Fridays Organic Skin Care Tip #7

#7:  Organic Nail Care Soak

Here is a quick soak and care for your nails and cuticles.

3 parts olive oil
1 part lemon juice

Combine in a bowl.  Soak your nails and cuticles in the solution and massage in your nail bed.  The olive oil will moisturize and the lemon juice helps whiten your nails.  I usually do this once a week.  It makes it a bit more decadent if you warm up the oil first.  Enjoy!

How To: Correctly Manicure Your Cuticles

 Not enough time or money to head to the spa for a true TLC treatment? Not to worry, we have a short guide that will help you get those ragged cuticles back into shape! You may not know that cuticles serve a very important purpose. They are a barrier from infection and protect the area between the skin and the nail.

DO:

1. If your cuticles have gotten a little out of hand (ha!), start by pushing them back into place. You can do this with an actual cuticle pusher, or use your fingernails to do the pushing. You’ll want to do this when cuticles are softest. We recommend doing this each day in the shower. Be careful though, and don’t push the cuticle too far back.

2. Use a powerful cuticle cream on your nails to keep them soft and healthy.

3. Use gloves when working in the garden or washing dishes to keep hands and cuticles from being exposed to extra germs or becoming dry and cracked.

DON’T:

1. DO NOT cut your cuticles if they are healthy. This promotes infection. If you have a hangnail, clip the hangnail off rather than tear it. Leave as much of the cuticle in tact as possible. Cover nail with a band-aid to keep it from becoming infected.

2. DO NOT overuse nail polish or nail polish removers. Try to find a nail polish remover without acetone if possible.

3. DO NOT use your nails and letter openers or any other office supply. Shuffling papers all day can be hard on your cuticles, so treat them well.

Some more interesting cuticle information:

What are Cuticles?

Nail Care Do's and Dont's