Toenail Fungus Treatment at Home: A Natural Remedy with Essential Oils
Wondering how to make a toenail fungus treatment at home? This easy, natural remedy for toenail fungus is made with a blend of essential oils and antifungal neem oil for an effective, at home treatment. Keep reading to learn how to make this antifungal nail treatment for toenail fungus.
Sandal season is finally here. Unfortunately if you’re feet don’t look fabulous you may be tempted to skip that cute pair of new sandals and hide your feet instead. One common problem with feet is toenail fungus. Untreated this condition will persist and can spread to unaffected, healthy nails.
Over the counter topical antifungal toenail medicine can be expensive and its chemical makeup can be a bit sketchy. So I’ve come up with a natural home remedy for a toenail fungus treatment at home to help clear up toenail fungus and keep it from it coming back.
Keep in mind that getting rid of toenail fungus is not a quick process no matter what product you use and it’s not completely gone until your nails have grown out completely healthy and there’s nothing left of the yellow, cracked nail that preceded it. This can take two months or more depending on how quickly your nails grow. In addition, removal of the affected nail as it grows out is imperative.
For this natural home remedy I use neem oil for it’s highly potent antifungal properties. It’s also antiviral which is why I used it in a recent recipe for a cold sore therapy lip balm. I found that it works much much faster than tea tree oil and is nowhere near as drying. However, as tea tree, like neem oil, is naturally antiviral, antifungal and antibacterial, I’ve also included it as an ingredient. (Source.)
This toenail fungus treatment recipe is simple to make and has a long shelf life. Simply apply to affected toenails twice per day until condition clears completely and healthy nails have grown back in. I recommend using an amber glass bottle with a dropper for your anti-fungal toenail treatment at home.
Natural Toenail Fungus Treatment Recipe
© Rebecca D. Dillon
Ingredients:
.75 oz. neem oil blend (or another carrier oil of choice)
14 drops manuka essential oil
6 drops tea tree oil
6 drops lavender essential oil
6 drops oregano essential oil
6 drops peppermint essential oil
Instructions:
Ready to learn how to make a toenail fungus treatment at home? Let’s get started!
Measure out the neem oil and add to a 1 oz. amber glass bottle with an eye dropper. (I used the neem oil blend from Mountain Rose Herbs. As it is mixed with olive oil, it will stay liquid even at cooler temps.) Follow with the drops of essential oils. Then close the container and shake well to combine the ingredients.
It is important to note that neem oil does solidify, like coconut oil, when it gets too cold. If this happens, simply run your glass bottle under hot water to remelt the oil.
If you don’t want to make your own toenail fungus treatment, then I highly recommend Foot Cure Nail Fungus Solution. It works incredibly well even on the most stubborn toenail fungus and the price is affordable. I noticed a difference within days and ultimately, this product completely got rid of my toenail fungus. You can buy it here.
How to Use This Toenail Fungus Treatment at Home:
Shake before each use and apply to each affected toenail morning and night until condition clears completely. You may need to cut away affected areas of the toenail. Continue to use several times a week, once the fungus has cleared, to keep toes fungus free or use a natural salve or cream that contains neem oil.
More Ways to Use This Toenail Fungus Treatment Formula
While neem oil can be applied directly to skin, I don’t recommend this for anything except your nails as both neem oil and tea tree oil can be overly drying. However, if you want a super speedy cold sore home remedy, reduce the tea tree oil to 6 drops and the lavender, eucalyptus and peppermint essential oils to 2 drops each. Then apply solution directly to cold sore. It will literally almost disappear overnight.
The Best Essential Oils for Toenail Fungus
I chose this specific blend of essential oils for my toenail fungus treatment for two reasons. One, these essential oils are all effective at fighting toenail fungus. And two, these essential oils have other practical applications for natural skin care and beauty recipes, in addition to being affordable options. However, you don’t have to use these specific essential oils for my toenail fungus treatment at home. You can, if desired make substitutions. Here is a full list of essential oils for toenail fungus treatment.
- Cinnamon essential oil (this oil causes skin irritation)
- Eucalyptus essential oil
- Lemon essential oil
- Lemongrass essential oil
- Manuka essential oil
- Oregano essential oil
- Peppermint essential oil
- Thyme essential oil
More Antifungal Foot Care Recipes
For other natural foot treatments, be sure to also try my recipes for my natural exfoliating foot scrub and my rosemary and neem oil foot salve (to keep feet soft and fungus free!) or lanolin and neem foot salve.
My neem oil foot salve recipes are also great for those prone to infections on their feet or around toes. I gifted my grandmother, who has diabetes, some of my lanolin and neem foot salve for Christmas this past year and her doctor was amazed at how quickly it cleared up an infection she had on her foot. However, you should always consult your physician first if you have any ongoing medical issues or are pregnant or nursing. (My rosemary and neem foot salve contains comfrey which should NOT be used by pregnant women.)
If a salve isn’t to your liking, I also have a recipe for an organic neem cream as well as for a homemade neem oil soap.
For more all natural home remedies and natural skin care recipes be sure to follow my DIY Bath and Body board on Pinterest. You can also find me on facebook, twitter, instagram and Blog Lovin‘. Or sign up to receive an email whenever I share a new post!
6 Comments
Rebecca D. Dillon
June 15, 2014 at 8:29 am
The neem oil I used for this is from Mountain Rose Herbs. They have 15% olive oil in the neem to make it less thick. You can use straight neem oil if you like or 15% of .75 oz. of olive oil and .85% of the .75 oz. of neem oil.
Jo
October 25, 2014 at 7:06 am
I was so excited to read your blog. I ran on to neem oil sometime ago, actually the first of the year and started using it on my toes hoping it would clear up the fungus. I have tried everything with no success. It was working, and I wanted to reach out and share my experience but didn’t have a blog, I have not added anything to the oil so I am anxious to try your ideas. My toenails are almost free of the fungus. It is not only ugly, it made my toes hurt….thank you so much for sharing this…
Rebecca D. Dillon
October 25, 2014 at 11:19 am
You’re welcome and thank you for your feedback. I also just discovered neem oil this year and have been thrilled with it’s properties. It works better than tea tree oil for me and unlike tea tree oil it doesn’t dry out my and as it’s a carrier oil, can be used more generously than an essential oil.
Stan Bell
January 9, 2015 at 2:25 am
It is true that nail fungus treatment is long process. In fact it may take up 6 months to 1 year until it is completely healed. I have only tried coconut oil and so far, so good. I haven’t tried neem oil but this looks interesting and promising. Thanks for sharing this post.
NancyLee
February 2, 2015 at 10:17 am
Dear Rebecca – I have tried so many different things over the years (yes, many years) and nothing has been successful. A few things at least keep the itching at bay because the surrounding skin is chronically infected too. Plus I am sure that the fungus is being fed somehow in a systemic way. Recently I’ve cut back significantly on fruit in my diet – the rest of my diet is very good but too many grapes and other sweet fruit may be feeding something I don’t want it feeding!
A few years ago, I ordered a product from New Zealand – I think that neem oil was a main ingredient. It smelled so bad that I couldn’t stand it and sent it back.
(Stan – I’ve been using coconut oil for a while now too and it shows promise. But I’ve gotten my hopes up many times and alas……..)
Do your neem oil products have a strong smell? I await your answer with “baited”
breath because hope springs eternal and I’m ready to try something new.
Thanks for your help.
Rebecca D. Dillon
February 2, 2015 at 6:31 pm
Neem oil has a strong garlic nut odor. It’s just the natural smell. You can cover it by combining with eo’s like lavender, lemongrass and peppermint. It’s a really great natural product but you have to get past the smell just and try it.
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