Cuticle Oil

This is the first post about something other than nail polish. I chose to write about cuticle oil so the post is going to be long. What is a cuticle? Do I need to moisturize it? Should I use cuticle oil? Which oil should I use? I'll try to answer all those questions. All information in this post is taken from free online sources, you all can find it. I'll post all the relevant links for you to check the info yourself~

First, let's talk about cuticle. The cuticle is dead skin that is attached to nail plate. It should be removed so that you nail polish doesn't chip. Cuticle is usually removed with cuticle remover and a wooden stick. Silicone pusher is also okay to use, but be extra careful with metal tools, if you have them.

Many people believe the living skin at the base of the nail plate to be cuticle. Because of that they think that cuticle should be moisturized. The cuticle is dead tissue, it doesn't need moisturizing. But the living skin that is called the eponychium could be moisturized. Check this article for more information. 

I've also seen people confusing cuticle and pterygium. As I understand it, for them the living skin is the cuticle and the dead skin is pterygium. Pterygium is actually a disorder characterized by an overgrowth of the proximal nail fold onto the nail bed. Check this article for further information. 

Everything the nail plate needs to grow and function is delivered by the blood flow to the matrix and nail bed. The matrix is where the nail plate is created. Nail plate doesn't breathe and cannot absorb nutrients from any external source.

But if cuticle should be removed and nail plate cannot absorb nutrients, then why do we even use cuticle oils?

First of all, cuticle oil keeps the nail plate soft and flexible. "Cuticle oil is a blend of oils in varying molecular size. The smaller molecules, like jojoba for instance, will penetrate between the nail layers and are able to go deeper into the nail to condition and soften it. The larger ones, like sweet almond, will stay closer to the surface and help condition the upper layers. The molecules penetrate and become entrapped within the nail and skin layers." I am quoting this Nailsmag article here. Oils can also penetrate nail enhancements and keep the coating flexible thus extending the longevity of your manicure.

Oils can penetrate the top layers of the stratum corneum, the outermost layer of the epidermis, consisting of dead cells (corneocytes). By doing that the oils can improve the barrier lipids in stratum corneum and slow the trans-epidermal water loss. 

Some nail oils use vitamin E. It is added not for the nutritional purposes or strengthening. The proper name for vitamin E is tocopherol acetate. Tocopherol is an anti-oxidant that is added to keep oils from going rancid. Cuticle oil is an anhydrous product, i.e. it doesn't contain water. This means that oils do not need preservatives but they do need anti-oxidants to prolong their shelf life. 

Manufacturers of cuticle oils use a variety of different oils in different combinations. You can make your own cuticle oil, and it is much, much cheaper than buying it from some fancy brand. I currently use an insane blend of jojoba oil, avocado oil, macadamia oil, sweet almond oil, black sesame oil, rice bran oil, and argan oil. After finishing this batch I plan to make a simpler blend with just jojoba, avocado, hazelnut, and rice bran oils. 

If you want to learn more about oils (and other cosmetics), check Point of Interest blog right away. I've consulted this blog a lot while writing this post. Seriously, it's simply the best!

Making a cuticle oil is simple - just pour your carrier oils together, mix them, add an essential oil (or not), put it in a suitable bottle, that's all. The shelf life of your product is the shelf life of the shortest lived oil. Do not forget to add 1% of tocopherol acetate to increase the shelf life.

Point of Interest blog has posts about popular carrier oils, there are downloadable PDFs with oil comparison charts. Check this oil master post for download links. Just to keep it shorter, I'll only mention my preferred oils.

Avocado oil is one of the most popular oils in nail care products as it is easily absorbed by skin, hair, and nails. It has some phytosterols which can help itchy or inflamed skin. Its moisturizing properties are also very good.

Hazelnut oil is also absorbed pretty quickly by the skin. It has the highest flavonoid concentrations in any of carrier oils. This is why it's considered a dry oil. This means it won't feel greasy on your skin while still offering great moisturizing. If your oil mix feels greasy, just add some hazelnut oil.

Rice bran oil is rarely used in cuticle oils. At least, I have never seen one. I personally think this is a fantastic oil to use, that's why I keep adding it everywhere. Rice bran oil contains y-oryzanol, a phytosterol unique to this oil. It's a mixture of ferulic acid esters or sterols and triterpene alcohols. Ferulic acid is a very effective anti-oxidant and can prevent skin aging. 

Jojoba oil isn't really an oil, it's a wax ester. Jojoba oil mixes with the sebum, the protective wax produced by human skin that helps keep it smooth, supple and moisturised. This is why jojoba oil is added to many cosmetic products.

Most of the time I'll choose oils that have longer shelf life by themselves. I don't like cosmetic products that use grape seed oil simply because it can go rancid very quickly. I don't think it is acceptable to use such an ingredient in something you might sell or give to someone else. 

I hope you learned something new from this post~