DIY cuticle oil/How to clean an old nail polish bottle

Do you have an old nail polish bottle that you want to throw away? Well, don't throw it away just yet! You can easily empty it and re-use it for a simple DIY cuticle oil (Scroll down a bit to read the part about the cuticle oil). The first step is to clean out the bottle... by the way, make sure you do all of these in a well-ventilated area because of the polish/acetone fumes.

Cleaning out an old nail polish bottle

Items needed to clean out bottle:

• Acetone nail polish remover
• Something to put down to protect from acetone/polish
• Something to pour nail polish and acetone into/onto
• A q-tip (optional)
• Tin foil (optional)
• A cotton ball (optional)

Step 1

Remove the lid & pour out as much of the old polish as you possibly can. You can pour this into/onto whatever you want; I suggest laying down something under where you're working to prevent any drips/stains. (I'm unsure of what acetone & nail polish do and don't melt through, so I'll let you decide what to put down. Some tin foil, perhaps?)

Step 2

Pour some acetone into the bottle, screw the lid back on, and shake it up to loosen the nail polish. After some shaking, pour it out (into something that the acetone won't melt!). You'll likely have to repeat this step at least one more time to remove all of the nail polish from inside; especially if it had glitter in it! You can also use a q-tip to clean out the lid a bit.

Step 3 (optional)

If the polish bottle has some writing on it that you want to remove, you can try soaking a cotton ball with acetone, pressing it against the writing, and then wrapping the bottle/soaked cotton in tin foil. You can set this aside for about 10-15 minutes and then remove & wipe it off.

Step 4

Do a final rinse with some water, and then you're done! Now you can fill the bottle with whatever you like. I recommend trying out a DIY cuticle oil like the one I'm about to explain below!

DIY Cuticle Oil

Using a cuticle oil regularly is a great way to keep your cuticles/nail beds nicely moisturized & prevent those annoying hangnails, especially during these dry winter days! It's surprisingly simple, too. All you really need are two things: some kind of oil and an empty nail polish bottle. However, it's more fun to combine a few different oils for more benefits! You could even add essential oils for some fun fragrances.

Here are some good oils that you can consider for your personal cuticle oil.

• Coconut oil
• Argan oil
• Olive oil
• Jojoba oil
• Vitamin E oil
• Avocado oil

You can really use just about any oil you want to, but those all have great benefits and moisturizing abilities. ;) Have fun with it! All you need to do is pour your oils into the bottle (you can use a funnel or pipette to make this easier) and shake it up to mix it. (Note: coconut oil at room temperature is usually solid, so you may need to warm it up first.)

To use your cuticle oil, just brush some onto your cuticles/nail beds and gently massage it in. Soon enough, your fingers will be moisturized and healthy!

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About an upcoming post: I've just ordered Essie's apricot cuticle oil and will be comparing it to my very own DIY cuticle oil (I used all of the oils mentioned above except for avocado oil). I'll be using Essie's on one hand and mine on the other & seeing which one works better. :) I don't know how long this will take, though. Either way, stay tuned!

-CK

DIY Lotion Spray

Wouldn't it be nice to have a sprayable lotion? I'm sure there's a product like this out there, but I'd like to share a really simple DIY with you instead. Plus, if you do it like this, you can use whatever lotion you want. Let's get started!

Supplies:

•Your favorite lotion

•Spray/mist bottle

•Water (you could even use coconut water!)

•Whatever else you'd like to add to customize your spray! (Ideas later in post.)

Step 1

Put your lotion into the spray bottle. (Don't fill it all the way up.)

Step 2

Put water (or coconut water!) into the spray bottle, screw the lid on, and shake vigorously; add enough liquid so that it becomes a sprayable consistency after shaking. (How much liquid you need to add will probably depend on the lotion you choose; this is why I didn't put any certain measurements.)

Step 3 (optional)

Add anything else you want! The world is your oyster. ;) You could try coconut oil, Argan oil, essential oils, vitamin E.. Basically anything. Have fun customizing your spray!

That's literally all that you have to do! It's so simple, and it's much faster to apply like this. Once you've done this, you can easily spray your lotion on and give it a quick rub to spread it more evenly. It's super simple & convenient!

Bonus tip: Moisturize right after you take a shower. This is when your skin really needs moisture to be locked in! Doing this is especially crucial during winter when the skin is more prone to being dry.

-CK