It’s rather elementary my dear, your feet are stinky because of a mixture of sweat and sweat-eating bacteria. True of other parts of the body, I suppose, but today we are feet-forward-focused. There is even a medical term for your podiatrist-prone stink – localized eccrine bromhidrosis.
Did you know that your feet have more sweat glands than any other area of your body? Literally thousands. The soles of the feet have the most sweat glands of any part of the body. The number of sweat glands grows as we do, so tiny tootsies don’t have as many. Now we are not here for a scientific lesson on how sweat alone doesn’t smell, because it doesn’t, but it needs bacteria or a fungus for the pungent-ness. The bacteria eat the dead skin cells and oils on your skin creating organic acids and that is the stinky bit.
So, to avoid the reek, clean and dry those feet! It is recommended to go barefoot, day and night, and wash, exfoliate & dry the tootsies often. Remember there are two villains in the stinky feet saga: the feaster and what is feasted upon.
For the feaster, of course, I have a new idea for you, beyond washing often. Put a few drops of an essential oil containing lemongrass or thyme on your feet to decrease the amount of those hungry bacteria. If you want to earn extra credit, put the essential oil on a cotton ball and place it in your shoe overnight.
For what is feasted upon, it’s the combo of dead skin cells and the oils & sweat.
Not everyone is into pedicures, publicly or at home, but that doesn’t mean you don’t need to exfoliate your feet often. So, a few ideas to get you going. The first, simplest, and maybe most enjoyable way: go for a long, barefoot walk on the beach. Not only is walking barefoot going to burn more calories, but you get the natural exfoliation.
The next suggestion falls in the silly / weird experience category. The fish pedicure (aka fish spa or ichthyotherapy 🐟) where you soak your feet, and toothless fish, the Garra rufa, nibble on your dead skin. The practice originated in Turkey in the early 1900s where the hot springs naturally house these fish. Today, the fish are imported all over the world to bring fancy feet forward**.
If you are not near a beach, and you haven’t had a Garra rufa nibble session in a while, this simple DIY foot peel can shed those tasty dead skin cells the bacteria love to feast upon and make your tootsies look pedicure perfect.
Mix evenly a capful of uncoated aspirin, crushed fine, with 2 tbsp of lemon juice. Slowly mix in 2 tbsp of water. If it is still too thick, add a tad more lemon juice. Then smear the paste over your feet, cover with plastic wrap and throw on a pair of socks. Sit back and let the chemical peel do its magic. Leave it on for at least an hour, but if you can do 2-3 hours, you will see the difference in spades. Take off the socks and plastic wrap, wash with warm water and dry your feet well. Massage a few drops of jojoba oil for good measure, and you are done. Now the real work begins.
The first day you will see a difference, but over the next few days you will notice the skin continues flaking off (maybe wear socks for this part too). The chemical peel is slowly, magically, removing all the dead skin cells.
Did you know aspirin is primarily made of salicylic acid? The added lemons and you just juiced the acidic effect of the aspirin. Please note, if you feel irritation from the paste, rinse early and move on.
Stop the stink!
** Unfortunately, fish pedicures are banned in certain jurisdictions. Don’t tell the fish. 🤫