With increasing access to quality therapeutic-grade essential oils, many people now apply these potent compounds directly to their skin. According to reflexologists, essential oils can be used on feet at bedtime and ensure you get a healthy sleep at night.
The soles of the feet have five skin layers without any hair follicles. Therefore, the pores are very absorbent and can quickly take in the essential oil into the bloodstream. Studies have shown that as soon as the essential oil is applied to the foot, its traces can be found in the body in less than 20 minutes.
This is because palms and soles are the only body areas without sebaceous glands. These glands produce sebum, which is an oily substance that protects the skin while weakening its ability to absorb foreign materials.
Therefore, since the palms and soles lack these glands, they can easily absorb essential oils. Moreover, the feet have 72,000 nerve endings each — more per square centimeter than any body part.
Here are four reasons why you should start rubbing essential oils on your feet.
- Essential oils act faster and more efficiently: The soles of our feet have much larger pores than the rest of the body. This means they act like oversized straws, sucking up the health-giving compounds in oils and quickly feeding them into our bloodstream.
- The skin is less sensitive: The skin on these areas of our bodies are much less sensitive. This means that people who may have irritations when they apply specific 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 use essential oil even when undiluted.
- Feet soles don’t have sebaceous glands: Sebum essentially acts as a barrier, and for this reason, it can act as an impediment to the essential oils which you want your body to absorb. The absence of sebum on the soles of your feet means they are the perfect place to apply essential oils.
- According to the ancient practice of reflexology, every nerve line in the body ends in your feet. Specialists in reflexology maintain that some regions of the feet correspond to the body’s organs. So, by applying essential oils may have a stronger, more beneficial effect on specific areas of the body.
So, there you have it, there are many benefits to applying essential oils to your feet. Apart from giving you a relaxing experience, it also brings health benefits that can be quickly absorbed to act faster and more efficiently. Now you can enjoy a beautiful essential oil treatment before going to bed so that you can have a good night’s sleep every time.