If I had the means (or a willing friend or loved one), I’d get a foot massage as part of my evening routine. Running around all day or wearing uncomfortable shoes put feet under a lot of stress.

And while massages always feel better when administered by someone else, when it comes down to it, a self-massage is better than no massage at all. Give yourself a foot massage and spare others your sore and hot summer feet. Here’s how to do it in a few easy steps.

This DIY foot massage doubles as a stress reliever with the use of essential oils. As you massage, the oils will heat up from the increased circulation in your feet and they will emanate, further illuminating your senses. Enjoy!

DIY Foot Massage

What You’ll Need:

• Sesame seed or almond oil
• Lavender or rosemary essential oils (both of which have been shown to decrease stress)
• A towel

How to Do it:

• Wash your feet and pat them dry.
• Set them atop a towel and apply about a dime size amount of sesame seed or almond oil and a few drops of lavender or rosemary essential oil to your feet. Coat them each evenly.
• Begin with the right foot. Apply pressure to the pinkie toe and massage it in circular motions, then lightly squeeze its base before stretching the toe and pulling it forward. Release.
• Massage the flesh between your pinkie toe and the next toe in circular motions, before moving on to the next toe.
• Repeat the last two steps on the remaining toes.
• Use your right hand’s thumb and pointer finger and lightly massage the area below the ankle and rub around the ankle in a circular motion.
• Place your thumb on the top of your foot and the remaining fingers below your foot to apply pressure on the right half of your foot, lightly squeezing your thumb and fingers on both sides of the foot as you move down the length of your foot.
• Move onto your calf muscle, applying pressure with your fingers at its base and sliding your fingers upwards repetitively.
• Repeat on your left foot.

Aylin Erman is founder of GlowKitchen. There she shares step-by-step picture recipes of her plant-based creations. Aylin lives and works in Istanbul as a writer and editor at the country’s first-ever green-living and sustainability platform, Yesilist. Like her on Facebook and follow her on Twitter to keep up with food news and recipes.

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Photo Credit: anastasia r

The post How to Give a Really Amazing Foot Massage (For Yourself or Someone Else) appeared first on EcoSalon.

It’s free, it’s fun, it helps you see the world, and the only thing stopping you doing it is your own front door.

America has a problem with walking. Its inhabitants walk the least steps per day of all the industrialized nations of the world – and a victim of its own ingenuity, as walking has been, in the words of Tom Vanderbilt, “engineered out of existence.” For all the inspiring quotes out there, people still have a problem taking to the streets without using wheels (not so surprising when those streets are often walker-unfriendly). This week in From The Vault, we take a brisk stroll through 6 walking-related posts from our archives, in the hope they make you leap our of your chair…

Our feet are amazing. Let’s use them wisely. 

…it’s easy to argue for and against flip-flops. On the one hand, they’re light, they allow air between the toes, they’re fun and of course they’re very cheap. And on the other? In today’s world, “cheap” equates to “disposable” – and flip-flops are usually made of eco-unfriendly plastics. And that ache in my ankles? It wasn’t in my head. A recent study by Auburn University (viaMoms Speak Up)  concluded that wearing toe-thonged footwear permanently altered the way you walk, putting unnatural strain on feet and ankles and resulting in the “flip-flop shuffle.“

Flip-Flops: Walking On Shaky Ground?

More alpha men and women seem to be answering the call of the wild, signing on as leader of the pack for several hours each day. For herders able to command six-to-ten furry friends at a time in a neighborhood park or at the beach, dog walking can rake in as much as $200 a day (minus the truck fuel). Scooping poop just got a lot more enticing!

But you should know it isn’t all fun and games, warns Emy Sakai, 29, owner and founder of The Urban Paw dog walking service in San Francisco. The consummate animal lover has been pet sitting and dog walking since the age of 12, starting her career working part time while working in office settings and then branching off to launch her own service, which she likens to running a daycare program.

7 Reasons Not To Diss A Career In Dog Walking

Easy tools like Google’s pedometer will help you track how far you will be walking. Plan realistically; if you’re going with a group of friends, you’ll go at a slower pace than you expect. Assume you’ll cover about one or two miles per hour. A great day trip could be 5 or 6 miles with several stopping points incorporated, keeping you active but also ensuring that the day is enjoyable.

The City Girl’s Guide To Urban Hiking

Make your urban hike a girl’s day out. Plan a shorter itinerary to allow for a slower pace – more talking equals less walking – but that hits a few key hot spots: cute cafe for lunch, a local bakery for afternoon coffee and a corner bar for evening cocktails. If you’re having trouble thinking about where to go, pick a theme for the day: Boutique Shopping, Urban Parks, Undiscovered Food Carts, etc.

Take A Hike: 5 More Great Tips For The Urban Explorer

Every wonder how many crunches it takes to burn off a Big Mac from McDonald’s? Or how many miles you have to run to burn off a large French fries from Wendy’s?

First, everyone burns calories in a different way. In other words, a 120 pound woman with 17% body fat isn’t going to burn the same amount of calories as a 250 pound man with 30% body fat. It all varies according to weight, size and metabolism. So for the purposes of this article, we figured in statistics for the average sized American woman – which is 5’4″, 140 pounds, and a size 14.

Here’s a look at our average Jane eating our favorite fast food wonders, and how she pays for them. (Not that we green Janes ever eat fast food…)

What It Takes To Burn Off 5 Fast Food Meals (And A Latte)

For some reason, human beings seem designed to really dig walking barefoot on grass. Seeing a corner of the market, Krispy Kreme (of all things) have now unveiled…the living grass flip-flop.

The world is momentarily speechless. Yes, it’s surely just a bit of fun. But you wouldn’t think it if you read the press release, which equates walking in these shoes to a healthful, one-with-nature stroll in the park. It’s a little too straight-faced to be comfortable with. (So let’s not forget what flip-flops – and doughnuts – can do).

The Living Flip-Flop: A Step Too Far?

Images: JAIRO BD, Moyan Brenn, Steve-h, revolution cycle, brartist, Let Ideas Compete, Krispy Kreme and mikebaird.

The post From The Vault: Walking The Walk appeared first on EcoSalon.

Six products that soften and nourish our summertime feet.

Summer can be a tricky time for your feet. Unsheathed from the protective coverings of winter, our feet may react like vampires pushed into the sunlight – and not the kind that sparkle. That’s when our feet become accessories themselves, as we polish our toes and shine our heels. But what great green products to use? Here’s our picks.

Farmaesthetics Hand to Heel Softening Salve ($26.00)
Another outstanding product from Farmaesthetics, this salve offers up a deliciously minty moisture for your toughened heels. This calendula-based product provides up a soothing solution to your cracked heels, as well as burns, bruises and even eczema. It also contains beeswax, lavender, peppermint and carrot oils and is 100% natural with certified organic ingredients. And despite its hard-core moisturizing agents, it goes on rather light and absorbs quickly. Which is another way of saying we love this product.

Tade Natural Black Pumice Stone ($6.00)
Heels and tough spots are significantly softened, now how to make them go away? You pumice, I pumice, we all pumice! Sandals expose our feet to the elements, paving the way for cracked, tough skin. A pumice stone is a great weapon in the battle against big calluses. An excellent tool to help reduce the thickness of harder skin, this 100% natural volcanic stone can use used to exfoliate your heels or anywhere on the body that needs it.

Hydrea London FSC Certified Nail Brush ($5.00)

Perfect for your at-home pedicure, this ethically-sourced brush cleans your nails while exfoliating the skin around your cuticles. It has been made from wood assessed by the Forest Stewardship Council. Its short, Sisal bristles remain stiff while wet, giving you an advantage over unwanted dry skin.

Angel Face Botanicals Rock Star Detox Body Scrub ($19.00)
Want to go the extra mile for your feet? Place your tired toes in a warm soak for at least five minutes. Then treat them to this detoxifying scrub, formulated to draw out toxins and pollution from your body. This gentle, herbal detox scrub is quite moisturizing all on its own, offering up an easy solution to deal with dead skin and calluses. It has a lovely honey-citrus scent that will make you feel mini spa-angels have invaded your home. Not to mention, it’s formulated for the entire body.

Dr. Hauschka Body Silk Powder ($34.95)
Ready to dust the day off your feet? This light, talc-free powder can help deodorize feet (it happens) and can even been used as a translucent face powder. From holistic skin care pioneer Dr. Hauschka, the powder is made with finely-ground pure silk. As much as 98% of the plants in Dr. Hauschka Skin Care products are grown biodynamically, organically or have been ethically wild-harvested.

Badger Cuticle Care ($5.50)
When your toes are heading for epic dryness, this cuticle softener from Badger can help turn the tide. Made with shea butter, it contains Seabuckthorn Berry CO2 Extract which will help sooth your cracked cuticles. Badger calls it “delightfully fragranced” and we must admit that it is, carrying a light, lemony tinge to it. Badger shea butter is traditionally-processed from the seeds of wild-grown Karite Tree of Western Africa. It is also USDA certified organic.

FTC Compliance

Image: jturn

The post The Green Guide to Sexy Summer Feet appeared first on EcoSalon.

We are anti-comfort shoe here at EcoSalon. Okay, so maybe we’re a wee bit sensitive about the Birkenstock-crunchy-hippie-girl stereotype that is burned into our corneas, often tainting our dreams with wide-splayed toes and collapsed arches. (You think?) But really, it’s because there are some killer eco-options out there for elegant footwear. Olsen Haus or Cri de Couer?

And so, we’ve often wedged our paws into higher heels, only to collapse the next day with numb toes and angry arches. High heels can hurt, and here’s the science as to why. I spent one day last weekend in a pair of three-inch heels. Almost seven days later, the feeling is just coming back in my left toes. (Well played, irony.) Yep, I do admit to spending a large chunk of my time traipsing around in sneakers. But sometimes you just need a dress shoe.

So how best to take care of your toots when embarking on high heels?

Wear a thicker heel.

Yes, stilettos are awesomely chic, and hats off to the girl and inspiring drag queen who can rock them. But the more pressure shoved onto the balls of your feet, the more your balls will rebel. Consider a thicker heel. I’m not saying early 1990s chunky Mary Jane Doc Martin’s thick (yes, I had these and yes, I am old). But maybe not weapon-y thin.

Look at the angle of your foot bed.

A more gradual slope will relieve the pressure on the balls of your feet. Yes, the 4-inch drop will make you look fashionable, but it’s not going to give you a lot of longevity on your feet.

Go open-toe.

A rumor milling about the universe for decades is that Marilyn Monroe got her pinky toes shaved down because she wanted to be more comfortable in her heels. While it is probably not true, (RIP curvy goddess,) it does rank highly in “Oh MAN that skeevs.” The rest of us could just consider open toe heels. They help relieve some of the pressure on your squished toes.

Purchase foot bed cushions.

Thinks about picking up some foot petals. These shoe cushions claim to be made from a breathable eco-friendly material.

Bring flats.

Anyone else ever walk barefoot on New York City streets because you couldn’t bear to take another step in your hells – I mean heels? There are cute portable flats you can carry in your handbag.

Take them to a pedorthist for a custom fit.

A pedorthist (yes, I had to Google this) “is a medical professional who specializes in the use of footwear and supportive devices to address conditions which affect the feet and lower limbs.”  They can also custom fit your heels to your feet, making walking in them much easier.

Foot massage, foot massage, foot massage.

Enlist a significant other or take to your own feet. (We won’t judge. Okay, Christine O’Donnell might.) Add a little eco-friendly oil and you’re good to go. Sometimes the only thing that can restore feet is rubbing the blood back into them.

Buy comfortable brands.

A lot of the traditional “grandma-shoe” brands – Naturalizer, Uggs, and so on – actually make really cool kicks. Want a guide to awesomely eco high heels? Check out our look at some of our favorite brands.

Image: thepresidentwearsprada

The post 8 Ways to Survive High Heel Hell appeared first on EcoSalon.

A few years ago, I was trying on a pair of Melissa shoes when the shop owner, a good friend, said my feet were too wide for the shoe.

“All that foot cleavage isn’t good,” she said, as I stared down and looked at the sides of my foot over-spilling the non-existent sides of the shoe and onto the wood floor below. This fairly traumatic life event forced me to recognize this seasonal issue, which I now spot wherever I go.

The popular definition of foot cleavage is when your toes are showing but in cases like mine – we add width, (especially when there are no sides to a shoe), the elements, and our gams well up to new proportions as if they’d undergone an augmentation.

How to avoid it? Meghan Cleary, (or Miss Meghan), shoe expert, author of The Perfect Fit: What Your Shoes Say About You and creator of Miss Meghan® footwear, says an easy way to avoid foot cleavage is to look for wider straps.

“Foot cleavage is definitely a very subjective topic as well – some people love it and think its super sexy to show the tops of toes, some people think it’s gross. So you have to determine what’s good for you and then shop with an eye toward silhouettes that will give you more support around the foot – especially in the front.”

She also suggests looking for shoes that “hold” you in at the sides with straps or a higher toe box, especially for wider feet.

She points out her own vegan crossover wedge as an example.

Meghan Cleary Crossover Wedge

Here are some of my personal, anti-foot cleavage favorites that have nice toe beds and thicker straps:

Neuaura Kino

Cri Hannah

OlsenHaus Love

Naya Gladiator

Image: LaurenV.

The post The Beige Report Addresses Oozing Foot Cleavage appeared first on EcoSalon.