HOMEMADE CUTICLE CREAM

Homemade Cuticle Cream/Balm

I discovered this cuticle and nail cream quite by accident.  You may remember the painter/instructor Bob Ross who used to have a TV series on teaching how to paint with oils.  I always enjoyed watching him because he made it look so easy.  I'm not a painter by any stretch of the imagination, so the way he painted looked like magic to me.  He always said that there were no mistakes in painting, only "happy accidents".  Well, this product is a "happy accident".

It started out as a lip balm, but the flavor and color weren't working well for me.  So, one day I was in the car going somewhere and noticed my cuticles looked a bit dry.  While applying the lip balm, I decided to put it on my nails, and, surprise, a great cuticle cream was born!

Here are the ingredients, and their benefits to the skin:

• Coconut Oil - For skin it is a moisturizer, antibiotic, multivitamin, multi-nutrient, anti-aging, anti wrinkle and an anti-oxidant.  Coconut oil provides deep and real moisture. It helps strengthen underlying tissues and helps remove excessive dead cells on the skin's surface that makes your skin rough and flaky in texture, making it perfect for those dry cuticles.

• Shea Butter - The benefits of Shea Butter for the skin are many. The traditional use of the butter is to reduce the appearance of fine lines, stretch marks and scars, and to ease many skin irritations, such as psoriasis, eczema and sunburn. Shea butter contains several derivatives of cinnamic acid, a compound common to cinnamon and balsam trees. "Shea butter not only demonstrated anti-inflammatory benefits, but one compound, lupeol cinnamate, also prevented tumor development in a carcinogenesis test, a procedure in which cancer cells are literally "grown" in a culture dish." (Source: National Geographic) Shea butter contains vitamins A and E, as well as catechins, which are plant antioxidants found also in green tea. While it is unclear how well vitamins A and E in raw Shea butter are absorbed, there is evidence to suggest that cinnamic acid esters in Shea fat help to prevent skin damage from ultraviolet radiation.  Shea butter is also used to soften and condition leather and wood, so musicians use it to improve the flexibility of leather tuning straps, and the pitch and timbre of animal skin drums and other percussion instruments. In addition, Africans use Shea butter in cooking, and in other parts of the world, manufacturers add Shea butter to margarine.  

• Cocoa Butter - It is a rich butter that is made by pressing roasted seeds of the cacao tree.  Cocoa butter has been around a long time, for centuries in fact. Africans have used it for hundreds of years for moisturizing, healing and protecting their skin against damage caused by sun and wind. Cocoa butter has been known to treat eczema and dermatitis. Cocoa mass polyphenol (CMP) in cocoa butter inhibits the production of immonu globulin, which tends to worsen the symptoms of dermatitis and asthma. It may help prevent cancer. Studies have shown that CMP helps inhibit the growth of cancer cells. It does this by preventing the oxidation of good cholesterol and also the production of inflammatory cells.  Ever wonder why pregnant women reach for cocoa butter enriched products to rub on their bellies? Cocoa butter is full of vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, C, and E. It has the ability to moisturize like no other.

• Bees Wax - Bees wax improves the condition of skin.  It is totally nontoxic, and has superior healing properties. Beeswax is an excellent emollient and support for moisturizers.  It provides skin protective action which does not clog the pores. It is nonallergic, promotes elasticity, and has excellent staying power on the skin.

Homemade Cuticle Cream/Balm

There you have it, just four simple but extremely high quality ingredients that couldn't be better for your skin.  An added benefit, it puts a lovely glow on your nails if you like the natural look. They look like you spent a lot of time and effort buffing them up to a beautiful soft sheen, when in reality all you've done is spent 30 seconds applying cuticle cream!  My cuticles are looking so much better since I started using this product.  It's been six months since I've had a professional manicure.  To those of you that have this product, why not start using it on your nails and cuticles, and get a lip balm that smells and tastes yummy!