We all know how important proper foot care is to our feet and to our overall health and sense of well being. Foot pain and many other foot care issues can often be relieved by the use of products designed to address them. Tired, hurting feet and  can make for a bad day no matter how great we look. The feet do so much for us and are often taken for granted until corns, bunions, odor, fungus, calluses, dead skin, cracked crusty heels or worse appear.

Our feet are always there whenever we need them to go somewhere with us, even if our shoes are too tight or the heels are too high, they try to do what we want although they are much happier bare. Have you ever noticed how different your feet feel when they have absolutely nothing on them? Do you take your shoes off first when you arrive home?

It reminds me of the seemingly wonderful experience babies have when they discover their feet for the first time. They love to hold their toes and eventually will try to put a foot in their mouth, this is the first sign that there is something special about bare feet. Although it's been a long time since we did that all those years ago our feet still need that special touch from us every now and then; of course I am not suggesting you try to mimic the babies.

Let us consider these facts; the foot has an amazing and intricate structure. The bones in your feet make up about one fourth of all the bones in your body. Each foot contains 26 bones. It takes 33 joints, 107 ligaments, 19 muscles, and numerous tendons to hold the bones in place and to move in a variety of ways, there are also nerves and blood vessels. In addition, each foot has about 125,000 sweat glands which excrete as much as a half a pint of moisture each day. There are more than 300 foot ailments.

It's a fact that women, young and old, have four times as many foot problems as men, high heels and ill fitted shoes are often the culprits. Did you know that foot pain is not normal and have you ever had a podiatrist examine your feet? There may be more going on with your feet than you have considered. Still there are other therapies and treatments to help with our foot pain and discomfort. The art and practice of hand and foot massage has been around since ancient times.

Reflexology
The ancient healing art of reflexology has been known to man for thousands of years. It was first practiced by the early Indians, Chinese and Egyptians. In 1913 an American ear, nose and throat surgeon, introduced this therapy to the West. He noted that pressure on specific parts of the body could have an effect on a related area. Developing this theory, he divided the body into ten equal and vertical zones, ending in the fingers and toes. He concluded that pressure on one part of a zone could affect everything else within that zone. Thus, reflex areas on the feet and hands are linked to other areas and organs of the body within the same zone.

In the 1930's a therapist further developed and refined the zone therapy into what is now known as foot reflexology. She observed that congestion or tension in any part of the foot mirrors congestion or tension in a corresponding part of the body. Thus, when you treat the big toes there is a related effect in the head, and treating the whole foot can have a relaxing and healing effect on the whole body. I have had this chart for many years, I keep it in my home spa area (my bathroom). It was given to me by a practicing reflexologist after my first treatment.  The chart shows labeled reflexology body zones mapped to areas of the feet.
 
We made our natural foot care products to pamper, revive and maintain healthy feet. These products are a special treat just for feet; going beyond the call of duty, being supportive, steady and reliable over the years, a true friend. They never let us down through decades of shoe fashion trends, disco, panty hose, aerobics, shopping expeditions and more. Our feet have been there through the years, obedient and reliably taking us through all of it.  For all they do for us an hour of attention once a week is a small well earned reward.

For all the sacrifices our feet make on our behalf they deserve to be pampered at least once a week, lavished with love by Herbal Luxuries foot care products and treatments for home spa.