Due to COVID, as with everyone, I am doing a lot of additional hand-washing and hand sanitizing. This is causing my cuticles and hands to be extra dry. The following techniques should bring a smile to your face and bring moisture back to your dried and cracked skin and cuticles.
Directions:
- For each hand, take one tablespoon of olive or coconut oil and heat in microwave for a few seconds to heat the oil (each microwave is different, but you only want a few seconds to heat the oil for you to be able to tolerate the heat, not burn yourself)
- Slowly pour the one tablespoon of heated oil and drizzle into the thumb and finger slots of the glove. Repeat this process for the other glove.
- Place the glove on each hand and massage the glove over your cuticles and hand.
- Wear for 15 minutes
- Remove gloves, rub in excess oil into your skin and enjoy your softened hands and cuticles
If this sounds daunting or you do not have the time to do this a couple times a week then I recommend you make your own cuticle oil.
- Choose your bottle:
- Choose a condiment, icing or hair color bottle – ensure it is cleaned out real well
- Choose any type of bottle of your liking with a lid and use a drop applicator
- Choose an old fingernail polish bottle that is cleaned out really well
- Use your favorite oil or combination of oils to fill up your bottle (see information on oils in the Travel/Education section of blog)
- When you wash your hands, take the applicator, cotton ball, or dropper to place a very tiny amount of oil on each cuticle and rub in or place a little squirt of oil (dime size) into your hand and massage in the oil into your hands and cuticle
- Repeat this process after each time you wash your hands
Travel/Education:
You will need to go back to ancient times to understand where the manicure originated. Babylonia, Ming Dynasty, Ancient Egypt, Romans and Eastern Indians all have a claim to some form of a manicure. Historically, painted nails was associated with class, status or even royalty or your rank in the military. Can you imagine yourself in 3000 BC receiving a manicure? How do you imagine getting a manicure during that time? I am going to romanticize my thoughts on how I imagine it would be – there would be huge Egyptian or Roman tiled baths with women each taking a hand and preparing my skin with oils while men would fan me and feed me grapes or olives. I could imagine my fingernails dipped in red tint or even in henna. I like this thought a lot better than the store fronts we go into today to have our manicures done. 🙂
So what is cuticle oil? There is nothing special about cuticle oil (it’s in the marketing) – it is usually made out of a nut or fruit oil. You could use Walnut Oil, Almond Oil, Avocado Oil, Grapeseed Oil, etc. Take your pick and choose an oil or mixture of oils that is to your liking.
Your cuticles contain very thin skin. One thing you may want to consider is choosing a fast absorbing oil rather than a medium or slow absorbing oil. I don’t mind a medium absorbing oil as I don’t mind taking a little extra time to rub in the oil.
Fast Absorbing Oils:
- Grapeseed Oil
- Apricot Oil
- Macadamia Nut Oil
- Coconut Fractionated Oil
Medium Absorbing Oils:
- Coconut Oil
- Olive Oil
- Jojoba Oil
- Almond Oil
- Sunflower Oil
Let’s talk about nail strength and shine. I know there are folks that would say Tea Tree Oil is one of the main things to use to strengthen nails, but quite honestly if you use too much or don’t dilute it you could actually cause dryness and scaling skin – this goes against strengthening your nails. Use coconut oil instead as it helps treat fungal infections and contributes to nail health and strength. When you think of shine I bet you don’t think of food. I could get into the science on why you need sulfur but do not want to bore you. Trust me when I say your body needs sulfur for your nails, hair and skin. Eat foods high in sulfur such as beef, eggs, turkey, fish, seeds, nuts, legumes, oats, walnuts, chickpeas, couscous, garlic, onions, scallions, leeks, shallots, cauliflower, cabbage, arugula, kale, broccoli, radishes, whole grains and leafy greens.
I hope you enjoy this simple remedy! Please let me know your favorite oil or combination of oils to use for your hand mask or cuticle oil. I would love to hear your feedback.
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