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Be Good To Your Nails – Using Essential Oil & Body Oils

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The answer to your question is yes. Oil does have a thousand uses, including using them on your nails!

Nails can be prone to breakage and that makes its difficult to grow long and healthy nails. The average fingernail grows about 2-3mm per month. Excessive water use or lots of work with your hands can break your nails or cause

Essential oils, when mixed and prepared properly, can stimulate nail growth. Here are some ways to use oils (both essential and non) to strengthen and grow your nails.

Lavender

Make a warm lavender bath using a few cups of warm water, epsom salt and 5-10 drops of lavender. After soaking, apply drops of lavender directly to the cuticle of your nails.

Sweet Orange

Oh hey! Sweet orange is a great essential oil to use to stimulate nail growth. Apply a few drops to the cuticles or ends of your nails. Try this for a week at a time and ensure no reaction occurs.

Myrrh

Myrrh might be one of the best essential oils to use for this purpose! It’s strengthening characteristics make it moisturizing and wonderful for those looking to keep nails from thinning. Always test

Another warm bath:

And for kicks…here’s another warm bath and essential oil mix:

Ingridients:

2 tablespoons of Grapeseed oil

5 drops of Tea tree oil

3 drops of lemon essential oil

2 drops of lavender essential oil

How to make:

Simply add these essential oils together with warm water.

Blackstrap molasses:

Blackstrap molasses is a syrup but just for giggles, we’ll classify it as a oil replacement as it helps strengthen nails. Don’t apply to your fingers! Instead, add a teaspoon to warm water and sip. Its qualities are said to help prevent bitter nails as it works from the inside out.

Flaxseed oil:

When flaxseed oil is pure, it is a great oil to use. Finding pure flaxseed oil isn’t difficult – just requires a little label reading. After a warm water bath for your hands, apply flaxseed oil to the cuticles.

Vitamin E oil:

Vitamin E has the strengthening force to help hair, skin and nails. Its ability to protect bone and connective tissue makes for a great oil to apply. Apply at night (no sunshine at night, am I right?) Use with caution, however, as vitamin E oil can be strong and may irritate sensitive skin.

Dead Sea Salt bath:

The power of the Dead Sea…

Dead Sea salts not only make hands silky smooth but also remove dead skin. Make a warm salt bath with warm water, ¾ cup of dead sea salt and either lavender or sweet orange essential oil. Soak for 30-35 minutes. Afterwards, put on a pair of gloves to hold in the moisture.

Using gloves (for everything):

Using essential oils can feel a little greasy when you first begin using them. Use gloves after dipping your fingernails into essential oils and before bed. This help locks in the oils and moisture. Try a pair!

There are many options for applying oils to your nails. The key to this all is to apply consistently so that your nails adjust to each oil and utilize the properties of the oils.

Lavender Essential Oil – Benefits & Uses

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Lavender has some interesting history behind it. The Egyptians used lavender during the mummification process. The Romans used lavender for bathing and perfume. One of the most famous of all is when Mary apparently used Lavender to anoint Jesus with her hair. It’s believed it was lavender essential oil, but we may never know.

Now, lavender is used to soothe the mind, relieve tension and provide overall medicinal benefits to its user.

Benefits

Anti-inflammatory

Lavender has anti-inflammatory properties. Some research shows diabetic is really a build up of inflammation. That’s where lavender can come in and reduce inflammation. It helps increase blood glucose, reduce weight gain, replenish liver and kidney antioxidants and stimulate cell growth. This is particularly important in diabetic patients as free radicals often “steal” fat molecules from cell membranes.

Increase blood circulation

Lavender can be applied in many ways. It’s said to increase blood circulation. This can be done in a variety of ways such as mixing pure cocoa butter and lavender essential oil to make a paste and applying to areas that may need a little extra boost. It’s beneficial to areas that may remain stagnant for long periods during the day. Areas include the lower back, feet and calf muscles.

Powerful antioxidant

Helped produce three of the most powerful antioxidants: gluthaione, catalase and SOD. There are so many wonderful ways to add lavender to a simple dish. It can be added to muffins or even pastries. It pairs well with honey, apples and cranberries. Adding small amounts of lavender is a quick way to get those antioxidants in your system. As a topical application, lavender and clove oil can be used in combination to stimulate antioxidant production. Do not ingest. Rather, apply both essential oils with a carrier oil and massage into the skin topically. The feet are a great place to start!

Uses

Alleviate headaches, decrease insomnia

A cold compress will do! Using a cold or lukewarm washcloth, place a few drops of lavender essential oil and place on your forehead. Sit back and relax and let the oil infuse into your skin, helping to ease the pain of migraines and headaches. Place a few drops of lavender essential oil in an oil diffuser before bed to assist with those late night headaches.

Release nervous tension

Buy as therapeutic grade! That’s the most important element when purchasing lavender. It can help release nervous tension. For those with mental illness, lavender could be the cure for relieving symptoms of depression. An evidence-based study was published by the International Journal of Psychiatry in Clinical Practice stating that that supplementing with 80 mg capsules of lavender essential oil alleviates anxiety, sleep disturbance and depression. Who doesn’t want a  little extra sleep at night?

Heal wounds and burns

Coconut oil and lavender make a stellar team. Combine both and apply to cuts, wounds and burns to help alleviate pain and begin the healing process. For troublesome eczema, combine coconut oil, lavender and a few drops of vitamin E oil. Over time, this can greatly decrease eczema or puffy red spots.