Tips for treating tired and sore feet

Tired feet need extra loving care. Here's are a few tricks and tips for treating your tootsies well.

• A foot massage makes your feet feel good. To make a simple massage oil, mix together 25 millilitres (two tablespoons) and three drops of lavender oil and massage your feet with gentle, circular motions. Begin with the sole of your foot and proceed from the toes toward the heel. You can also use a massage brush or foot roller.
• To refresh tired feet, try a fragrant herbal mixture of 20 millilitres (2/3 ounce) each of peppermint and pot marigold tinctures, 10 millilitres (1/3 ounce) of rosemary tincture, 10 drops each of lemon, cypress and peppermint oil, plus 100 millilitres (3 1/2 ounces) of witch hazel. Add all ingredients to a bottle with a spray top and shake vigorously. Spray your feet several times daily, as needed.
• To get your tired, swollen feet back up to speed, try an elder blossom footbath. Boil two handfuls of elder blossoms in one litre (one quart) of water with a handful of peppermint leaves. Cool, strain and pour liquid into a small basin of warm water. Soak for 10 minutes.
• Take a therapeutic footbath by filling a bowl with warm water and adding a few drops of chamomile or lavender oil. Just as simple is a warm footbath with one litre (one quart) of milk or whey added. The bath can rehydrate cracked skin on your feet.
• To make stimulating bath salts, dissolve 10 millilitres (two teaspoons) each of rosemary and spruce needles in 25 millilitres (two tablespoons) rubbing alcohol, then add about 250 grams (eight ounces) of sea salt. Mix the ingredients well. Dissolve 25 millilitres (two tablespoons) of the bath salts in about two litres (two quarts) of warm water and soak your feet for 10 minutes. Store the remainder of the salts in a tightly closed container.
• Brittle skin can be painful and, if left untreated, can lead to more problems. To make a soothing herbal oil, heat 125 millilitres (1/2 cup) of olive oil, add 10 grams (1/3 ounce) each of pot marigold and lavender blooms, and let steep for three minutes over low heat. Strain the cooled oil and thoroughly squeeze out the flowers. When warm to the touch, apply a thin coat to your feet.
• To help swollen feet, cook up some tasty asparagus — it's a natural diuretic. Bananas will make a difference, too; they are a natural source of potassium, which helps relieve fluid retention.