Peppermint Schnuts

July 30, 2013 by Alia 51 Comments

When you try a new skin care product, do you read and follow the usage instructions?

If you don’t, read this and let me know if you change your mind about that.  😉

Hot Feet

A few weeks ago, a good friend of mine approached with a request for some foot powder.  It was for her husband.  He would have asked me himself, but was a bit shy.  He wanted something to help keep his feet nice and dry, especially during the hot, and sometimes sticky, summer months.

He had tried a few foot powders from the pharmacy, but none of them was absorbent enough for his feet.

Peppermint Foot Powder

Of course, I was more than happy to help.  I set out and made a super absorbent peppermint foot powder. Given all of the controversy about talc, I made it talc-free too.  I used some arrowroot powder, baking soda to help absorb the odor and some white clay for extra moisture absorbing power.  I scented it with peppermint essential oil, thinking it would both smell good and have a cooling effect on the feet.  Honestly, it was a pretty simple assignment.

I happily made up the powder and gave it to my friend, who then passed it on to her husband.

A few days later, I got a call from my friend.  She called in a fit of laughter.  In fact, she was laughing so hard, it took me a while to decipher the tale she was trying to tell me.  Here’s what I eventually figured out.

Peppermint Schnuts

She had given the foot powder to her husband.  He was both grateful and excited.  He was so excited that he decided to try it on his entire body.  Yes, his ENTIRE body.  He left no part of his skin uncovered.  Very shortly after applying the powder, he noticed that his nether-regions were getting kind of cold!  That’s right, his nuts were especially sensitive to the cooling effect of the peppermint.  (Did I mention that I might have actually overdone it on the peppermint oil?  If anything, it was on the strong side!)  He came out of the bathroom, buck naked, hopping around in the futile effort to distract himself from the intense cooling feeling.

Unfortunately, there was nothing that he could do to help himself, except wait it out.  I understand that the cooling lasted a good half hour, well into his work day.  🙂

And the moral of the story?

Always read the labels!