We just had a huge cold front move through last weekend and I don’t know about you, but when it gets cold my nails get really dry and brittle/flaky, while my cuticles harden up and look rather unsightly. I’ve even had one of my nails split in the winter…no fun at all!
So what can you do to help your nails say strong and healthy throughout the winter?
Well first you need to understand that what is causing all the problems. It’s really simple, dry weather sucks the LIFE out of everything. Okay, maybe the is a little dramatic but it does draw the moisture from your skin and nails. So you need to be sure and replace the moisture and then protect your nails and cuticles to keep the moisture from escaping again.
- Water, water, water! A lot of people do not properly hydrate during the winter because they are not sweating all the time they feel like they do not need to. In reality the dry air saps the moisture from your skin and body just as quickly as sweating it out in the summer. So drink up!
- A great way to up your water intake during the winter is drinking a caffeine free tea!
- Gloves are your friend! Wear them outside when you hands may be exposed to the harsh elements. Wear them inside when using cleaning chemicals or when washing dishes.
- If you are painting your nails make sure you polish is 5-free or at least 3-free to protect your nails from harsh chemicals like acetone and formaldehyde that can really damage them. Not to mention they are not very healthy for you.
- Avoid nail polish remover as much as possible.
- Use this super awesome cuticle and nail cream recipe below to help nourish your nail bed and cuticles and strengthen your nails! P.S. This is also great for calluses and dry skin patches!
Ingredients You’ll Need
1/2 oz beeswax
2 oz shea butter
1 1/2 oz coconut oil
1/2 oz cocoa butter
1 tsp vitamin e oil
20 drops lavender
10 drops frankincense
10 drops lemon
I use Young Living Essential Oils, you can find out more about them here and how to save 24% on all your oily purchases.
Directions
- Melt the beeswax, shea butter, coconut oil, and cocoa butter in a double boiler.
- Remove from heat and let cool a 2-3 minutes.
- Add in Vitamin E oil and essential oils and stir.
- Pour into container and let cool, then use.
I massage a very tiny amount on my nails 1-2 times a day. When I say tiny I mean super, duper tiny. This stuff goes a looooong way. This recipe should last you months.
Here is a picture of my nails after 2 weeks of using the cream. I did not put it on my pinky and ring finger for the first week so I could see the difference the salve actually makes.
source: http://www.med.nyu.edu/content?ChunkIID=21425
Can’t wait to try this! What does the Lemon, Frankincense and Lavender do for your nails?
Frankincense helps strengthen the nails and condition cuticles. Lavender soothes and conditions the cuticles, it has also been shown to speed up cell regeneration which can help grow nails faster. Lemon also helps strengthen nails.
I love this recipe, but it did get gritty. Do you have any advice? Did I heat it too long?
Hi Ashley, sorry it took me so long to reply for some reason I was not recieving notifications of comments. Sometimes the shea butter can clump up together as it hardens. Try adding in the shea butter at the end after all the other oils are melted and it is off the heat/double boiler. This seems to help!
Can I substitute another butter for the cocoa butter? Maybe mango butter or Kokum butter, or more Shea?
Yes, you can definitely substitute it with any other butter!
Can this be put in a tube? Couldn’t tell how hard it got.
It is a very thick paste. So if you are thinking of a lip balm tube then no. But you could another half ounce of beeswax and be able to put it in a tube then.
Hi, do you think I could substitute some castor oil for some of the other oils, as it’s supposed to be super good for nails? Or do you think it would alter the consistency too much?
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