I write the review tentatively because I don’t like recommending things built around pseudo science but still…here goes.
My friend who is a recruitment consultant has a lot of migraines (that figures) had tried out some detox foot pads to see if they would help her sleep better and get rid of head pain.
She felt that they did so like the cheapskate that I am, I found a knock off version on eBay:
Detox Foot Pads are stuck to the soles of your feet overnight. They are supposed to draw out impurities, removing the body of heavy metals and toxins. I will tell you now that I do not believe this.
Anyway, they say the benefits are:
1. To promote sleep, relieve fatigue, improve constipation, bad breath, and abdominal distention phenomenon, body sculpting Body.
2. Gets rid of impurities, body and foot odor.
3. Dispel the body moisture, foot.
4. Activated cells to reproduce the skin healthy, glossy state, anti-aging.
5. Balance the body organ function, blood fat, lowering blood pressure, reduce blood sugar.
Main components:
Bamboo Vinegar?Wood Vinegar?Tourmaline?Agaricus Mushroom?Chitosan?Cornstarch
So they look like teabags….oh my god, I’ve just thought of my next practical joke.
Anyway, you get 10 of these in a pack, with large sticker things to get them to stay on your foot:
With the big sticker on top.
Ok my initial thoughts about the foot pads:
1. They really smell like BBQ sauce. You know the stuff you get in McDonalds in a pot that you use to dip Chicken Nuggets into? Exactly like that. 100%
2. The start to come off after a while. Stick it down as well as you can.
So off I went to bed with my feet like this, sexy beast I am:
Next morning, most of the pad had slipped off – my feet felt very warm (they warm up as they start working) and smelt like BBQ sauce. Otherwise nothing too disturbing left on my feet.
Result:
According to my friend, you use this 5 days in a row and the pads gradually become less and less black.
Now – I can’t say I believe that a BBQ smelling teabag stuck to the bottom of my feet can actually truly draw out any toxins from my body. If it did, it would be a slight trace. Plus, the teabag is already filled with some kind of dark substance that must be activated by heat and therefore come to the surface overnight.
HOWEVER.
I can vouch that for the first time in a long, long time I woke up headache free, with a clear refreshed head. I sleep about 4-5 hours a night and wake up highly tired with a sore head most days, even when I do get the chance to have a lie in.
Hey, I’m not guaranteeing they will do squat for you, but with this detox pad (which I was willing not to work), I DID feel clear headed, as did Mr Candy who joined me in this experiment.
Maybe it did to something to me – whatever it was, I felt much better than normal and I even dreamt of Chicken Nuggets.
Would I use this again? Oh yes.
Would I repurchase? I already have.
These foot pads are on sale online and also from Holland and Barrett’s (Crystal Spring, 14 pads for £24.99) but don’t bother with that – I got 12 pads for £2.81 including shipping on eBay.
Win.
{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }
Hmmm, i’m as dubious as you are about herbal medicine and ‘toxins’ but at £2.81 plus shipping I totally just bought a pack. I’ll update you with my results!
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Hi Jaffra
Let me know what you think! x
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Oh god.I tried some of these things, the ones from Asos.com? They smell so damn bad!! My feet stank even though I washed them afterwards too. It’s like a weird bbq meat smell. I might give a longer run a go because I too didn’t wake up with a bad head and didn’t feel as groggy, but yea. The smell totally put me off.
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Hi Clare
Yeah the BBQ smell is too much! I find it sort of comforting cos it reminds me of chicken nuggets x
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Fascinating! I don’t think I would buy it, my whole family would think I’m weird for having these BBQ sauce teabags on my foot. But they do sound really cool. Plus the whole warm thing. I’m a sucker for warm feet.
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Hey Abby
Ha! Well….don’t tell them! Sneak them on in the middle of the night! x
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They sell some in Wilkinsons too, about £5 or £6.
For anyone that can’t be bothered to wait for the shipping – I may try them.
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Hi Jules
Sure good tip I never go in Wilkos any more, its got a funny smell x
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You might want to beware of the cheap imitation pads. Here are a few things to watch out for:
1. If they won’t list out ALL their ingredients and the percentage of each (equaling to 100%). Most knock offs have over 50% cornstarch, which does absolutely nothing for your detox. They are very weak. The pictures of your “after” foot pads are very light. They should be so gooey that they are leaking out.
2. There are places where you can send in your used foot pads for testing — to see what toxins are coming out of your body. This might be beneficial to those who are suffering from chronic aches and pains, to figure out what might be causing them.
3. For your headaches, place them on the underside your toes. They will probably end up wrapping around where the adhesives will stick to your toe nails. That is ok. They will give you pretty decent relief from head pain.
Good luck!
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Hi Rebecca!
The brand of foot pads I bought (and the link) is one called Kinoki? Seems to be the brand sold on various reputable sites, and is also the brand the “As seen on TV” company sell. I am going to take a guess that these foot pads are made pretty cheaply in China and sold at a mark up, so people selling these pads for cheap on eBay are simply cutting out the middle man.
Picture of my foot pads – I did take this a few days after when the stuff inside has hardened, also the picture is lighter than usual but, who knows? In all honesty I am not taking these too seriously.
Also I had to delete the link to your site that sells Detox Foot Pads, because I don’t allow advertising in the comments, hope you understand and thanks for the tip about sticking the pad to the toes!
Thanks!
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Oh god no! Total total waste of money, check out the brilliant Ben Goldacre ‘s book Bad Science, great bit explaining why these are just a waste of money! http://www.badscience.net/2004/09/rusty-results/
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Hi Scarie
Yeah…I figured it would come under bad science but I really did feel that bit better!
I recently got a second pack of pads and these ones were weird, they oozed all over my foot and made them sticky for days!
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