Detox Foot Pads – What Are They and Do They Work?

For the record, I have no personal nor affiliate relationship with Purify Your Body. All opinions are my own.

Have you heard of detox foot pads?

Honestly, they aren’t something I’d given much consideration to until recently. What can I say, when you’re in a desperate spot with your health, you’ll try anything!

I was introduced to the foot pads a few months ago when I heard about a little company called Purify Your Body. The owner, Rebecca, makes herbal tinctures for all sorts of ailments, including lyme, digestion, and sleep.

I’ve bought four tinctures over the course of a few months. Rebecca was nice enough to include some free samples of her homemade detox foot pads.

What are detox foot pads?

In short, these foot pads are placed on the soles of your feet at night and work to remove toxins from the body while you sleep.

They look a bit like a large tea bag and come with an adhesive ‘bandage’ of sorts to keep them in place.

They’re a bit controversial, as far as effectiveness. There’s not a lot of actual data, however, to show for certain if they do or don’t work.

Back in 2009, a company by the name of Kinoki was charged with deceptive advertising. They claimed their detox foot pads were “the ancient Japanese secret to perfect health.”

Specifically, they said, the pads could remove heavy metals, “metabolic wastes”, relieve headaches, backaches, mood changes, depression, fatigue and insomnia, all while boosting the immune system.

They also do your taxes! Just kidding. 🙂

The case ended with the defendants agreeing to a judgment of $14.5 million, which represented the total revenues from the sale of Kinoki Foot Pads.

Despite all that, the pads remain for sale on Amazon.

Do they work?

They sound too good to be true, right? After all, how can the soles of our feet be a source of detox?

Well, first, let me ask, did you know you can pick up parasites through your feet? And that people often rub essential oils on their soles for various ailments, including digestion and sleep? Oh, and remember the onion in the sock overnight to cure a cold?

When my kids were little and had digestive trouble, I would rub peppermint oil on their feet. It truly seemed to help, though that onion trick never did.

Truth is, there really are no studies done on these foot pads. I couldn’t find anything on pubmed, and the articles I did come across that said they didn’t work, did not contain any actual data I could look at to back it up.

This article from Healthy Home Economist is a good one, but even her citations don’t hold much weight.

Some of the information is even contradictory to me. On one hand, the pads don’t work. On the other hand, they may have nasty chemicals or even heavy metals that could pose a danger to you if placed on your feet.

Given that our feet are packed full of sweat glands, it stands to reason toxins could travel both in and out of them.

Ingredients in Detox Foot Pads

While they differ a bit between brands, the ones I tried contain the following:

• Oak Vinegar, 5%
• Bamboo Vinegar, 16%
• Tourmaline, 10%
• Houttyunia Cordata, 7%
• Eucalyptus, 22%
• Chitosan, 10%
• Agicarus Mushroom, 20%
• Saurus Chinesis, 10%

Rebecca doesn’t use any fillers or fibers in her pads, but many other companies do. Some sellers will also include various vitamins and minerals.

My personal experience with detox foot pads

The owner of Purify Your Body sent me samples on multiple occasions, thus giving me a good chance to try them. I’ve not tried any other brand, so I don’t have anything to compare these with, though most are made with very similar ingredients.

Conclusion: I like them!

I consider myself to be very in tune with my body, and I’m also very sensitive to changes of any kind. In fact, I’ve only ever used one foot pad at a time (despite my skepticism), as I worried two would be too much for me.

I didn’t expect much. However, I truly do notice a few benefits!

1. Better sleep – Perhaps there’s something to be said for the placement of the pad and various reflexology or acupressure points, but I do notice I sleep better with a foot pad on. I’d score it an 7/10, to be entirely truthful.
2. Less teeth clenching – I have had trouble with nocturnal clenching since I had a wisdom tooth removed in 2019, so this benefit was huge for me! It has seemed that nothing would help to relieve both the stress and pain I’ve experienced, so this is my greatest benefit. 8/10 for this one.
3. Help with headaches – I get a lot of what I guess are migraines…very bad all over pressure that radiates down my neck. I have noticed having a foot pad on at night helps to relieve the pain in the morning, though this is my least noticed benefit. I’d give this a 6/10.

Ultimately, it’s important to know yourself and understand how your body works. That will help you better determine what works and what doesn’t.

While I definitely wouldn’t look to use these foot pads for something serious, I am pleased with the surprise benefits I’ve personally found and have since purchased more based on my experience.

Have you ever tried detox foot pads? What was your experience?

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