Why should I put Essential Oils on My Feet!

I love putting oils on my feet.  I do it morning and night.  Sometimes I use a hand and body lotion, sometimes I use a little Deep Blue, and sometimes I use a body butter. 

This is a special time as it is very relaxing and since our hands, feet, and ears all have reflexology points for all parts of our bodies we can sooth our whole bodies.  This is also awesome as the 7200 super highway of nerves that run the length of our bodies begin with our feet. 

There are some misconceptions floating around on the world wide web (on Facebook, Blogs, and Pinterest and the like) about our feet.  First our feet have the thickest skin on our bodies this creates the conditions for slower absorption.  Another thing I have been seeing is that pores absorb; this is not true the dermis absorbs.  Sebaceous glands are glands that are associated mostly with hair follicles, however they are NOT found on our hands or feet among a few other parts of the human body.  For anything to be absorbed through the skin, it must pass through the epidermis, glands, or hair follicles. Sweat glands and hair follicles make up about 0.1 to 1.0 percent of the total skin surface. Though small amounts of oil may enter the body rapidly through the glands or hair follicles, they are primarily absorbed through the epidermis.  Whether or not the skin will absorb will depend on several factors, including the substance, skin health, exposure, temperatures, etc.  The skin is relatively permeable to fat soluble substances and relatively impermeable to water soluble substances. Essential oil molecules are so minute that when they are applied to the skin; they are able to pass through the strateum corneum (the outer layer of the epidermis). From here the oil molecule passes through dermis, into the capillaries and into the bloodstream, this process bypasses the kidney and liver.  So our feet and hands, since we are massaging our feet with our hands, are providing double duty in applications here, not only is the oil following the 7200 pathways from the feet it is following the pathways from the hands as well.  Also you will find that there is a lesser opportunity for reactions when applying to the feet.  Application of “hot” oils like oregano or cinnamon to the feet will be less likely to cause a reaction.  It is also a common place to apply phototoxic oils (i.e. citrus oils).  I find that massaging my feet while applying sets up another layer of relaxation.

Consider this, in 12 seconds essential oils are in our brains, 2 minutes in our blood stream and 20 minutes in every cell of our bodies.  Now this is an example when inhaling the oils.  Yes our skin absorbs, it absorbs good and bad stuff.  If you are applying a chemical based lotion to your skin it too is absorbed and the chemicals are getting into your body.  So BEWARE of what you are putting onto your skin from every point of view and from head to toe.