Weird and wacky - but do they work? (Crystal Spring Natural Detoxing Foot Pads)

Member Name: laramax

Product:	Crystal Spring Natural Detoxing Foot Pads
Date:	12/04/08 (310 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Does make your feet feel warm

Disadvantages: I am not sure that they work as they say they do

I decided one day to enter into the world of the weird and the wacky when I saw this product on the shelves in my local Holland and Barrett. I had read about detoxifying food pads some months previously in a Sunday paper so I was curious when I saw the pack.

Yes I know this is something of a strange product and I have to say I was very sceptical when I heard about them. Basically these are pads which you attach to your feet which, it is claimed, will help to detox your body whilst you sleep.

Crystal Spring Detoxing Footpads, are made from natural tree and bamboo extracts, herbs and crystals. They look like little tea bags and come complete with a large micropore type of plaster which you use to fix them to the sole of your foot. The basic idea is that you apply a Detox Pad to the bottom of each foot, as you get into bed, experience better sleep and wake feeling totally refreshed the following morning.

In Reflexology it is suggested that every part, organ and function of the body is reflected in a meridian point on the feet. The idea of a detox foot pad is that you are stimulating the reflexology points on your feet to promote equilibrium and greater healing in our body.

But how do they work?
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The detox footpads contain 2gms of tourmaline crystal which is said to give off far-infrared rays, these rays are beneficial to health and generate warmth in the feet. The warmth encourages blood flow in the feet and perspiration. The herbs have a drawing effect and toxins are drawn out from the body through the perspiration into the footpad.

I guess it is a very similar principle to putting feet in a hot mustard bath which was used in years gone by - mustard was thought to have a drawing effect and this is a similar principle (or so it would appear).

Do they work?
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I bought some of these a couple of years ago and tested them out for a week as they suggested. In the morning after wearing them overnight on the first time of use when I removed what had been a dry 'tea bag' like pad it was all black and sticky and the bottom of my foot was sticky too. I was very suprised, even though I had seen pictures of the effects I couldn't really understand it but I wiped the sticky stuff off my foot, threw away the pad and then had my morning shower as usual.

I didn't notice any marked difference at all but I persisted throughout the week and by the final day although changes had occurred in each pad overnight it was no longer black but was a much paler colour and there was no sticky residue on my foot.

Clearly something was happening but I wasn't sure quite what. The makers claim that these pads will:

Boost your energy levels
Release toxins trapped in body fat and cells
Assist weight loss
Improve metabolism
Help Relieve stress with the emission of negative ions

I remain unconvinced about many of the claims - I can't say in any way that I lost weight but then again I wasn't trying to. I have no idea whether they improved my metabolism or released toxins and I doubt they did anything to relieve stress. However I must say they did seem to boost my energy levels and they still do although now I just use them about once every now and then.

I have no idea what it is that comes out on to the pads. There is without a doubt some kind of chemical change going on there which is less noticeable after a few days use. Using them every few weeks means I don't get the dreadful black sticky pads but I do get a change of colour and texture in the pads so something is going on even if I can't define what it is.

There is a system around that claims to detox you through your feet using the equivalent of a footbath containing an 'array' in which after a treatment the water turns brown. In this case it has been suggested the colour change occurs whether ot not you put your feet in the water so it has in some ways been discredited.

Contents of each footpad
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The footpads contain the following ingredients:
Tourmaline 2gms, Wood Vinegar 0.60gms, Bamboo Vinegar 0.60gms, Dextrin 0.44gms, Vegetable Fibre 0.20gms, Chitosan 0.04gms, Loquat Leaf 0.04gms, Dokudami: Houttuynia Cordata 0.04gms, Vitamin C 0.04gms. Total 4gms.

The Chitosan in the pads comes from crab shells, so although there is only a small amount in the footpads and you are not ingesting it, the manufacturers suggest that if you have a shell fish allergy you don't use this product to be on the safe side.
I tend not ot be allergic to much so I have had no problems in using them. I do however have an allergy to Elastoplast but haven't found any problems with the micropore type fixing sheet supplied with these pads.

Would I recommend them?
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To be honest no, I don't think I would, because I am still not convinced that they are doing what they claim. However if you like to try weird and wacky things then maybe you would want to give them a try?

I do like to buy a pack occasionally if I am in Holland and Barrett and I do use them from time to time. They certainly make me feel more alive the following morning. I feel sharper and more alert (and my feet feel really clean) - but whether that is all in the mind or a real release of toxins I wouldn't like to say. The jury is still out on this one I am afraid.

At £24.95 for 14 pads it works out at around £3.50 for a night's treatment.

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