DAILY HAND, FOOT AND NAIL CARE

Our hands are exposed daily to the elements and to household detergents, and our feet carry us wherever we want to go. Both deserve as much attention as the face, and will benefit greatly from aromatherapy.




Having well-cared for hands is a beauty asset. To give you hands a treat, prepare a mix using oils of geranium and rose otto and work well into the skin.

Hand Care
It is said that there are two ways to tell a woman's age: by her neck and by her hands. Our hands, like our necks and faces, are always exposed to the air and are always on visible display. However, it is easy to neglect them when leading a busy life.

Treatment Essential oils can be added to a base lotion and used after each time you wash your hands. Patchouli is one of the best oils for cracked, dry skin, and clary sage helps delay cellular aging. If your hands are neglected and in need of a boost, try giving them an exfoliating "mask" treatment before going to bed. After using an exfoliating face mask on your hands, apply your hand lotion. Cover your hands with cling film (plastic wrap) and pull on a pair of cotton gloves, or cotton socks, over the cling film. Keep the mask in place for an hour before rinsing off.





For cracked knuckles, try patchouli oil mixed in a carrier cream or lotion base and applied to the affected area on clean, dry hands










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Foot Care
Think of the amount of work our feet have to do - we walk on them daily, often in inappropriate footwear, and yet we give them surprisingly little care and attention.

Treatment
Spend some time each week giving your feet a treatment massage, which benefits your feet and the rest of your body at the same time. Keep them as scrupulously clean as your face, regularly removing dead skin at the heels and drying properly between the toes. Watch for any broken skin between the toes as this may be a sign of athlete's foot - a fungal condition which can be difficult to treat once it takes hold. Plastic shoes are a common cause of athlete's foot as they create moisture and cause the feet to sweat, creating the ideal conditions for fungus to develop. Essential oils can be used to treat all fungus-type infections as well as viral ones, including warts and verrucas. You will also need to address the underlying causes. These may be related to stress and poor nutrition, and will be helped with relaxing essential oils.

Nail Care
Strong, well-manicured nails on the hands and feet play an important role in a woman's appearance. Brittle, damaged or weak nails can detract from this. Essential oils can be used to improve nail condition.

Treatment
Essential oil of lavender is particularly good for strengthening nails. Each evening, put your finger on to the nozzle of a bottle of lavender oil, tip the bottle, and rub the oil into the cuticles. After two or three months you should see some improvement as the treated nail grows through.











Giving yourself a foot massage not only feels good but also energizes the many reflex points on your feet, which in turn correspond to different parts of the body.


















For tired or swollen ankles, a cool compress soaked in Roman chamomile and lavender oil is both soothing and refreshing and can also alleviate any inflammation.






Nail Treatment
Pampering your nails with this weekly treatment will keep them healthy and strong. If your nails are particularly weak and damaged, you may prefer to apply this quick treatment every evening. Because its growth is a slow process, the results are not immediate - it will be a couple of months before you see any improvement, but it will be worth the wait.

Ingredients

• warm water
• lavender essential oil

Equipment

• bowl
• cuticle stick
• cotton bud (Q-tip)

Tip
Sucking a jelly cube each day is said to strengthen the nails. If you often have white flecks across your nails, increasing the calcium in your diet could also help.

Soak your fingertips in warm water before gently cleaning the surplus cuticle from the nails.

Use a cotton bud (Q-tip) to apply neat lavender oil to each cuticle to strengthen them.