Our feet are prone to dry skin, calluses, fungus and warts, and it seems the more time we spend on our feet every day, the worse they look. There’s no denying, everyone wants to look their best when they wear sandals during summer, everyone wants to know how to remove hard skin from feet.
In this article, we take a detailed look at Listerine foot soak. Anecdotally, the main benefit of a Listerine foot soak is that it gets rid of dry, cracked skin, for good!
Some sites also promise that it works to help with diabetes-related foot issues.
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Does a listerine foot soak really work?
Well, our skins naturally shed their outer layer over time. However, dry skin tends to slough off more slowly making the feet become dry and cracked.
As our skins are driest in places where there’s a lot of friction, dry skin is often layered on top of these areas, thus creating a rather unsightly appearance. In some instances, it can even make walking uncomfortable because shoes will rub against the calluses.
Salicylic acid is an exfoliant found in most anti-acne remedies. It helps the skin shed its outer layer more quickly, thus reducing the chance that dry skin will accumulate behind. Methyl salicylate is an active ingredient in Listerine and has powerful exfoliating properties.
Listerine also contains active ingredients that can influence your health – such as essential oils. These oils include thymol, menthol and eucalyptol. All of these essential oils are known to have anti-inflammatory and antiseptic properties.
If you’re struggling with chronic dry, hardened foot skin, Listerine may be the best foot soak for you. It has proven a better and more effective alternative to:
- Pumice stone or foot file
- Moisturisers
- Other exfoliants
When feet are soaked in Listerine, they become softer and smoother as the ingredients penetrate the skin. You’ll want to use a piece of cloth to rub your feet after you soak, particularly on the hardened areas of the heel. You’ll immediately notice that your feet feel soft and supple and will remain this way for several days after the soak.
Though there has been no scientific research to back up Listerine as an exfoliant, there has been overwhelming evidence from blogs and other online sources that it provides good results for dry, cracked feet.
The good news is that anyone who can safely use Listerine mouthwash without allergic reactions can safely use it as a foot soak.
Other benefits of Listerine Foot Soak
There are many benefits of using Listerine as a foot soak. They include:
a. Preventing infections
Listerine is a powerful disinfectant. It contains alcohol- ethanol- which helps to treat infections, as well as prevent them.
Most people use Listerine as a preventative measure against stubborn infections including toenail fungus, athlete’s foot and other infections of the feet.
The essential oils found in Listerine are natural antifungals, so they help treat mild cases of athlete’s foot and toenail fungus. There’s no harm in using Listerine, but if symptoms persist, it’s best to consult a physician.
b. Pain relief
The methyl salicylate found in Listerine is similar to aspirin and is beneficial as a topical pain reliever. A 2010 study found that methyl salicylate offered instant pain relief compared to placebo. This means it is very beneficial in easing muscle and joint pain in your feet.
This, together with the wonderful scent of essential oils in Listerine makes it a good alternative to many other foot soaks.
Best Listerine Foot Soak recipe
Making Listerine foot soak is fast and easy, but you will need to spend a lot more time soaking your feet to gain all of its beneficial properties.
Ingredients for Listerine Foot Soak
- A quarter cup Listerine of mouthwash
- Half a cup of warm water
- A plastic tub that’s big enough to accommodate your feet
How to make the Listerine Foot Soak
- Pour all the above ingredients into the plastic tub
- Sit down in a comfortable place
- Immerse your feet into the tub
- Let them sit for 30 minutes. For best results, let them sit for 1 hour
- Add warm water to the tub in case it starts to get cold
- Remove your feet from the tub
- Use a foot file to slough dead skin from your feet
- Rinse your feet in warm water
- Dry them with a towel
- Repeat the process once every week
If you are among the unfortunate people with extremely dry, cracked feet, I will strongly recommend you try a Listerine foot soak. The sooner you get your foot soak, the sooner your feet will look smoother and rejuvenated. You’ll be pleasantly surprised.
Watch this DIY Listerine foot soak on YouTube:
