Tutorial: The Ultimate Lavender, Milk & Honey Pedicure Part 2

Eleanor of The Salted Tail is back with Part 2 of The Ultimate Lavender, Milk & Honey Pedicure Tutorial – find out how to make a foot soak right here!

Now for the foot soak! This isn’t really a recipe, more some additions to add to your bowl of warm water. (I should probably add here that my adult self now has a separate washing up bowl reserved only for foot soaking and air plant watering – you know you’ve made it in life when that’s a thing!)

I like to start with the water really quite hot. That way by the time you’ve applied your scrub and let it sit for a while the water will have cooled to just the right temperature. So, boil the kettle and add enough cold water so you can just tolerate your hand being in it.

The first addition is milk, and I choose to buy organic even when I’m not actually consuming it. The fat in the milk makes the water lovely and silky and it also nourishes your skin, so it’s good to add to your bathwater too. Milk also contains lactic acid which acts as a gentle exfoliator. Add about 250ml (or a small glass worth) to your warm water and marvel for a moment at the swirling patterns it makes. You could also use powdered milk which works well, but as I prefer organic it’s quite hard to come by.

The next ingredient is a generous tablespoon of honey. Honey has a whole host of benefits including aiding healing and acting as a moisturiser, as well as having anti-microbial, anti-bacterial and anti-inflamatory properties. You can use whichever honey you like or usually have at home, but I’m really enjoying this lavender honey from Hilltop Honey at the moment. It has a lovely subtle lavender taste. Obviously that makes no difference whatsoever here, but it’s the honey we’re using at the moment!

The last thing to add is a handful of lavender flowers along with a couple more drops of lavender oil. You can either sprinkle the flowers into the bowl which looks very pretty but can be a bit of a pain once you come to dry your feet. If I can’t be bothered to deal with the mess, I like to place the flowers inside a paper tea filter, but you could also use a tea infuser, or tie them inside a square of muslin.

So, now you’ve got everything ready you can settle on the sofa, making sure you have a towel, your favourite moisturiser or body butter, tea, snacks, the TV remote, a good book…you get the gist!

1. First, using a generous handful of the sugar scrub, scrub your feet and ankles paying particular attention the the heels, the outside of your big toes and anywhere else that gets especially dry or cracked (You can rinse your hands in your foot soak bowl)
2. Leave the scrub on your feet for about five minute to let the oils soak in. If you like you can wrap your feet up in cling film and a warm towel, but mostly I just like to rest them on the edge of the bowl.
3. Once your water is cool enough, plunge your feet in and relax for as long as the water stays a pleasing temperature. When it starts to get too cool, rinse off any scrub that’s still on your feet and dry them thoroughly.
4. Apply your moisturiser. I like to refer to a reflexology chart to pay particular attention to any areas of my feet that reflect areas of my body that might need some attention. I often find the inside of my big toes, which relate to the neck especially helpful.
5. Put on your slipper socks, curl up under that blanket and don’t move for the rest of the evening! Bonus points if you can persuade someone else to empty the bowl for you!

I think a jar of the sugar scrub would make a really lovely gift, especially packaged up with some cosy socks and some treats or tea to enjoy while you soak. I’ve made a gift tag to add to the jars which you’re very welcome to use. Just click here copy the image and resize to your liking before printing out on some card…

Did you give this recipe a go? Let us know how you get on – you can find us on facebook on twitter and instagram!