Learn how to make this fabulous yet simple homemade cuticle oil with essential oils that is formulated to nourish, hydrate and strengthen your cuticles and nails. This nourishing cuticle oil has a mixture of carrier oils to maximize hydration and a selection of essential oils for added benefits as well as a delightful aroma.
I always seem to get hangnails, you know those tiny pieces of ripped skin by your cuticles. And I can never just wait and grab the cuticle cutters. Nope! Not me! I will pick at them and try to rip them off. Never fails.
One of the things that I love about this cuticle oil, is that if you are already making your own skin care products it is made of things you probably already have laying around. In this post I give some oils and essential oils options for you to easily swap out ingredients to the ones that you already have on hand.
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What is the cuticle and what does it do?
The cuticle is that small layer of skin that it on the bottom edge of your nails (on your nail bed). The cuticle is needed to protect the nail as it grows from bacteria and infection.
What are the benefits of using cuticle oil?
The benefits of using cuticle oil is to bring the life back into your fingernails. Over the winter, I have neglected my finger nails. Leaving me with way too many hangnails and dry, cracked cuticles. Cuticle oil is able to rehydrate the nails and cuticles, bring back the shine and so much more.
Also, those dry cracked cuticles are an open wound for bacterial and infections.
How does cuticle oil work?
By applying the cuticle oil to your nails, you are helping to prevent them from drying out further. Dried out nails can lead to cracking, hang nails and nail brittleness. Cuticle oil works to penetrate the cuticle and skin to help soften them. Regular use will allow you to keep your cuticles soft and healthy.
Causes of dry cuticles and nails splitting?
There are so many things that can cause you to have dry cuticles and nail splitting.
Some of the most common reasons are:
- Excessive hand washing
- Dry skin
- Using alcohol based products – hand sanitizer or nail polish removers
- Washing dishes
- Vitamin deficiency
- Excessive exposure to sun or cold
- Chlorine exposure
Seriously, I feel like I am constantly either washing my hands or applying hand sanitizer. I am pretty good at remembering to lotion my hands after, but it has wreaked havoc on my cuticles. On top of that, we have garden season quickly approaching, which means even more handwashing.
Storing and packaging for cuticle oil
When you are determining what type of bottle to use, I suggest one with a pipette dropper, roll on or one with a brush (like a nail polish brush). Since sunlight degrades essential oils you want to be sure to use a colored glass container; they are normally a brown or blue color. If you do not have a colored container, just be sure to store your cuticle oil in a dark place. Essential oils will also degrade plastic containers, so it does need to be glass.
One of the containers that I ended up using has the brush on it. It is not colored, but that is alright, because I store it in the drawer by my bedside. So it is not exposed to light. I also ended up using a glass roller ball container.
Applying the cuticle oil
Before applying the cuticle oil, wash your hands thoroughly. Either with the brush, roller or pipette apply the cuticle oil to your finger nail. Gently massage the oil on the cuticles and the whole nail. Repeat for each finger.
I find that adding the cuticle oil as a part of my bedtime routine keeps me from forgetting to do it. I also make it a point to apply cuticle oil when I remove nail polish. Just to add a little more moisture back in.
Dealing with unruly cuticles
Sometime cuticles can get a little unruly and try to take over your nail! Lol It is never recommended to cut them. What you can do it after you apply the cuticle oil, you can gently push up on the cuticle to push it back some. It might take a few different tries to get all your cuticle pushed up, just be careful not to damage them.
How often should you use a cuticle oil?
For best results you want to use the cuticle oil daily. I find that adding it before bed really helps to hydrate my cuticles as I won’t be washing my hands again until morning.
Can I apply over nail polish?
You sure can! Just make sure that your nail polish is completely dry.
What ingredients are needed to make cuticle oil?
You will be surprised just how easy it is to make a cuticle oil with essentials oil is to make. Using just a few oils you are able to create a skin loving and ultra-hydrating product.
Feel free to choose what oils you want in your cuticle oil. Here is a short list of my favorite oils to use. It is by no means the only oils you can use, just a few of my favorite
Oils for cuticle oil
Castor Oil
Castor oil has antifungal and antibacterial properties. The nice thing about castor oil is that it is a thick viscous oil that will not absorb too fast and is not easily washed off. It works to create a barrier over your nails and cuticles. It is said to stimulate nail growth and helps to deliver shine.
Jojoba oil
Jojoba oil is rich in vitamin A and B, which helps with treating cuticle damage. I believe that jojoba is the closest of any oil to the oils that our skin creates. It is a wonderful oil that is nourishing to your skin and increases the softness of the cuticles. This is a lightweight oil that absorbs quickly.
Argan Oil
Argan oil has a high concentration of vitamin E and fatty acids. It helps to prevent water loss on the finger nail. You might be thinking, wait… fingernails have water? Actually they do. It is said that normal nails have 18% water and brittle nails have 16% or less.
Avocado Oil
Avocado oil is rich in vitamin E and fatty acids. It is said to be good at aiding in healing wounds, such as when your cuticles get dry and cracked.
Vitamin E
Vitamin E oil is used to help extend the life of your carrier oils. It does this by slowing down the oxidation process. Vitamin E oil is often confused with a preservative, it is not a preservative. Since this cuticle oil does not contain any water, you do not need to use a preservative.
It is wonderful at helping to hydrate and nourish cuticles and nails. It is able to treat dryness, soften skin and help reduce chapping and hangnails.
Pro-tip: Move your vitamin E oil into a container with a pipette lid. This will make it easier to get out of the bottle and reduce waste. I found that without the pipette, it is difficult to pour and measure since it is a thick viscous liquid.
Best essential oils to use in a cuticle oil
You can use a single essential oil or a combination in your cuticle oil. When making a combination of essential oils, I find it easiest to mix the essential oils together in a small container first. Then using a pipette, weigh the blend into your container. Using ‘drops’ as a measurement is not advised, as it is not very accurate.
Here are my favorite essential oils for fingernails.
Tea Tree
Tea tree oil (in my opinion) is a superstar essential oil, it is literally the essential oil that I use most often. It has antifungal properties that will help with some nail problems. Helps heal cracked cuticles and is anti-inflammatory. Plus, it smells ridiculously good.
Lemon essential oils
Lemon essential oils are said to naturally disinfect your nails. Over time it will help to get rid of the yellowing of your finger nails. It is also able to brighten your nails and make them shinier, while nourishing the cuticle.
Frankincense
Frankincense essential oil is said to help to strengthen our nails, moisturize and to stimulate nail growth. It has anti-fungal and anti-inflammatory properties. I find the aroma to be stress reducing.
Lavender
Lavender essential oil is said to have antifungal and antibacterial properties. The aroma is soothing and relaxing, making it the perfect essential oil for night time relaxation.
Rosemary
Rosemary essential oil has antifungal and antibacterial properties. It is high in antioxidants, which helps to restore shine to your finger nails. Rosemary essential oil is also able to help with preventing nail fungus.
How To Make Cuticle Oil With Essential Oils
Equipment
- Scale
- Small spatula or spoon to mix
- Pipette
Ingredients
- 10 grams | 50% Caster Oil
- 9.4 grams | 47% Argan Oil
- 0.4 grams | 2% Vitamin E Oil
- 0.2 grams | 1% Frankincense and Lavender Essential oil blend Pre-mix the two essential oils together
Instructions
- Weigh out the caster and argan oil.
- Pour caster oil to your mixing container.
- Add the argan oil to the caster oil.
- On the scale, add your vitamin e oil to the caster and argan oil mix.
- In a separate container, weigh the frankincense essential oil and lavender essential oil.
- Pour the essential oil mix into the oils container.
- Mix well.
- Using a pipette, place the cuticle oil into your container with the nail brush.
- If you have a container with a pouring tip, pour into bottle with roller top. If your container does not have the pouring tip, use the pipette.
- Add the roller top to the bottle.