Your grandma (and perhaps your grandpa, too) recommended it and it’s easy to understand why: Epsom Salt is a cheap, mineral-rich compound that has been favored over time for a variety of reasons. If your feet could use some TLC and pricey foot bath compounds cost more than your last pedicure, we offer you six reasons you can rely upon this grand old mix of magnesium and sulfate to pamper and even heal your feet.

1. Epsom Salt is regularly used by men, women, and especially athletes to relieve aches, pains and decrease inflammation. You don’t have to be a marathon runner to crave relief. Specifically, if you’re suffering from sore muscles and joint pain caused by arthritis or other bone-related ailments, soaking your feet in Epsom Salt could offer you lots of benefits and relief. You might also try an Epsom Salt foot bath to decrease swelling triggered by a foot injury.

2. Epsom Salt foot baths are recommended for use by people suffering from a variety of skin disorders. Hot water and this mix of minerals may be the solution you seek for foot conditions that include athlete’s foot and toenail fungus, both of which can make life miserable and uncomfortable. Because Epsom Salt products are said to have anti-fungal and anti-microbial properties, skin infections that result from debilitating assaults on the feet could benefit from long soaks.

3. Epsom Salt foot baths may help to improve circulation. The combination of warm water and the mineral’s crystals can start the process of pushing blood through arteries and veins that may relieve stress almost immediately. Plagued by foot cramps? Plenty of Epsom Salt fans swear by this mineral to combat searing pain (especially in the middle of the night!) that may indicate that your body is suffering from a magnesium deficiency. By treating your feet to Epsom Salt baths, your skin can absorb these essential minerals to mediate foot cramps day or night.

4. An Epsom Salt foot bath gives you an opportunity to clean, sanitize, and pamper your feet more thoroughly than your shower or tub bath. Minerals, in concert with the soak, can clean your feet thoroughly enough to remove germs and substances not seen with the naked eye. The combination of salt, water, and soaking sanitizes feet because bacteria can’t thrive in salty environments, so these footbaths can help inhibit the growth of nasty microorganisms.

5. Epsom Salt makes an awesome beauty treatment because it does everything from pampering your skin to soften calluses and loosen dirt that gets beneath nail beds. It’s so inexpensive, you can soak your feet as often as you like and if you add essential oils to your foot bath, your feet will feel just as they do after you’ve enjoyed a pricey pedicure. That stated, if your skin tends to be dry, make sure you lavish your feet with a rich cream after every soak.