Our poor feet suffer everyday. We tend to abuse them unlike any other part of our body. We stand and walk on them for hours on end, many times wearing shoes without adequate protection. As a result, much of the population suffers from things like dryness, blisters, warts, and abrasions.
Most people don’t bother to give their feet any love and care like they do the rest of their body. But, the feet are arguably the hardest working part of our body, and they should be treated like it. Feet need rejuvenation just like the rest of our body.
Fortunately, castor oil works wonders on restoring and healing the skin of the feet. Whether you deal with warts, blisters, abrasions, or simply dryness, castor oil is here to help.
Below, you will find my full guide to the benefits of using castor oil on your feet and full details of the different ways you can use castor oil for better feet.
What Is Castor Oil?
Castor oil comes from the castor bean plant that grows in Africa, Asia, and India. The oil is derived from the seeds of the plant by cold pressing them. After cold pressing, the seeds are then heated so that the oil can be extracted.
This type of oil has been used for centuries because it has many properties that are good for your health. Today, we continue to recognize how great castor oil is and how it can improve our lives.
There haven’t been enough studies done to show exactly how well castor oil works, but many people swear by it.
Most people use castor oil orally as a laxative. It helps to move things along and keep you feeling regular.
However, castor oil is becoming more and more popular to be used on the skin. The oil is a wonderful moisturizer, and can get even the roughest skin feeling soft again.
It also has antibacterial, anti-fungal, and anti-inflammatory properties. It can be used to reduce swelling and pain, rid the skin of acne, and fight off fungal infections.
Benefits Of Castor Oil On Feet
Castor oil is great for the skin on your feet because it moisturizes your feet and can heal dry, cracked skin. One of the chief complaints with feet is that they become hard and dry, especially during the winter or if you walk a lot during the day.
Don’t fear — castor oil is great for making your feet feel like new.
So, why should you use castor oil on your feet?
- It moisturizes
- It prevents infections
- It reduces pain
- It encourages circulation
- It reduces irritation & itching
It Has Moisturizing Properties
Most people use castor oil for dry feet. You can also use castor oil for cracked feet. Castor oil is rich in ricinoleic acid, a fatty acid that helps retain moisture and prevent your feet from picking up bacteria or fungi.
It is also rich in Omega-9 which also helps your skin retain more moisture. It ensures that the moisture travels deep into the layers of your skin rather than staying at the surface.
When your skin is less dry, it will have more elasticity. More elasticity allows you to use your feet for longer without them becoming painful and cracked.
One reason that castor oil is so good at moisturizing is that it is a thick substance that can easily penetrate the skin. Because it easily penetrates, it can stay in the skin for longer and moisturize at a deeper level.
Castor oil also works to bring you added moisture by drawing moisture from the surrounding air. The product itself is moisturizing, but it works to bring you the most moisture possible by sucking in moisture from the air and drawing it to your skin.
One thing’s for sure, you’re going to want to use castor oil for dry, cracked feet.
It Can Prevent Infection
One of the greatest things about castor oil is that it is composed of 90% ricinoleic acid. Ricinoleic acid is a fatty acid that has anti-fungal, anti-inflammatory, and antibacterial properties.
These properties are the main reason that castor oil is so popular among people dealing with acne. The antibacterial properties prevent pimples from ever starting, while the anti-inflammatory properties help get rid of pimples.
Now, most people don’t get acne on their feet, so this isn’t usually a problem. However, these antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and anti-fungal properties can come in handy elsewhere.
Fungal infections can be prevented and treated with castor oil. Athlete’s foot is particularly common in those with sweaty feet. Despite its name, “athlete’s foot” is not restricted solely to athlete’s.
Instead, athlete’s foot is a result of over sweating of the feet, and the sweat having nowhere to go. People with overactive sweat glands in their feet may develop athlete’s foot, especially if they have tight shoes with no breathability.
Athlete’s foot is not the only fungal infection that your feet can develop though, and many fungal infections are contagious. I’m sure that most people don’t go around touching other people’s feet. Even so, you’re likely to spread it to those in your household if you’re not careful.
Fungal infections in your feet can produce nasty symptoms like redness, scaling, and horrible odors.
Fortunately, castor oil is a natural anti-fungal. If you want to prevent your feet from developing a fungal infection, it’s easy. Simply give your feet some care and apply a castor oil moisturizer every so often.
It Can Reduce Pain
The anti-inflammatory properties of castor oil will help to reduce pain because it decreases the swelling in your feet. Besides that, it also has analgesic properties that work to reduce any pain you’re feeling in your feet.
Not only can it reduce any pain you’re feeling in your feet, but it’s thought that it can help with headaches and migraines as well. It’s believed that the feet are closely linked to the head. So, when we feel pain in our head, it can often be relieved through our feet.
Next time you’re experiencing a headache or migraine and can’t find relief, give castor oil a try. You’ll want to mix a bit of castor oil and coconut oil together and massage it into your feet. This works particularly well before bed when you’re not using your feet.
Make sure to cover your feet up with socks to hold in the moisture.
It Encourages Circulation
One reason why castor oil is so nourishing is that it increases circulation in the area that you apply it. If you rub castor oil into your feet, the blood in your feet will circulate better. This often helps reduce pain, so you can use castor oil for foot pain.
Increased circulation can also help heal the skin of your feet whether they’re dry and cracked, or suffering from a wart or blisters.
When circulation increases in an area, more vitamins and nutrients are carried to that area. When a part of your body receives more vitamins and nutrients, it is going to become healthier.
Added nutrients promotes healing, allowing dry, cracked skin to come back stronger and more supple. Healthy skin cells may also help to replace the damaged skin cells from a wart or blister.
It Reduces Irritation & Itching
Of course, some common symptoms that come with damaged feet are irritation and itching. The moisturizing properties of castor oil will work to reduce the feeling of itchiness while the anti-inflammatory properties will reduce any irritation.
Exactly How To Use Castor Oil For Feet
There are a few different ways that you can use castor oil on your feet.
Scrubs are ideal to use once every week or so. They work as a great castor oil feet detox. They remove the dead skin cells from your feet, so you don’t want to use them every day or you may rub your skin raw.
However, when used in moderation, they’re great for moisturizing and rejuvenating the feet.
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You can then thoroughly rub and massage the scrub into your feet for several minutes and rinse the scrub off with water.
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You can then gently massage the mixture over your feet, put socks and go to bed. Your feet will be soft and smooth in the morning.
Castor oil on feet at night is refreshing and healing, and your feet will thank you!
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Rest your feet in the Epsom salt soak for about 5-10 minutes. Then, massage a liberal amount of castor oil over your feet and cover your feet with socks.
You can repeat this daily until the infection is gone.
Conclusion
If your feet are overworked like most people’s are, you’re going to want to rejuvenate them with some castor oil. Castor oil is great for feet because it’s incredibly moisturizing, and it has anti-fungal and antimicrobial properties.
Whether your dealing with a fungal infection, blisters, or just dryness, castor oil can work wonders on your feet.
Learn more about using castor oil for dry skin here or whether it can help with rashes and itchiness here. You can also find all our guides to using castor oil here.
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