One thing that I miss about the humidity of the South where I went to college is soft skin. My feet especially were always silky, smooth, and baby butt soft–with no effort whatsoever. Though I didn’t like how the humidity made me feel like I was always taking a shower or caused my hair to never do what I wanted it to, I do miss the soft skin it ensured (and the beach, I really miss the beach!).

Now that I live in a dry, desert state, it can sometimes be difficult to keep my skin smooth and soft. But it is not impossible! By employing all-natural hand creams, lip balms, and the foot-softening method that I’m about to share, I have been able to successfully upkeep my super soft skin, even on my trouble area (my footsies).

What You Need

water (tap will do)
a basin (I bought mine for $1 at our local Dollar Tree)
Epsom salt
lavender essential oil (optional but oh so luxurious, relaxing, and helps your heels heal faster)
a body towel
a body scrub (such as my Honey Citrus Body Scrub)
a moisturizing cream (like my Homemade Coconut Oil and Shea Body Butter)
a pair of clean socks

What You Do

Heat up the water so that it’s almost unbearably hot to your skin. I can usually get water that’s just hot enough via the tap.
Fill your basin about one-third to one half full with the hot water.
Add about 1/4 cup Epsom salt to the water and stir until it dissolves.
Add 2 or 3 drops of lavender essential oil if you’d like (make sure you’re using therapeutic grade lavender essential oil like that sold by Young Living).
Lay the body towel out in front of a chair (I usually just do everything while sitting on our couch). Then set the basin on top of it.
Put your bare feet in the water. I usually wear shorts when doing this, but if you’re wearing pants, be sure to roll them up to keep them from getting wet.
Let your feet soak until the water gets lukewarm or cool. This takes about 15 minutes.
Remove your feet and pat them dry with the towel you placed beneath the basin.
Scoop up some sugar scrub (about a dime to a quarter’s worth is enough per foot) and scrub all of the rough spots on the bottom of one of your feet; repeat with the other foot. Once done scrubbing, rinse the sugar scrub off into the water basin.
Pat your feet dry again.
Apply the lotion or cream to both feet.
Put on some clean socks and wear them for several hours or overnight.

And there you have it! My tried and true method of getting silky soft soles! It’s easier, less aggressive, and less messy than using a foot grater (or whatever those things are called and that I’m afraid of because they look painful). If you have super rough skin, it may take several days of doing this system for super silky soles.