Summer Preparation for Hands, Feet & Nails
With the holidays upon us, this is a great time of year to give your hands, feet and nails some extra care to ensure they are looking their best in preparation for the summer. Our hands tend to become dry over the winter, so it’s important to pay them extra attention by nourishing and moisturising them daily in readiness for the warmer weather.
Most of the year our feet are bundled up in socks and shoes, so the skin can’t breathe and they are starved of sunlight, making the nails more vulnerable to infection. Having bare feet is one of my favourite things about the summer so it’s good to look after them – walking barefoot it also very therapeutic since we are in direct contact with the earth and give ourselves a gentle foot massage at the same time.
In addition, there’s many things we can do to protect and rejuvenate our hands, feet and nails in the longer term, to help ‘future-proof’ them for the years ahead. Try some of my suggestions below and you’ll be amazed at the difference they make within just a few weeks.
Preventative Aromatherapy Skincare
The skin on our hands is very resilient, but regular contact with harsh detergents and soaps can have an ageing effect on them if used regularly. To keep your skin feeling soft and supple, it’s important to avoid using products which dehydrate the skin, including most washing up liquids and abrasive household cleaners. Instead use moisturising soaps, like one from our range of aromatherapy soap bars, which feed the skin naturally with natural ingredients such as shea butter alongside healing essential oils.
All of our soaps contain shea and cocoa butter, plus jojoba and avocado oil to deeply moisturise the skin. Our ‘Nourish’ bar also contains chamomile powder to further soothe and regenerate the tissues. Our Exfoliating Soap bar contains grapefruit and juniper berry essential oils plus whole fennel seeds to gently exfoliate and soften the skin – while our Cleanse Soap bar contains bitter orange, wild citron and geranium leaf essential oils with activated black charcoal, having antibacterial and detoxifying properties. All our soaps are paraben, palm oil and sulphate-free, with 100% biodegradable packaging. Just pop the paper sleeve on the compost and watch it melt away!
In terms of preventative treatment, be sure to always use gloves when washing up and when gardening, as well as also applying a UV protection to the hands, even in cloudy weather – as I’ve learnt from bitter experience from years of gardening! Because we are using our hands all day, every day, they really need intensive hydration and nutrition on an everyday basis and this is where aromatherapy is so valuable. Our feet carry the whole weight of our body around every day, so they also deserve special care! It’s important to avoid wearing synthetic socks or footwear that literally suffocate the skin and instead opt for cotton or natural materials that allow the air to reach the pores.
Nourishing & Rejuvenating Oils for Hands & Feet
Many carrier oils are super-rich in vitamins which not only nourish the skin but help to rejuvenate it too. Vitamin A – better known as retinol – is one of the best vitamins for keeping skin supple, having antioxidant properties which helps slow down the development of wrinkles. It also enhances collagen production, improving firmness and suppleness of the skin. It is found in argan oil, avocado oil, calendula oil, peach kernel oil, wheatgerm oil and especially in apricot kernel oil. Apricot kernel oil is non-greasy so is quickly absorbed by the skin, making it very easy to use. For a more intensive treatment, avocado oil or wheatgerm oil are great for very dry or chapped hands, while calendula oil is perfect for sensitive or blemished skin and for healing cuts or grazes.
For an overnight, deeply moisturising treatment which is also rejuvenating, especially for sun-damaged skin, massage your hands all over with organic argan oil – and ideally, add a little borage and carrot oil for their remarkable all-round benefits.
Argan oil, apart from containing high levels of Vit. E is rich in potassium and magnesium plus it contains plentiful amounts of the fatty acids omega 6 and 9, which are vital for skin regeneration.
Borage oil provides the richest known source of natural gamma-linolenic acid (GLA), which maintains the skin’s protective barrier and improves hydration.
Carrot oil is made from the extraordinary Dunaliella Salina, a unique unicellular micro-alga harvested from the Dead Sea containing very rich concentrations of carotenoids, antioxidants, essential fatty acids, vitamins (especially B12) and minerals. On a gram for gram basis, D. salina is arguably the most concentrated, nutrient-rich source on earth and is also one of nature’s most powerful antioxidants!
Vitamin B12 is also renowned for boosting skin regeneration and can help diminish dark spots and uneven skin tones. It is found in carrot oil, avocado oil, sweet almond oil, wheat germ oil and jojoba oil. All these oils are therefore ideal for revitalising and rejuvenating the hands while jojoba also helps to soften the skin.
Only a small amount of oil is needed – then simply use gentle, circular massage movements to ensure that all the oil is absorbed into the hands. Self-massage helps to stimulate the circulation, bringing a fresh supply of oxygenated blood to further rejuvenate the tissues, while the oils encourage renewed vitality.
Our feet also benefit from self-massage using nourishing and regenerative carrier oils, plus there are pressure points on both the hands and feet which positively stimulate all our internal organs. Take care to also rub these precious oils into your nails and cuticles too. A quick-fix treatment is to use my ‘Feed Your Skin’ oil blend which I formulated specially to nourish the skin which contains a nutrient-rich blend of eight botanical oils, including carrot oil, avocado oil, jojoba oil, rosehip seed oil and Vitamin E oil.
Aromatherapy Nail & Cuticle Care
There are several carrier oils that are perfect for treating dry, cracked or brittle nails. Avocado, jojoba, argan, sweet almond and rosehip seed oil are all ideal for this purpose due to their highly effective nutritional and moisturising properties. Simply massage a few drops of your chosen oil into your nails every day, paying particular attention to the cuticles. This will help to keep your nails in good condition and generally improve the health of the surrounding skin – including bitten-down nails – provided this is done regularly! Ideally, try to make the ritual of moisturising your hands and nails a part of your daily routine before retiring each night.
Adding a drop of an essential oils such as elemi, frankincense, lavender or myrrh will give an extra boost to damaged nails when used as part of a regular treatment routine. All these essential oils are known to promote healing and regeneration.
Essential oils such as tea tree, geranium and eucalyptus all have natural antibacterial and antifungal properties so adding a drop of these oils to your blend can help keep your nails healthy and infection free. You only need to add 1 or 2 drops of essential oils to 5ml of your chosen carrier oil (or to a natural cream base) for this purpose. To make it even easier, I recommend making up a larger quantity by doubling up the proportions above, then use a dropper to apply a few drops of the oil blend to each nail and cuticle before gently massaging it in.
Beautiful, well-manicured hands and nails can make us feel more confident about our appearance. Damaged cuticles and broken nails in contrast can be unsightly, so taking the time to carry out these simple aromatherapy treatments can help us to feel good about ourselves.
It’s also fun to experiment with different coloured nail varnish on our fingers and toes, especially over the summer months. However, always ensure you remove your nail polish with a mild, acetone-free remover since acetone can strip away the delicate top layers of the nails. Also try to avoid using nail varnish that contains formaldehyde since this is very harsh on the skin.
Aromatherapy Natural Manicure / Pedicure Treatment
A warm hand or foot soak is a perfect way to start a nail care manicure or pedicure treatment since it allows the nourishing oils to be absorbed more readily. It also softens and hydrates the skin and helps prepare the skin for self-massage. It’s best to use this rejuvenating treatment at least twice a week until your nails have visibly improved, after which you can cut the treatment back to once a week. Applying oils to your hands, feet and nails directly after a warm bath or shower is also a perfect time to indulge in the simple luxury of self-massage with your chosen aromatherapy oils.
You will need:
- Bowl of warm water, large enough to submerge your hands or feet in
- 1 tablespoon Epson or Dead Sea Salt
- 1 tablespoon Light Coconut Oil
- 3-5 drops of chosen essential oils (see above suggestions)
Instructions:
- Add the salts, coconut oil & essential oils to your bowl of warm water.
- Soak your hands (or feet) for 5-10 minutes, so the skin becomes softened.
- Pat your skin dry gently with a soft towel.
- Apply a small amount of carrier oil or a blended oil to each nail – ie our ‘Feed Your Skin’ oil or 1 – 2 drops of essential oil to 5 ml (or 1 tsp of carrier oil).
- Massage the oil into the nails and cuticles using small circular movements.
- Once the oil is absorbed, use a cotton-bud to gently ease back the cuticles to reveal the ‘moon’ on each nail.