The feet are perhaps the most roughly used parts of our body. They bear your weight in all sorts of environments and with all types of shoes. They support stiletto heels for parties, dance shoes, sandals for grocery-getting, sneakers for jogging, boots for hiking, and do their best to make you appear pleasant.
However, when it's time to take your shoes off and trudge barefoot, most of us are haunted by a common fear: feet odor and shoe odor. Sweating and bacteria that causes stinky feet are inevitable and natural. However, the sight of sore, cracked feet, the smell of sweaty feet, and the texture of damp, moist feet feel like an absolute turn off.
Having foot smell or foot fungus goes unnoticed or even undetected by most people. But if left neglected or untreated, these minor hygiene problems can result in much more serious skin and blood diseases.
It's no secret why many of us regularly go for pedicures and foot scrubs to get our feet skin soft as those of a baby foot. The skin that has gradually adjusted to bacteria and fungus can return to its original suppleness and softness if you know some care tips.
Right now, we'll walk you through the most comfortable way of ridding your feet of stinky, dirty feet: the Tea Tree Oil. Having the scientific name of Melaleuca Alternifolia, this tea tree is native to Australian lands. The oil is known to be one of the most popular essential oils, primarily due to its antimicrobial and antibacterial properties.
How Do You Use Tea Tree Oil for Foot Odor?
Tea tree oil has antiseptic and antifungal uses for nail infections, athletes foot, and several other skin problems of your feet. Of course it's recommended that you first clean your feet.
There are several ways of using Tea Tree oil for curing smelly feet, and they are as listed below:
1. Tea Tree Oil Body and Foot Wash
You can opt for a foot wash containing tea tree oil if you're looking for gentle treatment. In order to kill bacteria and eliminate foot odor, you can replace your regular soap with a body wash containing Tea Tree oil.
Raw or undiluted tea tree oil may be too much to use on a daily basis. Therefore, beauty and healthcare products containing tea tree are the best you can get. After your bath, you can moisturize your feet with Tea tree serum or cream to lock in the moisture.
Here's Our #1 Best Seller for something quick and off-the-shelf to help with foot odor:
2. Tea Tree Foot Bath
For a more special treatment to drive away bacteria and fungus and clear away the dead skin on your soles, a foot bath is much better. You can add a few drops of tea tree oil to your foot bath solution and scrub gently to reveal fresh, healthy skin.
However, you need to be careful with the duration of this bath. Concentrated tea tree oil is quite a powerful antiseptic and can break through all the natural oils that keep your skin soft and smooth. This method should last about five minutes at most, and you should go for it only when your stinky feet are no longer bearable.
3. Tea Tree Foot Cream
Another simple way to include tea tree extract in your foot care routine is to use tea tree foot cream. There are a number of excellent brands out there, in both organic and synthetic fields. You can find a high end as well as low-end products that are equally effective.
The best advantage of using cream is that it provides your feet with the optimal amounts of tea tree oil. You don't need to use tea tree cream as a treatment method. You can simply use it in your skincare and foot care routine and notice a gradual improvement in your feet's hygiene.
4. Tea Tree Mixed With Other Essential Oils
If you're trying to avoid cramming tea tree products on your vanity shelf, we have another solution. You can try to get diluted topical tea tree essential oil for your feet. You can also mix a few drops of concentrated tea tree oil with other essential oils.
Lavender, lemon, coconut, black seed, olive oil, etc. have numerous benefits on the skin and are perfectly harmless. If you're able to get hold of all-natural, 100% pure essential oils, you can make your perfect concoction to get rid of smelly feet and shoes.
Mix your desired choice and proportion of essential oils with tea tree and do a patch test to make sure it doesn't harm your skin.
What Is the Best Essential Oil For Stinky Feet?
All essential oils have a few standard advantages. However, for stinky feet, you need something that gets rid of bacteria, fungus, discoloration, as well as dead skin, and any other infections. Sounds pretty hectic, right? Well, here are three essential oils besides tea tree oil that you can apply to your feet to rejuvenate them thoroughly:
1. Frankincense
This one has all the anti-agents you need to give your feet a new life. Also known as the King of Oils, frankincense is an excellent antiseptic and possesses strong antibacterial properties. It's also anti-infection, so it helps in driving away any infections from your feet.
Another reason why frankincense is a great essential oil for your skin is that it quickly absorbs other essential oils into the feet. This one is also anti-inflammatory, so other essential oils such as tea tree wouldn't hurt much.
2. Peppermint
Peppermint essential oil has what we can call a 'cooling effect' on your feet. Applying this one leaves your feet smelling fragrant and also has health benefits such as relieving headaches, curing heartburn, and digestive difficulties.
3. Black Pine
Black Pine essential oil has the scientific name pinus nigra. It's an incredibly useful oil when it comes to finding a food odor eliminator. You can get a bottle of black pine oil, mix it with some coconut oil, and massage gently on your feet. Continue this routine for a few weeks, and you'll notice a difference in your feet's hygiene and smell.
How Do You Get Rid of Smelly Feet?
Toenail fungus, skin irritation, and stinky feet are the bane of your existence. How do you get rid of these problems for good? Here are some surefire ways to make sure you soothe sore feet and get them to smell fresh all the time:
- Get shoes that are open and airy. If you keep your feet wholly trapped inside full-coverage shoes, the skin won't have much space to breathe. The stuffiness and accumulation of sweat will, therefore, result in smelly shoes and feet.
- Change your shoes regularly. If you tend to wear certain pairs with regularity, they'll wear out pretty soon. Similarly, they'll also acquire a particular odor that transfers to your feet as well.
- Choose socks that absorb moisture and keep your feet dry and warm. You can also go for antimicrobial socks such as those made of bamboo.
- Apply rubbing alcohol using cotton balls on the smooth areas of your skin. This helps to keep it smooth and dry. Avoid getting the alcohol in the cracks of your skin, though.
- Crop your toenails regularly. Keep them short and dry in order to avoid nail fungus or broken nails.
- If you have hardened skin underneath your toenails or on your heels, it'll crack easily. When this area comes in contact with water, it becomes a suitable habitat for bacteria. File your feet skin regularly using a foot file. This will reduce the majority chances of bacterial habitat and will make it easier to get rid of the stink.
- Use shoe spray or shoe deodorizer to keep your shoes free from stink and sweat. You can also use foot powder or deodorizer spray for this purpose.
- Dip your feet in Epsom salt solution every once in a while as a substitute for tea tree oil products.
- You can also make foot soaks using Listerine or vinegar.
- Apply essential oils and creams to keep the fungus away.
Does Tea Tree Oil Smell Bad?
Many people are curious about the smell of tea tree. You can generally predict the smell of other essential oils such as coconut or lavender, or peppermint, but what does 'tea tree' indicate? Nothing of substance.
To answer this question, the tea tree has a rather unpleasant camphoric smell. This sounds a bit off since tea tree oil is also meant to alleviate the stink of your feet.
The reason why pure tea tree oil doesn't smell so good is because of its chemical structure and uses. It's a great antiseptic and antibacterial, and hence there's a strong scent to it. However, most of the time, tea tree oil is diluted or mixed with other essential oils to lessen the strength of this smell.
Undiluted, 100% concentrated tea tree oil is impossible to use anyways. You'll usually find yourself using a mix of tea tree oil with other essential oils to make it smell much better.
References
https://www.apartmenttherapy.com/how-to-disinfect-your-whole-home-with-tea-tree-oil-238685
https://mobilereflexology.ca/5-essential-oils-for-feet/
https://www.healthline.com/health/how-to-get-rid-of-smelly-feet#causes
https://australian-bodycare.uk/blogs/guides/how-to-get-rid-of-smelly-feet-gfc#:~:text=Wash%20your%20feet%20as%20normal,skin%20oils%20on%20your%20feet.
https://www.healthline.com/health/tea-tree-oil-for-nail-fungus
https://www.thehealthy.com/foot-care/essential-oils-foot-odor/
https://www.amrita.net/stinky-feet-aromatherapy-essential-oils