Hands and Feet

Redlands Daily Facts Health Section
Staff Writer

Q:: Do you have any homemade treatments for hands and feet?

Mimi: This is one of my favorite areas for treats. Try some of the following.

Foot treatment from the Dead Sea in Israel. Wash your feet then scrub with salts from the Dead Sea. Other salts work well too. Try kosher salt, Epsom Salt, coarse sea salt, rock salt or even plain table salt. Mixing the salt with some inexpensive shampoo or with some massage oil helps it stick to the skin better so it doesn't just fall off.

Killer foot treatment good for fungus and callous build up. Sit on the edge of the tub with a bucket or dishpan in the tub. Put your feet in the bucket. Mix 2 cups warm water with 2 cups chlorine bleach. Pour this on your feet to cover the toes. NO HIGHER. Do Not cover the top of the foot or up to the ankles. Soak for 5 minutes. Add warm water to cover your feet. Soak another 5 minutes. Remove your feet and rinse well under the tub faucet. Use a pumice stone or foot groomer to scrape off dead skin. Your nails will be soft, so this is a good time to cut them short. The shorter the better so you can dig under to clean out debris. Use an orange stick to clean dead skin from cuticles and under nails. Be careful not to splash bleach on clothes, towels and bathmat. Rub petroleum jelly (Vaseline) well into your feet. Put on old socks and go to bed.

Fungus Among us: After scrubbing your feet and cleaning under the nail and around the cuticle, rub Vicks Vapo Rub onto your toenails. Some people swear that this kill fungus. Soak your clippers, orange stick and finger nail brush in Clorox to kill fungus. Soak for only 5 minutes or the implements will rust. Wash your socks with bleach and hang out in the sun to dry.

Foot wounds: If you have sores on your feet that won't heal, be sure to check with your doctor to see if you are diabetic. Soak your feet daily in hydrogen peroxide, or put the hydrogen peroxide in a spray bottle and spray it on your wounds several times a day. Ask your doctor about washing your feet, and while they are still damp applying table sugar to the wounds then bandaging.

Spa Paraffin foot soother. Mix 1 stick (1/4 pound) of canning paraffin (look in the canning section of the grocery store) and 1/4 cup of Vaseline. Melt in a double boiler. Allow the paraffin to cool but not get hard. Have on hand four plastic bags. Put one bag inside another so you have two double bags. The kind of bag that you put vegetables in at the grocery store work well. Soak your feet in a dishpan or bucket for 10 minutes or do this treatment right after your bath. Rub rich body or hand lotion into your feet.

Pour 1/2 of the paraffin mixture into a bag. Twist the top of the bag so the paraffin doesn't ooze out. Rub the paraffin between your hands to make it frothy while holding the top of the bag closed. Your hands are OUTSIDE of the bag. When the temperature is comfortable, put a foot into the bag. Twist the edge of the top to keep it closed. Repeat with the other double bag and the rest of the paraffin. Relax, read, watch TV for 20 minutes, until the paraffin is cool. Remove the paraffin INSIDE the bag. Grab the top of the bag and grab the paraffin at the top of the foot and pull it all down together. The paraffin on your foot will come off in one big mass inside of the bag.

Hands and nails

Wash and dry your hands. Soak fingertips in warm olive oil. Work oil into cuticles.

Keep a bottle of Acid Rinse (vinegar or lemon juice mixed with water) by the sink. Each time that you wash your hands, rinse well, and then pour some acid rinse over your hands and DO NOT RINSE. This helps to restore the acid mantle that alkaline soaps and detergents wash away.

Try all the body scrubs on your hands and feet. (See Rub a Dub Scrub column for scrubs and rinses)

Toothpaste your fingers: Use an old toothbrush to scrub your fingernails with Fluoride toothpaste. Because your nails can't taste, use the least expensive brand. With the brush, push back on the cuticles. Don't scrub back and forth. Or just apply a dot of fluoride toothpaste to your thumb and rub on your nails, pushing back the cuticles with your thumb. Rinse. Apply rich hand cream or Vaseline. Rub the cream well into the cuticles. Put old gloves or socks on your hands and go to bed. The fluoride will help strengthen the nails.

Buff the ridges: Dampen your thumb. Dip it into baking soda, sugar, or salt. Scrub the ridges on your fingernails to help smooth them out.

Minute Manicure: Mix sugar with enough oil to make a nice paste. Put your thumb into the mixture then scrub the nails on the other hand with your thumb. Push back on the cuticles. Repeat with the other hand. After all the fingernails have been massaged, scrub the backs of your hands with the mixture that is remaining on your hands. This mixture will keep well in a closed jar. For extra fun, add some of the following: powdered cinnamon, powdered cloves, pumpkin pie spice, or vanilla.

Mimi Barre is the owner of International Day Spa, 325 Cajon St., Redlands. Send your skin care questions to her at MimiB@INTLdayspa.com. She and her estheticians are available for personal consultations, (909) 793-9080.