One of the key factors that can make or break your ashiatsu massage is the softness of your feet. Now that the sun’s out and the temperatures have gotten warm, we all want to go barefoot. Unfortunately, that will make your tootsies unpleasant for barefoot massage. After all, our clients are not coming in for an exfoliation, right?

Whether you are getting ready to take your first ashiatsu class or you’re a seasoned barefoot massage therapist, you’ve got to keep those feet baby butt smooth.

Sure, you can pay for a pedicure. Some accountants say it’s even tax deductible. (Check with your own to see if she thinks the IRS will allow that.)

But you can make your own foot scrub to get your feet super soft with just a couple of ingredients and it will cost next to nothing!

The great thing about this scrub is that it will make your feet (and hands!) crazy soft, it’s inexpensive, and there are no preservatives or chemicals. You could actually eat it if you wanted to.

I made this foot scrub a number of years ago and used it, along with hot towels, as a signature Ashiatsu session. Clients loved it, although some had ticklish feet. I simply scrubbed the feet, wrapped them with a hot, damp towel, and wrapped each foot in a plastic bag to keep their feet warmer while I worked their neck.

The dampness of the hot towel dissolved the sugar and left the client with super soft feet.

Ashiatsu Sugar Scrub Ingredients

• 2 cups sugar (can use brown or white)
• 1/2-1 cup coconut oil
• 1 tsp vitamin E oil (optional)
• 10-15 drops essential oil (optional)

That’s all there is to it! Put the sugar into a bowl and add the coconut oil. Start with 1/2 cup of oil, then add more if you’d prefer it more creamy. Store in an airtight jar (glass or BPA-free plastic) and the ashiatsu foot scrub can be refrigerated for a cooling effect.

Adding the vitamin E oil can help improve dryness of your feet.

Essential oils would make it smell delicious too. Here are some suggestions to make your feet ashiatsu-worthy:

• Eucalyptus: its properties include anti-inflammatory, antispasmodic, decongestant, deodorant, antiseptic, antibacterial, and stimulating. Good for opening up the sinuses!
• Lavender: can be calming, induce sleep, is an analgesic, disinfectant, antiinflammatory, antiseptic, and antifungal (good for the feet and your body, right?)
• Allspice: It’s an anesthetic, analgesic, antioxidant, antiseptic–keeps those foot “funk and junk” away!
• Cinnamon: It has a number of important qualities, including antibacterial, antifungal, antimicrobial and is an astringent. Plus, it smells like a Panera cinnamon crunch bagel.

How to use the Ashiatsu scrub

1. Wash your feet and dry them off. You can have just gotten out of the shower!
2. Sit on the edge of the tub or on the floor with a towel underneath your feet.
3. Scoop your Ashiatsu sugar scrub into your palm and massage your feet. You’ll soften your hands too, so if you don’t want to do that, wear gloves. (Your massage clients will love your soft hands, too, though.)
4. Make sure you scrub in between your toes and on the callused areas!
5. Rinse your feet off and pat dry OR for a spa treatment, use a hot towel to wipe the scrub off your feet.

You’ll want to make sure you keep your toenails short for your barefoot massage (see this post), and that’s easy enough to do yourself!

How do you keep your feet soft for your Ashiatsu deep tissue massage?

Don’t miss this blog post to see how we check to see if our feet are soft enough!