Putting Essential Oils On The Soles Of Your Feet

1. Essential oils act faster and more efficiently

The soles of our feet have much larger pores than the rest of our body. This means they act a little like oversized straws, sucking up the health-giving compounds in the oils and quickly feeding them into our bloodstream. If you’re an aficionado of milkshakes and thick shakes, you’ll know what I’m talking about. Most milkshakes are okay to drink through a normal diameter straw, but the more delicious ice cream that gets added to the shake, the harder it is to get that delicious shake into your mouth!

Essential oils present much the same problem. With an oversized straw, you can suck out that thick shake to your heart’s content. And when applied to the larger pores of your foot soles, these oils can pass through the epidermis into your body and begin working their magic faster and more efficiently.

2. The skin is less sensitive.

Purely because the bottom of our feet are designed to take their fair share of abuse, the skin on this area of our bodies is much less sensitive. This means that many people who might experience irritation when they apply certain essential oils to other parts of their body often don’t have any issues when they apply the same oils to their feet.

The lower sensitivity of the skin on your soles means you can often apply essential oils undiluted. It also makes a great location to apply “hot” oils like oregano or peppermint, which can sometimes cause issues for people elsewhere.

3. Feet soles don’t contain sebaceous glands

Along with the palms of your hands, the soles of your feet are the only part of your body which don’t contain sebaceous glands. Sebum essentially acts as a barrier. For this reason, it can act as an impediment to the essential oils which you want to absorb into your body. The absence of sebum on the soles of your feet means they are the perfect place to apply essential oils.

4. Feet and reflexology

According to the ancient practice of reflexology, every nerve line in the body ends in your feet. Specialists in reflexology maintain that certain areas of the feet correspond to the body’s organs. Thus by applying essential oils to your feet, it’s possible that these oils may have a stronger, more beneficial effect on certain areas of the body.

Considering that reflexology has been shown to have significant, scientifically-proven benefits, this claim may have some legitimacy to it. For example, a study which used foot reflexology to treat patients with breast and lung cancer found that there was a marked decrease in both anxiety and pain. Another study found that ear, hand and foot reflexology resulted in “a significantly greater decrease in premenstrual symptoms for the women given true reflexology treatment than for the women in the placebo group.”

5. Spiritual connection to the earth

While this one is hard to put a scientific spin on, it’s not all about the numbers and figures! Historically, the feet have been venerated by ancient cultures as an important part of the body in spiritual practices. Much of this comes from a recognition that our feet are our connection to the Earth, rooting us in the biosphere and encapsulating our energetic links to Mother Earth. What better place, then, to put essential oils?

Please remember you can always contact me for any further information or support.