FAQs
What are Sweet Orange Peppermint Foot Scrub Bars?
Long hours in closed shoes and boots create a hot and humid environment, drawing moisture from the skin. That often leads to dry skin appearing on the heels and sides of the feet. And even though dry skin is in no way harmful, it might feel tight, rough and uncomfortable. So how can foot scrub help, you might ask.
Sweet orange peppermint scrub bars are exfoliants designed to remove dry skin from the feet using ground apricot kernels and dried orange peel, resulting in smoother, healthier-looking skin.
In addition, scrubbing your feet on a regular basis can help prevent the building of corns and calluses, improve blood circulation, and may even relieve aches and pains.
Are They Worth the Effort?
I’m not sure whether it’s my technique or the products I have tried, but foot scrubs never really seemed to work for me. Most of the particles ended up at the bottom of the tub, with my feet being nowhere near spa-like. But that was until I discovered scrub bars with all the gritty particles contained in a palm-sized mess-free bar.
Between the exfoliating, moisturising, and softening properties of foot scrub bars, as well as their low cost and ease of preparation, they are by far the best option for me.
How Do They Work?
The skin on your feet is tougher than on the rest of the body, requiring coarser exfoliants that buff dry, rough skin smooth and emollients that soften it. So how do the ingredients incorporated into this bar help?
- The coarse particles of the scrub bar help exfoliate and remove dead skin cells while stimulating blood flow.
- Beeswax helps to harden the scrub bar. In addition, it also creates a protective layer on the skin, reducing moisture loss.
- Cocoa butter is a beautiful emollient that helps moisturise, soothe and soften the skin.
- The uplifting scent of orange essential oil can help you relax and unwind. Peppermint oil helps refresh and cool tired feet. It is also believed to reduce discomfort when applied to the skin and may even help with fungal infections.
How to Use Scrub Bars
Use this foot scrub about once a week to keep heels soft and healthy. Exfoliating regularly prevents layers of dry skin from building up and keeps feet healthy.
Step 1: Soak your feet for about 10 minutes in warm water to soften the skin.
Step 2: Using a pumice stone, remove dry, thickened skin from your feet, focusing on the ball of the foot and the heel.
Step 3: Now that most of the dry skin is gone, gently move the scrub bar in circular motions around your feet to remove the rest of the dry skin and smooth the skin.
Step 4: Rinse well and pat dry.
Step 5: Apply a nourishing moisturiser to keep your feet soft and hydrated.
DIY Sweet Orange Peppermint Foot Scrub Bar Recipe
DIY Sweet Orange Peppermint Foot Scrub Bar Recipe
Difficulty: Beginner Formulator100
grams1
hour30
minutes2
hoursAnd as far as foot scrub bars go, these little beauties can’t be beaten! Exfoliating, moisturising, and softening properties of foot scrub bars, as well as their low cost and ease of preparation, make them a treat for your feet.
Ingredients
- Phase A
50.00g refined cocoa butter
20.00g beeswax
8.20g shea butter
4.00g annatto seeds infused with sunflower oil. You can learn how to prepare it here.
- Phase B
7.50g ground apricot kernels
7.50g ground orange peel
- Phase C
1.00g vitamin E
0.20g peppermint essential oil
1.00 preservative ECO
Directions
- Prepare a bain-marie (hot water bath) by bringing 2-3 cm of water to a simmer over low heat in a saucepan.
- Weigh out the beeswax, cocoa butter, shea butter and annatto-infused sunflower oil in a heat-resistant glass beaker, and place it into a bain-marie to melt the ingredients through.
- When fully liquified, remove the beaker from the bain-marie and dry it off with a kitchen towel. Add ground apricot kernels and ground orange peel. Keep stirring until the mixture’s temperature drops under 40C.
- Add vitamin E, essential oils, and preservative Eco at this point. Keep stirring. Here, it gets a bit tricky. The mixture should be thick enough that when you pour it into a mould, the ground kernels and orange peel don’t sink right to the bottom of the mould. But it shouldn’t be too thick so that when you pour it into a mould, it won’t fill the mould, and you’ll end up with wonky-looking scrub bars.
- Pour the mixture into the mould and allow the bars to set overnight, letting them firm up.
- Once firm, remove them from the mould, label and store them in an airtight jar.
How-to Video
Skin Patch Test
- As always, carry out a skin patch test first before incorporating scrub bars into your skincare regimen. Although they may be well-tolerated by most, some people may be sensitive or even allergic to the ingredients included in them. Apply a small amount of the product onto a clear patch of skin, somewhere you can leave it alone for 24-48 hours (like the inner wrist). If your skin turns red, itchy, or you experience any irritations, discontinue using the product.
Equipment
Shelf life and storage
Scrub bars are anhydrous products that will keep well for six to twelve months if stored well. Keep them away from direct sunlight in a dry, cool room or a draw. If your scrub bars change colour, smell or texture, dispose of them and prepare a new batch.
Substitutes
Please remember that swapping the ingredients in the formula will alter the final product. Consider how the ingredient you switch will affect the final product’s texture and smell when making changes.
Beeswax: If you prefer working with vegan waxes, you can replace beeswax with candelilla, rice bran or carnauba wax. They are harder than beeswax and would work very well for this formula. Use about 5% of the total weight of the recipe.
Butter: There is numerous butter on the market you can choose from. You can swap cocoa butter with murumuru butter if you like and shea with mango butter or other soft butter.
Sunflower infused oil is a lightweight and highly absorbable oil that helps to keep the skin moisturised. You can substitute it with other plant oils like sweet almond oil, safflower oil or argan oil.
Essential oils: Before swapping essential oils, be aware some can cause sensitisation. You can learn more about the safe use of fragrance ingredients by visiting https://ifrafragrance.org.
FAQs
Do I need to use a preservative?
As you will be using scrub bars in your shower where they come in contact with water, they need to be preserved. For this recipe, I would recommend using broad-spectrum Preservative Eco. It will help prevent mould and bacteria growth. Use 1% by weight of the total formula.
Is it OK to scrub your feet every day?
“Beauty experts” will tell you that if the skin on your feet is moderately dry, you should only scrub once a fortnight. However, if it gets too dry or cracky, you can exfoliate once to twice a week. Ultimately, using the scrub bar is a matter of personal preference and the skin on your feet.
Are you looking for more ways to add sweet orange to your skincare? Check out the recipes below!
DIY Orange Blossom Ginger Face Toner Recipe
DIY Sweet Orange Facial Cleansing Oil Recipe
DIY Sweet Orange Face Balm Recipe
DIY Sweet Orange Ginger Body Lotion Recipe
DIY Nourishing Sweet Orange Vanilla Hand Cream Recipe
