Going to the spa is one way to indulge yourself and get pampered, even if it’s just for a few hours. Apart from the physical and beauty treatments available, most spas also offer some health improvement sessions for customers which make them more attractive and, well, expensive too. This is not to say that you cannot get a do-it-yourself spa treatment at home, but hey, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with indulging yourself and letting others do it for you once in a while.
One of the health treatments offered by the spa is an ionic foot spa. This is a system through which the body and its organs are
naturally detoxified and cleansed. The human body is constantly imbibing toxins from the environment, such as contaminated foods and drinks, drugs and free radicals produced by chemical reactions in the body. Although there are organs charged with the task of eliminating these toxins, there’s always a need to help them carry out this function more efficiently to avoid the accumulation of these toxins in the body, which could lead to serious medical conditions.
These toxins and free radicals are positively charged ions that are dangerous to the body, and the ionic foot spa works by producing negatively charged ions, which are transported into the body via the large foot pores. The negative ions then neutralize the positive ions of the toxins, and then they’re effectively eliminated from the body through urine, feces, and sweat.
Although there is an ongoing debate about the efficacy of the ionic foot spa, some users already swear by it, saying they feel lighter, sleep better and have a general feeling of wellbeing after using the machine. They also claim that the machine has helped in reducing the fat content of their bodies, and thus has a slimming effect. It’s advised, however, not to use the ionic foot spa if you have any sort of metallic implant in your body. Others that should avoid this foot spa treatment are pregnant women, people on organ transplant medications and hypertensive patients.
One brand that is great but which we didn’t have space for on our list is the
i-mesh-bean, so we’re giving it an honorable mention for its contribution to the health and wellbeing industry.
Due to its health benefits and for safety considerations, there are some factors that you should keep at the back of your mind before investing in an ionic foot spa. Things like the
type of ionizer and the number of people using the unit are primary considerations. Also of importance are the price, safety, capacity and other extra features. This guide is fully loaded with facts that’ll help you make the best choice of an ionic foot spa.
Price
The price of most products (in the same category as the ionic foot spa) is affected mainly by the country where they’re manufactured. This is to say that an ionic foot spa manufactured in the USA will most likely cost more than those manufactured in China. Another factor is the type of array it comes with. But the general price range of an ionic foot spa falls between $150 and $330, although some products may cost more.
Our featured products are carefully selected with quality, durability, and safety as the benchmarks, and they come at different price points so you can take your pick within your budget. We know that there are cheaper ionic foot spas out there, but those are generally low quality and will either not work as advertised or will break down after just a few uses.
Features
There’s every need to exercise caution when shopping for the best ionic foot spa, and understanding the critical features will help you in the process. These features include:
- Type of Ionizer or Array
- Capacity
- Safety
- Power
- Additional Features
Now let’s look at this in more detail…
Construction and Design
The major component of an ionic foot spa is the ionizer or array. This is the unit that dissociates the water molecules into their constituent positive H+ and negative OH- ions. Without the ionizer, there’ll be no ionic foot spa. The ionizer can be in a cylindrical or rectangular shape. The cylinder-shaped ionizer or array consists of metal wires coiled around each other, while the rectangular array has metal plates running along the length of the box. Although the cylindrical ionizer is cheaper and easily available, it requires more water to cover it and deteriorates faster, thus requiring replacement after about 30 – 40 sessions. The rectangular array, on the other hand, is more effective in producing ions because it has a larger surface area that provides more contact between the water and the metal plates for ionization to occur. It also lasts longer, up to 40 – 50 sessions.
An ionic foot spa may come with more than one ionizer, and the ionizer needs constant cleaning with special cleansers to remove debris and salts deposited on the surface.
An ionic foot spa has two design capacities. It may come in the form of a single-user or dual-user capacity. The dual-user type is usually for spa owners so more people can be accommodated at the same time, but if you’re buying for home use, then you should just go for the single-user type and save some money (of course, unless you plan on using it with your spouse, for example).
A good and safe ionic foot spa should have some basic safety qualifications like RoHS certifications, FCC compliance (as applicable) and GFCI. UL listed power supply is mandatory and should be requested by the buyer. Generally, ionic foot spas are safe to use.
Performance and Ease of Use
Using an ionic foot spa is relatively easy. All you need to do is fill the basin with really warm water, plug the ionizers into the designated port behind the ionic spa and add the water basin. Then plug the power cable into a power source and flip the power switch to ON and you’re good to go.
The unit has a specific amperage range for maximum performance, and it’s between 1.7 and 2.4, and if the amperage is less than 1.7, all you need is to sprinkle some sea salt (not iodized) into the water, stir and enjoy. The salt will help increase the conductivity, and hence, the amperage and ionization will occur faster. Some of them come with liners to protect the water basin, and some brands include a pack of sea salt in their ionic foot spa package so you don’t need to bother with getting sea salt for your machine.
Some ionic foot spas come with built-in MP3 players that help with the relaxation process. Such high-end foot baths are more expensive, and unless you really need the player, you can go for those without it. The most recently released ionic foot spas have LCD screens to display treatment settings, voltage/amperage and the music information for those that come with MP3 players.
The purpose for which you need the ionic foot spa, in addition to other factors discussed in our buying guide, will determine the product you’ll eventually choose. Having gone through our buying guide, we’re sure that you’re in a better position to make your final choice, and we invite you to take a look at our lineup of some of the finest ionic foot spas on the market.
Now that you have read this review, we believe you know exactly what you need. Go ahead and get that ionic foot spa today and get rid of those toxins.
