Ingredients for a Foot Soak

Feet easily become sore and tired by the end of it. A relaxing foot soak can revitalize your feet, leaving them clean-smelling and soft. Homemade soaks are easy to concoct and endlessly customizable to your specific needs and preferences.

Soaking feet at home. (Image: Leah-anne Thompson/Hemera/Getty Images)

Begin With Water

Begin with water for the foot soak. (Image: Jupiterimages/Creatas/Getty Images)

The base ingredient of any foot soak is water--preferably as hot as you can stand to put your feet into. Pour the hot water over any ingredients that need to be dissolved or steeped, such as Epsom salts, baking soda, tea bags or fresh herbs. Add oils and other liquid additions after you've poured the water.

Elevate Your Soak With Epsom Salt

Bath salts. (Image: Elena Elisseeva/iStock/Getty Images)

Two cups of epsom salt per gallon of water makes an effective foot soak. Epsom salt contains a large amount of magnesium, which acts as an anti-inflammatory, soothing overworked muscles and joints.

Sprinkle In a Natural Deodorizer

Baking soda. (Image: sugar0607/iStock/Getty Images)

Baking soda deodorizes your feet by killing the bacteria that cause foot odor. It also prevents the excessive perspiration that provides that bacteria with a breeding ground in the first place. Use about 3 tbsp. of baking soda per gallon.

Pamper Your Feet With Essential Oils

Essential oils. (Image: Thomas Northcut/Photodisc/Getty Images)

A few drops of your favorite essential oil in your foot soaking basin adds a nice perfume to the water. Certain oils may also add aromatherapeutic benefits. Lavender is a good choice for general relaxation purposes. Rosemary will revive tired feet and ease muscle aches.

Tea Bag Therapy

Tea bag. (Image: karandaev/iStock/Getty Images)

Commercial herbal tea bags are a convenient way of adding the therapeutic benefits of herbs to your foot soak. You need use only three to five bags of tea per gallon of water--the resulting infusion is intended to be much weaker than regular tea. Try chamomile for its relaxing aroma and anti-inflammatory properties. Peppermint and spearmint have a cooling effect that also relieves muscle pain. Green tea is astringent and helps heal abrasions on your feet; it also has a mild antiseptic effect.

Adorn Your Feet With Flower Petals

Flower petals. (Image: Hsing-Wen Hsu/iStock/Getty Images)

Flower petals don't add much of practical value to your foot soak, but they do add aesthetic beauty. The scents of some flowers such as rose may also help you to relax while you're soaking your feet. Otherwise, just add what you think looks good floating in your soaking water--daisies, violets or peonies, marigold and fresh lavender are some possible choices.

Mix-in Marbles

Stones. (Image: Wavebreakmedia Ltd/Wavebreak Media/Getty Images)

You can use a bed of marbles or small round stones at the bottom of your basin as a foot massager to help relieve tension and stress. Roll the soles of your feet gently back and forth across the marbles as you soak.