How to Nourish Your Nails with EOs!
Pretty Nails!
...I wonder if she gardens.
Not too long ago, I had the crazy notion to get a set of nail tips for the umpteenth time! The desire for long, pretty nails goes back to when I was a little girl, I'm blaming this on Barbie! Cindy and I would ride our banana seat bikes to Savon and buy plastic glue-on nails with our allowance. The Princess Syndrome was alive and well in the 60s in case you were wondering.
Fast forward 2 months after the nail appointment to this! The FAKE nails have been agonizingly pulled off because I couldn't stand them anymore! People, how do you type with these things?
True Story: When I was a package car driver for "Brown", nails were all the rage with some of the female drivers...OH THE PRICE OF BEAUTY! Having my nail yanked backwards while handling 400 packages never sounded like fun.
Okay, I digress...
In looking to my EOs for quick healing and recovery, I found several remedies to get my healthy nails back, making good a fervent promise to my damaged digits to use lots of nourishing EOs for my latest blunder.
Castor Oil ~ EO Nail Soak
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Thick, conditioning castor oil leaves behind a hard, shiny, protective residue on nails (manicurists, are you listening?) This helps prevent environmental damage, strengthens nails and relieves dry, cracked cuticles!!! Add some DIY Immortelle to that and WHOA, this becomes one effective treatment!
4 tablespoons castor oil
10 drops DIY Immortelle {Frankincense, Lavender & Cypress}
Set a small bowl of oil in a shallow hot water bath for just a few minutes to warm up the oil blend. Soak fingertips in the oil for 5 to 10 minutes to soften nails and cuticles. Pat your fingertips dry then gently push back cuticles...buffing dry with a soft cloth afterwards.
Moisturize afterwards with your favorite moisturizer or better yet...
The Caster Oil ~ EO Nail Soak can be re-used 3 to 4 times, just keep it refrigerated.
Roller Bottle Nightly Nail Oil
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{try it, you'll like it}
This is a penetrable blend of oils that will moisturize your nails, building their strength and flexibility. Helps with brittleness, peeling and cracking!
20 drops Lavender
10 drops Lemon
2 tablespoons fractionated coconut oil
1 5ml roller bottle (up-cycle an empty EO bottle)
Optional: Add 10 drops Melaleuca if you have any nail fungus.
Roll on each nail and massage in at bedtime.
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There you have a it, two simple, natural treatments for healthy, stronger nails. I just have to say that with every passing day my admiration and conviction continues to grow for PURE essential oils. I haven't bought OTC remedies in a very, very long time and now, even beauty products are slowly being replaced by EOs.
PURE essential oils are truly the best bargain out there when you consider their life changing benefits!
Cheers to Beautiful Nails & the EO Life!
posted by Rebecca @ 9:24 AM
26 Comments
26 Comments:
As a licensed nail tech this makes me cringe. Please NEVER just pull the nails off. Next time if you really hate them soak cotton balls in pure acetone (which you can get next to the nail polish at a place like Sallys Beauty Supply) and then wrap that around your nail and wrap each finger in aluminum foil. Leave it for about 15 minutes and then gently push on them with an orangewood stick. If they're not ready re-wrap and leave them for a while longer. Your skin will be dry after this but it's much easier to fix that then pulling off several layers of your nails.
Thank you for this post. I once was a nail biter, I then went trough the phase of acrylic tips to have the appearance of pretty nails. Only to be saddened by what that process did to my actual nails. Now I no longer bite my nails and they are grown out, but are not strong and are always pealing and chipping. I am excited to be on this journey with EOs and to have your blog here with such great advice.
I'm so sorry, I never meant to make you cringe! And I would never recommend anyone do what I did but I KNOW many do. Thanks for your tips :))
Sounds awesome. My daughter just took her nails off so I will pass the info on to her. :)
Wow--what a co inky dink! I was just over at Jillee's site and commented on how coconut oil is good for dry cuticles & strengthens the nail. Had no idea castor oil was good for this.
I too was a nail biter (severe)-I hid my hands.
I follow your site sporadically--I thought I read that when using EOs plastic containers are not good--is this just for when the item is applied to the body or is it for linen spray bottles etc. too? Guess I'm asking Do plastic bottles/containers inhibit the performance of the EO?
What would be a good combo for toenail fungus ... cloudy, thicker toenails.
Here's a nail related question for you. If EOs break down plastics, what would it do to nail polish?
I ask because my family treated me to a mani/pedi for mother's day, and I've been using the oils a lot this weekend. I can't tell if I got a really sloppy paint job, or if my polish is breaking down from the oils. I rarely polish my nails, so this is my first encounter with EOs and polish.
I fell in love with Jillee's site and now yours! I'm off to Whole Foods in search of lemon E.O. Thanks for all the info.
Marcia, dab a PURE Melaleuca EO on affected toenails 2x daily.
Absolutely, EO's can breakdown polish, especially if used with dilution.
You're welcome :))
If I remember correctly, undiluted EOs shouldn't be used in plastic at all. It doesn't necessarily inhibit performance, but the oils interact with plastic ...they kinda eat away at it. Also, if the plastic contains chemicals like bpa, they can leach into the oils or mixture. Again, I can't guarantee that's correct! I'm tired, and my brain never recovered from having a child! ;) I always play it safe and use glass.
The warning labels on pure acetone make me cringe. I would NEVER put my hand in it. It's clearly printed on the warning label to avoid topical exposure. They just delete that warning label in the beauty isle. Head over to hardware. It's same exact stuff but bigger quantity, cheaper, and HUGE long warning label.
I'm a nail tech too and thought the same thing! hahaha acetone is much better than ripping them off :) But I also know many that do and they get the lecture from me too!
But I love love love your blog, I just found it about 2 weeks ago and I can't seem to stay away.
What's the recipe for DIY Immortelle? I know I've seen it but can't find it now.
Equal parts Lavender, Cypress and Frankincense :))
With dilution or without dilution?
Tell me more about fractionated coconut oil. What is it? is it found under another name? where do I get it? Any substitute?
Can you just buy a prepared Immortelle mixture? I'm not good with DIY stuff.
You sure can! Click on the doTERRA link on the top right side bar - search Immortelle Blend
Fractionated coconut oil has the fat spun out of it so it remains in liquid form. It's a great carrier oil for EO use! You can find it here: http://www.sparknaturals.com/product-category/e-spa/
I just bought some castor oil to try the soak for my nails that I have just taken acrylics off of. I do not have immortelle but I have Frankincense and Lavender. Is there an alternative to the immortelle? I have several oils but cypress is not one of them.
Frankincense and Lavender will be great ~ use those :)
Just made the lavender/lemon combo and can't wait to try it. As for the recipe...is the amount right, for the FCO?? A 5ml bottle won't hold ONE tablespoon, let alone two. Should it read "teaspoons", perhaps? I just filled mine halfway with FCO, added the oils, then topped it off with more FCO. Thanks so much for posting this one!!
I've only just found your page.. I love it. So much great info. I live in Western Australia and use dT EOs. The Immortelle is called Salubelle here just incase anyone from Aust is reading this and doesn't know. :-)
I've only just found your page.. I love it. So much great info. I live in Western Australia and use dT EOs. The Immortelle is called Salubelle here just incase anyone from Aust is reading this and doesn't know. :-)
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