In our busy daily hectic lives, it is easy to get caught up in our daily chores and forget all about our nails until we feel them breaking and becoming painful. It is important to nurture and care for our nails after the chores, by applying essential oil for nails to keep them healthy. Most of our daily chores, such as washing the dishes, dry winter air or frequent usage of nail polish remove will cause our nails to become weak and brittle. Not to mention, some of us have bad habits such as chewing on the nails, or shredding the nails instead of clipping them will also weaken our nails.
There are many types of essential oil for nails which can be applied to heal our nails, such as myrrh, lavender, eucalyptus, rosemary, cypress, Balsam of Peru, roman chamomile essential oils, among others. There are also the more common ones like lemon, grapefruit, frankincense or carrot seed oils which also works perfectly. We can also use carrier oils such as jojoba, almond, grape seed or avocado oils. These oils introduce moisture into the skin around the nails to heal them, preventing them breaking or getting thinner.
The best essential oil for nails is myrrh oil. However, regardless of the choice of essential oil you choose, it will suffice to just apply a few drops onto each of your nails and the cuticles, a few times a week. Massage them around your cuticles ad then over to the entire area of your nails. This will encourage and nourish the new nail growth underneath the cuticles. You can also opt to soak your nails in a bowl of water for 10-15 minutes daily to soften them, and then apply the essential oils into your nails and cuticles with cotton swab. However, it is important that you don’t over apply these oils per week, otherwise, your nails might turn yellow.
The result of applying essential oil to your nails will not be immediate – it will take some months to see improvement in the condition and health of your nails. But as with all health care, this must be done routinely and consistently to yield results.
Here are some DIY essential oil for nails recipes that you can try out at home:
To nourish your nails:
Ingredients: 3 drops of myrrh oil, 14 drops of lavender oil, 9 drops of lemon oil, one tablespoon of almond oil, and one tablespoon of jojoba oil.
Method: Combine all the oils together into a small bottle with dropper and shake them well for about 3 minutes to ensure they are mixed well. The mixture should then be placed in a dark environment at the temperature of around 20~28 degrees Celcius, for a day, to allow the mixture to combine effectively. After that, it is ready to be used, preferably with moisturizer.
For a great nail conditioning solution with aroma theraphy:
Ingredients: 3 drops of lavender oil, 2 drops of sandalwood oil, 1 drop of bay leaf oil, and 14ml of jojoba oil.
Method: Mix all the ingredients and oils into a bowl, and then soak your nails in them for about 15 minutes. Buff your nails to stimulate blood circulation in them. After this treatment, follow up with moisturizer on your hands and nails. This is a great way to heal dry cuticles or broken nails.
To clean your nails:
Ingredients: 4 drops of Tea Tree oil, 1 drop of Lavender oil, 1 drop Cinnamon Bark oil, 14ml of Calendula Infused oil.
Method: Mix all the oils together into a small bottle, shake them well, and apply it all around and under the nail beds for 2 to 3 times daily.
To repair damaged nails:
Ingredients: 4 drops of Lemon oil, half teaspoon of Castor oil, one tablespoon of Beeswax, 4 tablespoons of Sweet Almond oil
Method: Melt the beeswax by putting it in a bowl, over a small pot or pan of hot water. When it has melted and the solution becomes liquid, remove the bowl from the hot water and add the lemon oil into it, and then stirring it well. Next, mix a little by little the almond oil and castor oil into the solution, and stir them well. If you are not in time to add all the ingredients before the beeswax harden, you may reheat the solution and continue adding almond oil into it. After hey are harden, the wax should be applied to your fingers nightly, and cotton gloves must be worn to allow the absorption of the wax into your fingers completely. When your nails are somewhat healed, apply the wax once every week to maintain it.