Well-groomed hands and nails are just as important for making a good impression as your make-up and outfit. Unfortunately, brittle nails are a common problem that many people face during their lifetime. There are many ways to strengthen weak and brittle nails; one of them is rubbing essential oils into your nails and cuticles. Check out our list of the best essential oils for nail strengthening.
There are many causes of weak and brittle nails; the most common ones include a lack of essential vitamins and minerals in the diet, fungal infection, and aggressive effects of household chemicals. The situation can be aggravated by improper care, for example, nail damage from manicure, lack of nourishment and hydration, etc.
Natural essential oils can contribute to dealing with brittle and peeling nails. They contain many useful substances and can be used in various procedures for nail strengthening. For example, you can add essential oils to hand baths, DIY hand packs, or your regular hand cream. Here are nine essential oils that have good nail strengthening properties.
Lemon Essential Oil
Lemon oil is one of the most popular essential oils used in nail care. It hydrates and strengthens the nails, has a whitening effect, gives the nails a healthy shine, and speeds up the healing of injured cuticles. Other citrus essential oils (orange, mandarine, grapefruit) have similar nail strengthening properties.
Ylang-Ylang Essential Oil
This oil effectively prevents brittle and peeling nails, as well as gives the nails a brilliant shine. In addition, it helps to keep the nails hydrated and makes them smoother, so we recommend to rub ylang-ylang oil into your nails after buffing them.
Lavender Essential Oil
This essential oil helps to take care of the cuticle, making it soft and hydrated. It boosts the skin’s firmness and elasticity, speeds up the healing of hangnails and other minor injuries, and prevents inflammation.
Tea Tree Oil
As we’ve already mentioned above, fungal infection can cause brittle and peeling nails. Thanks to its pronounced antiseptic properties, tea tree essential oil effectively inhibits the growth of pathogenic fungi and helps to make the hails healthier. It also has nail repairing and strengthening properties.
Eucalyptus Oil
Eucalyptus essential oil has powerful antiseptic and would healing properties; it is primarily used as a disinfectant. In addition, it helps to repair damaged nails and prevent further damage.
Rosemary Oil
This oils whitens the nails, stimulates their growth, accelerates the healing of damaged cuticles, produces an anti-inflammatory effect, and inhibits the growth of pathogenic microbes that can cause inflammation.
Vanilla Oil
Vanilla essential oil is rich in various vitamins and calcium, which are responsible for its nail strengthening properties. Although you can use it on its own, you will achieve better results if you combine vanilla oil with a citrus essential oil, for example, lemon, grapefruit, or orange.
Juniper Oil
Juniper oil strengthens the nails, boosts their growth, improves nail colour, and gives the nails a healthy shine. We recommend that you combine it with other nail strengthening essential oils, for example, lemon oil, sage oil, orange oil, or patchouli oil.
Sage Oil
Sage oil will help to cope with common nail problems, such as brittle and peeling nails, slow nail growth, fungus, thin and dull nails. It provides the nails and cuticles with the nutrients they need, exhibits disinfectant properties, and speeds up the healing of injuries.
Please keep in mind that you should not apply essential oils undiluted because it may result in irritation or even chemical burns. To strengthen your nails, add several drops of the essential oil or oils of your choice to a carrier oil and then rub the mixture into your nails and cuticles. The best carrier oils for nail care include argan, coconut, linseed, sweet almond, hemp seed, sea buckthorn, jojoba, avocado, and wheat germ.
Apply the oil mixture (essential oil or oils diluted in carrier oil) to your nails and cuticles and let it sit for 20 minutes to 3 hours. You can also add some essential oil into a hand bath; in this case, you need to use bath salt, shower gel or liquid soap as an emulsifier, otherwise essential oil won’t dilute in water. You can also mix essential oil, cocoa or shea butter, and some wax to make a nourishing and protective nail balm.