Tea Tree Oil Foot Soak Recipe for Healthy Feet (Anti-fungal)

Today I would I like to share with you my DIY tea tree oil foot soak recipe. This homemade foot soak recipe will work great for everyone but is created to bring the most benefits to those who suffer from recurring feet fungus. The key ingredient for this homemade foot soak is tea tree oil due to its strong anti-fungal properties. I have also added some green tea leaves for additional anti-fungal and antibacterial properties. Baking soda and peppermint essential oil make this homemade foot soak super refreshing.

Many homemade anti-fungal treatments smell horrible, but I promise this will feel like a spa experience.

Continue reading to find out:

- How to use tea tree oil foot soak

- Ingredients for tea tree oil foot soak (including what tea tree oil to buy to maximize anti-fungal properties)

- How to make this DIY foot soak for fungus

- Free printable tag

How to use tea tree oil foot soak

This DIY tea tree oil foot soak is an effective home remedy against fungus (if you buy good quality oil like this one - read the section about tea tree oil below). It also works great as a preventative measure. It’s not a secret that for many people foot fungus is a recurring problem. This can be due to hereditary factors or the lifestyle. Even if you do not have foot problems at the moment, soaking your feet in the tea tree oil foot bath will help you prevent fungus from recurring.

When ready to use… pour about ¼ cup of tea tree oil foot soak into the bowl, add hot water (but not too hot) and soak your feet. Soak your feet for about 15-20 min, pat dry with the towel and apply a moisturizer. Repeat daily as an anti-fungal treatment or once a week as a preventative measure.

Ingredients for tea tree oil foot soak recipe

Epsom salt

Epsom salt is actually not a salt. It is a naturally occurring pure mineral compound of magnesium and sulfate. The beauty of Epsom salts is that both magnesium and sulfate have been shown to be readily absorbed through the skin. This means that soaking in a bath with Epsom salts will allow your body to absorb these minerals and get all the health benefits associated with them.

Relieves stress and relaxes the body. When we stress our bodies lose magnesium and increase levels of adrenaline. By soaking our feet in a bath with Epsom salts we get to replenish our bodies with magnesium. Magnesium helps to produce serotonin in our bodies, thus, it helps us to feel more relaxed, improves sleep and concentration.

Relieves pain and muscle cramps. Epsom salt baths are famous for helping with muscle cramps and muscle pain. Again, this is all due to the magnesium absorption as it is well known that muscle cramps are mainly caused by lack of magnesium. I love and recommend using Epsom salt baths for tired and swollen feet. It does help.

Tea tree oil

Tea tree oil is the main active ingredient in this foot soak recipe. This is because it has the strongest anti-fungal and anti-bacterial properties. Tea tree oil is the best-known natural home remedy for foot fungus. It is widely used in bath soaks and many people also apply tea tree oil directly to the affected area.

When you have a stubborn feet fungus you may want to do both. Soak your feet in the tea tree oil foot bath and then apply the oil directly to the affected area afterward. Just make sure you dilute tea tree oil in a carrier oil before applying. 

As I mentioned before you don’t need to have an active fungus to use this DIY foot soak. Tea tree oil foot soak is a great prevention method to make sure you have healthy feet.

! When buying Tea Tree oil look for a good quality oil that has at least 30% of Terpinen. This is what gives the tea tree oil its antiseptic and anti-fungal properties. Here are two links to Amazon where you can purchase good quality tea tree oil with 40%+ Terpinen. Most oils out there have many great reviews because… well, because people don’t know any better. Don’t get seduced. If you want this foot soak to work for fungus, get this tea tree oil. If this is unavailable then my second choice would be this one.

Green Tea

You probably think that I added green tea to this homemade foot soak recipe just for the looks?

It does look fancier with those green leaves and it also gives a nice tint to the bath water. But the reason I included it in this antifungal foot soak recipe is its medical properties.

Green tea has anti-fungal properties. In fact, it is a common folk remedy for Athlete’s Foot in Japan to apply green tea leaves directly on the affected area. In 2013, Japanese scientists performed a study about the effects of green tea foot soak on Athlete’s Foot. The study showed that soaking your feet in a green tea bath daily was effective in treating foot fungus. You can find this research here. So, if you want this antifungal foot soak recipe to be effective, do not skip the green tea.

Baking soda

Baking soda is a very common ingredient in DIY foot soaks because it helps to get rid of bad foot odor. Most foot odor remedies only mask the smell but baking soda actually absorbs the bacteria causing bad smell and get rids of the smell completely. Healthy, nice smelling feet are exactly what this tea tree oil foot soak is designed to achieve.

Peppermint essential oil

I love adding peppermint essential oil to my DIY foot soak recipes. Peppermint oil relieves swelling and tightness of sore feet. It also provides a cooling tingle making the foot soak feel very refreshing which is exactly what most of us need after a long day. And let’s not forget the refreshing smell of the peppermint oil. It goes really well with the tea tree oil.

Carrier oil

It is very important not to skip a carrier oil when making a DIY foot soak with essential oils. I was very surprised that most of the foot soak recipes online tell you to add essential oils straight to the bath water. This can be dangerous. Essential oils are very potent and should not be used straight on the skin or added directly to the bath water.

You see, essential oils do not dissolve well in water which means that most of it just floats on top of the water. This means that these essential oils will be touching your skin undiluted. Combined with hot water, this can potentially cause irritation.

So, for this foot soak recipe, we will dilute our essential oils in a carrier oil. Carrier oil is any standard oil like olive oil, sweet almond oil, grape seed oil or similar.

Every 20 drops of essential oil that you use should be diluted in 1 tablespoon of carrier oil.

I will show you how to do it in the instructions below. Oh, and adding a carrier oil will make your feet softer. Win-win.

*If you want to go a step further you could also add an emulsifier, such as Polysorbate 80 or 20, to your foot soak recipe. Emulsifiers help oils mix with water. This means that all your oils will be distributed in the water evenly and you won’t see any oil floating on top. This is not a mandatory thing for a foot soak but it is a great additive if you are planning to sell your foot soaks. I use Polysorbate 80 in bath bombs because it helps to disperse oils and color in water well. Read more about Polysorbate 80 in my post.

How to make tea tree oil foot soak yourself

You'll need:

⇒ 1 cup Epsom Salt

⇒ 1/2 cup Baking soda

⇒ Green tea leaves (add as much as you like)

⇒ 30 drops Tea tree oil. As discussed before I recommend this oil and this due to the high amount of Terpinen.

⇒ 10 drops Peppermint essential oil

⇒ 2 tbsp carrier oil (I used sweet almond oil. best to use a light oil)

Instructions:

1. Combine Epsom salt and baking soda in a large bowl. Mix well.

2. Dilute your essential oils. Combine your essential oils and a carrier oil of your choice in a small bowl and mix well.

3. Pour your oil mixture into a large bowl with Epsom salt and baking soda. Mix well.

4. Add green tea leaves to the bowl and mix some more.

5. Pour the mixture into the jar and it's all done. Enjoy!

Gift it!

DIY foot soaks make a great homemade gift. All you need is a cute jar, a ribbon and a label or a tag.

Cute jars you can get from here:

And I have the label part covered for you. You can download my free printable Tea Tree oil foot soak label here:

Tea tree foot soak tags

It does not say anti-fungal on the label or anything like that so it works great for personal use and gifts. This DIY foot soak looks and smells great and is a perfect gift not only for those who tend to suffer from Athlete’s Foot but also for everyone who wants to keep their feet healthy.

Another option is to pack your homemade tea tree oil foot soak in test tubes. Bath salts and DIY soaks look great in them. Just look at these homemade rose bath salts in test tubes.