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Long days on your feet can leave you with dry, cracked skin on your feet. You can use store-bought foot cream to help moisturise the skin, but natural ingredients work just as well. That’s why I created this nourishing sweet orange peppermint foot cream that will leave your feet feeling soft and revitalised in no time!
Table of Contents
- What Makes Sweet Orange Peppermint Foot Cream a Great Pick
- How to Make the Most of a Foot Cream
- Nourishing DIY Orange Peppermint Foot Cream Recipe For Dry Feet
- Shelf Life and Storage
- Substitutes
- FAQs
What Makes Sweet Orange Peppermint Foot Cream a Great Pick
Since the skin on our feet is thicker than on other parts of our body, it needs a heavier cream to soften dry patches and keep the skin supple.
The sweet orange foot cream contains a high concentration of nourishing ingredients like beeswax, shea butter, and aloe vera that will keep your skin soft and moisturised. Let’s take a closer look:
– Beeswax is a natural ingredient that soothes, calms and conditions the skin. It also creates a protective barrier on the surface of your skin that helps lock in moisture and prevents water loss.
– Shea and cupuacu butter are moisturising emollients that soothe and nourish the skin. In addition, their thick, smooth texture is perfect for creams.
– Sunflower oil is well known for its skin-nourishing properties. It helps moisturise and soften the skin.
– Aloe vera’s hydrating properties make it an excellent choice for dry skin, as it helps seal moisture into the skin.
– Sweet orange essential oil has a rejuvenating scent that you’ll love! It also helps to boost circulation in the skin. Peppermint oil will soothe and refresh tired feet.
– Vitamin E is an antioxidant that helps to revitalise the skin.
How to Make the Most of a Foot Cream
Getting rid of dry and cracked skin doesn’t have to be a problem. With the time, patience, and the proper care plan, your feet will be soft and smooth again in no time at all. Follow these steps to reap the most benefits from your homemade sweet orange foot cream:
Step1: Soak your feet for 15 minutes
Soaking the feet in warm water or foot soak will soften dry skin and calluses and prepare them for the next step.
Step2: File down hard, thickened skin from your feet
Now that the skin has softened, using a pumice stone, remove dry, thickened skin from the outer side of the big toe, ball of the foot and the heel.
Step3: Exfoliate
Using a foot scrub or sweet orange scrub bar, gently massage the scrub into your skin in a circular motion. Pay attention to the ball of the foot and the heel where the skin is the thickest. It will help to smooth the skin. Once finished, rinse your feet thoroughly with warm water and pat dry.
Step4: Apply foot cream
Massage the sweet orange foot cream into the bottom of your feet, heels and tops for about a minute or two until it has been fully absorbed.
Step5: Seal in the moisture
Now that you have filed down dry, thick skin from your feet and applied moisturiser, you need to seal in the moisture. The best way to do this is by wearing a pair of cotton socks and leaving them on overnight. Your skin will feel much soft and smooth the following day.
Nourishing DIY Orange Peppermint Foot Cream Recipe For Dry Feet
Nourishing DIY Orange Peppermint Foot Cream For Dry Feet
Difficulty: Intermediate100
grams1
hour30
minutes30
minutes2
hoursHave you had a long day on your feet? Are your feet feeling tired? Give sweet orange peppermint foot cream a try! This refreshing foot cream will have your feet recharged in no time.
Ingredients
- Phase A
8.50g sunflower oil
6.00g shea butter
7.00g emulsifier olivem1000
3.00g cupuacu butter
3.00g annatto seeds infused in sunflower oil. Learn how to prepare it here.
2.50g beeswax
- Phase B
25.00g aloe vera juice
36.82g distilled water
5.00g vegetable glycerin
0.30g xanthan gum
- Phase C
1.00g vitamin E
0.20g peppermint essential oil
- Phase D
1.00g preservative ECO
Directions
- Prepare a bain-marie (hot water bath) by bringing 2-3 cm of water to a simmer over medium-low heat in a small saucepan.
- Weigh beeswax, shea and cupuacu butter, sunflower oil, annatto infused sunflower oil and olivem1000 (phase A ingredients) in a heatproof glass beaker, and place it into the hot water bath to melt.
- In a separate beaker, weigh aloe vera juice and distilled water (Phase B ingredient) and also place them into the hot water bath.
- Mix xanthan gum and glycerine in a third beaker and set aside.
- Once the oil mixture in the first beaker and aloe vera and distilled water in the second beaker reach 70°C, slowly trickle the oil mixture into the aloe vera water stirring continuously until well-combined.
- Add glycerin and xanthan gum mix.
- Keep stirring until the emulsion cools down to under 40°C. You’ll find a milk frother or stick blender most helpful in this phase.
- Add vitamin E and essential oils (phase C ingredients).
- Using ph strips, check the ph of the emulsion is between 4.5 to 5.5. You can check it by diluting 10% of the emulsion in distilled water (10% emulsion/90% distilled water). If it’s higher than 5.5, you can lower it using a drop or two of citric acid solution( 10% citric acid to 90% distilled water). If it’s lower than 4.5, increase pH by adding a drop or two sodium bicarbonate solutions (10% sodium bicarbonate to 90% distilled water).
- Add the preservative Eco and recheck the ph. Adjust if needed, just like described in step 9.
- You can transfer emulsion into a dispenser and allow it to set. It will thicken overnight.
Skin Patch Test
- Always do a skin patch test first if you intend to incorporate this foot cream into your skincare. Although it may be well-tolerated by most, some people may be sensitive or even allergic to the ingredients included in it. 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.
Shelf Life and Storage
Our kitchens are not sterile places; hence it’s hard to determine the shelf life of DIY products without running further tests. That being said, you can expect hand cream to last anywhere between 6 months to a year. If you notice any change in smell, colour, or texture, dispose of it and whip up a new batch. Store in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight.
Substitutes
Please remember that swapping the ingredients in the formula will alter the final product. Consider how the ingredient you wish to switch will affect the final product’s scent, consistency, or absorbency when making changes.
Beeswax is one of my favourite ingredients to work with as it helps thicken the formula and add a frame to the hand cream. However, if you prefer working with vegan waxes, you can learn more about them by reading Formula Botanica’s post: 6 Vegan Waxes For Organic Cosmetic Formulations.
Shea butter is one of the most known butter out there, and for a good reason. Nourishing, moisturising and rich in vitamins, adding shea butter to the formula helps prevent dryness and soften the skin. You could substitute it for cupuacu butter, a smooth, creamy butter with hydrating, soothing, and firming effect.
Sunflower oil: high in vitamin E, it is a lightweight and highly absorbable oil that helps skin repair. You can substitute it with other plant oils like sweet almond oil, safflower oil or argan oil.
Annatto seeds infused oil adds a lovely orange shade to the cream. You can skip it, though, and use sunflower oil instead.
Aloe vera juice is a highly effective moisturiser and is excellent for helping soothe dry skin. You can substitute it with distilled water, orange blossom water or manuka honey floral water.
Essential oils: Before swapping essential oils, learn more about their safe use by visiting https://ifrafragrance.org, as some oils can cause sensitisation.
FAQs
How can I soften my feet overnight?
Soak your feet in warm water for 15 – 20 minutes, then file down dry, thicken skin using a pumice stone or foot file. That should do the trick. Apply nourishing foot cream, and wear a pair of cotton socks overnight to seal in the moisture. Do this at least once a week or when your skin feels dry and cracked.
What is the best thing to soak my feet in?
Why not try Epsom salt foot soak with lavender and chamomile essential oil? You can use it to soften the skin and relieve sore or tired feet after a long day at work.
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
