Beauty Recipe: DIY Luscious Lemon Lavender Cuticle Balm

 

 

Even though spring is around the corner, my nails are less than lust worthy.  After the dry winter air, work etc. my cuticles are drier than the Sahara Desert.  Enter my Luscious Lemon Lavender Cuticle Balm.  While you can always go out and purchase a cuticle cream, making it is just so much better!  Ingredients such as lemon rind help to add a little vitamin C and brighten the surrounding skin, lavender as an antiseptic and olive oil for its Vitamin E content and a few extra moisturizers for healing it is the perfect balm that is sure to cure your cuticle crisis!

You will need:

-an empty clean tin of some kind, an empty lip balm container would be perfect

-1 tsp. cocoa butter solid

-1/2 tsp. shea butter solid

-1/2 tsp. beeswax

-1/2 tsp. olive oil

-1/8 tsp lemon rind, finely grated

-a few drops of pure lavender essential oil, or tea tree oil if you have it

-a double boiler, I used a small pot filled halfway up with water, then put a heat safe measuring cup in the water to melt my ingredients

Heat your double boiler water to a rolling boil before putting all the ingredients in, and let them all melt together, the heat helps release the oils from the lemon rind, so the longer you keep it heated the more will release.  Once its pourable and clear pour it into your container and allow it to harden completely before using it, about 1 hour

Tips:

-If you don’t have the cocoa butter, shea and beeswax, you can substitute with a vitamin E cream base found in most drugstores your cuticle balm will be more like a salve than a solid though.

- You can strain out the lemon rind, or if you put large pieces of rind, pick them out before pouring into your container.  I grated mine finely so that the lemon scent lasts longer and it also helps exfoliate (bonus!), if you’re ambitious you can put a few drops of fresh lemon juice too.

 

Enjoy you fresh, moisturized nails!