Soothe those aching feet! (The Body Shop Peppermint Foot Lotion)

Member Name: hypno06

Product:	The Body Shop Peppermint Foot Lotion
Date:	13/02/09 (217 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Reliable, soothing, refreshing.

Disadvantages: None at all!

**A bit of the history and an overview**

The Body Shop was born in 1976 - the brainchild and the passion of Anita Roddick. The vision was to provide good quality cosmetic products without compromising her ethical beliefs, making sure that producers were treated fairly, that the environment was disrupted as little as possible, and that the consumers could buy goods that had not been tested on animals (quite unusual at the start), at a reasonable price, thereby feeling that not only were they able to feel good as a result of the goods they were buying, but also to feel good in "giving something back".

The Body Shop is now part of the L'Oreal Group, but maintains the original aims of its founder.

One of the products that I have used most over the last couple of decades is the Peppermint Foot Lotion - this is a product that has remained unchanged, as far as I can tell, since it was first produced. Why change a product when there is nothing wrong with it. Too often, we are looking for ways to improve, move with the times, become more innovative, yet with this particular product there is no need......it is more than good enough as it is.

**When I use it**

As someone who enjoys running and skiing, my feet can be pretty rank after a day on the slopes or a few miles in my trainers, so a bottle of peppermint foot lotion has been part of my gym bag or my holiday bag for many years. In more recent years, however, I have become a reflexologist, and this beauty has become my favoured lotion when working on clients' feet.

**The product**

Peppermint foot lotion comes in a clear plastic bottle just as the picture shows. The lid has a flip top with a single holed "spout" which dispenses the lotion when you squeeze the bottle, gently. I like to use a pump dispenser, and I usually manage to get one or two of these from the body shop for just a few pence - it makes it easier for me when I am working, but is not so much of a problem when I am doing my own feet.

The lotion itself is baby pink - not so pink that it could not be used by a bloke, (the prominant blue label to the bottle helps in that department too, making it fairly unisex!), but definitely pink, all the same. The consistency is of a "substantial" lotion - not runny, but not thick and creamy like a body butter would be, for example. This consistency is ideal for ensuring that not too much comes out of the bottle in one go - there is nothing worse than a load of excess product on your hands that ends up being wasted, because it won't rub in!

The smell is subtly peppermint - whilst it certainly has that minty edge, I do not find it overpowering.......cool peppermint is what you are told to expect, and I think that this is an accurate description of the scent.

The standard bottle contains 250ml and has a 12 month shelf life. The bottle is recyclable (although the shops no longer refill these for you like they did in the old days!).

**Use**

When my feet have had a hard day, whether through sport, through it being hot and sunny (although that doesn't happen often enough, sadly, in the UK), or just having been on my feet all day, once I have had a shower or a bath, it is lovely to apply a dollop of this lotion to my hands, work it in for a couple of seconds, just to cover my hands, and then to massage it gently into my feet. The feeling is soothing, cooling, and at times ever so very slightly tingly......not a horrid tingly, but a refreshing one.

The lotion soaks in well to my tired feet, and doesn't leave them slimey or greasy.....just nicely moisturised, although it is wise to put on a pair of clean socks, just to avoid bits of fluff sticking to your newly tingly feet!

**reflexology**

When starting out as a reflexologist, I tried many products with clients, with mixed results. Many seemed to need constant re-application, meaning that treatments were frequently interrupted, some are very thick, and so, although lovely to work with, leave the feet very "moist" at the end of the treatment, and some have a smell that becomes just too much after an hour's work! The peppermint foot lotion, however, does absolutely everything that I need it to do to give a fantastic foot treatment without discomfort to either my client or to myself. It works into the skin nicely, smoothly, and is very relaxing, without giving off an overpowering smell.

**Effective ingredients**

Community Trade peppermint oil - to fight odour causing bacteria and provide a cooling effect.

Community Trade cocoa butter - to smooth and moisturise the skin.

Almond seed and grape seed oils - to further moisturise without heaviness.

The fact that the ingredients are community trade means that the producers get a fair income, and the communities in which they live are aided with projects such as schools and water.

**price and where to purchase**

A 250ml bottle costs £7.80, and can be bought from branches of the Body shop, online at www.thebodyshop.co.uk (generally with free delivery) and via Body Shop At Home reps if you have one in your area.

**in the same range**

If you like the peppermint foot lotion, and the effect that it has on your feet, you can buy other products in the range - soothing foot scrubs, cooling leg gels, cooling foot spray and reviving foot soak, to name but a few.

I hope that the Body Shop stick with the same formula for the next 20 years - I would certainly not want to see any major changes to this fantastically reliable product.

Summary: A great all round foot lotion.