Health and beauty can get expensive pretty quickly. Once you are finished buying your leave-in conditioning hair treatment, face masks for blemish covered skin, eye masks for dry under eyes, lip masks for chapped lips that need some love. And the ingredients lists get more complicated too. So sometimes it is nice to know that there are plenty of options for beauty at home. Homemade beauty if often much lighter on ingredients, and you can make it in smaller batches too, so it is always super fresh.
Photo by Christin Hume on Unsplash
Face Mask
The best thing about DIY face masks is that they can just take a few minutes to make. You can decide on the spur of the moment that your skins need a pep up, and hey presto – you’ve created a mask for your needs. Many people swear by an oat facemask, and although it is a little chunky, it soothes the skin and helps with dryness and itching. You can also combine egg white with a teaspoon of vitamin C powder. The egg white will tighten skin and minimize the look of pores, and the vitamin C will give a fresh glow. If you want something even easier, damp your face slightly and slather on a thin layer of mayonnaise. Just be sure to rinse these options off well.
Hairy Situation
If you have a lot of split ends but aren’t ready to get a trim just yet, then grab yourself some olive oil. Warm a towel on a radiator and massage olive oil through the ends of your hair. Be careful not to get it on your roots. Once you have covered it all in oil, warm the end in the warm towel and set a 5-minute timer on your phone. Once the timer goes off, rinse and wash with your normal shampoo.
Breath
If you like to have fresh breath, then you probably get through a lot of gum, or at the very least, mints and a strict oral hygiene regimen. However, you can make your own breath mints! At it won’t take long at all. You’ll need 1 cup of powdered gum paste mix, 1 teaspoon or so of water, some mint extract – to taste and some powdered xylitol. Mix the water, and the gum paste-up in a bowl, it will stay to firm up and will be a solid-ish dough. From there, start to add your peppermint extract. Once you have the flavor you are looking for, roll it out using the xylitol like you would flour and bread dough. Now you can cut out your mint shapes. Big straws work great to get the shape right. Once they are all cut out, toss them around in some of the xylitol and leave them to dry. The extra toss at the end will stop them from clumping together. If you find that even with a good routine and extra mints you are having issues, then you might need to see your dentist for additional tips.
Exfoliation
If you suffer from dry skin, then there are a range of natural juices you can use to help. A top tip for years has been to rub a lemon on your elbows, knees, and other dry patches, But you can also use tomatoes, grapefruit, and pineapple juice. If you want something that will last a little longer, then you can mix olive oil and sugar. For the latter, use gentle circular motions all over your skin and rinse off. You’ll be left with super soft, moisturized skin.
Face
If you love the idea of soft, supple skin but don’t love the price attached to some face creams and oil, you can actually use the vitamin E oil from the capsules. Simply pop a capsule and massage the oil into your skin before bed. The oil will work anywhere on your body too. Coconut oil is an excellent alternative to many cleansers that you can get on the market. Simply get a warm washcloth, add a little coconut oil to it, and massage all over the face. IT will lift any grime and removes make-up too.
Lips
If you love lip balm but don’t like the price attached to some of the more luxe ones, you can make your own. You’ll need a small clean pot that has a lid. Melt a little bit of honey into some rose water and add a thin layer when you find your lips are feeling dry or chapped.
Dandruff
Dandruff can be pretty annoying, but you can zap is pretty quickly with homemade remedies. And it smells good too. Mix 8 fluid oz of Witch Hazel and 2 or 3 drops of Rosemary essential oil into a spritz bottle. Go through your usual routine and then spritz this through your hair afterward. It smells fantastic and will help get dandruff under control too.
Puffiness
If you find that you often wake up with puffy eyes, then you should pop two teaspoons in the fridge or freezer overnight. Place them on your puffy eye area in the morning, and it will reduce the puff in minutes. As well as really wake you up for the day.
Cucumber is also great if you have a little longer, just place a slice over each eye and kick back for a few minutes while it works its magic. You can also use two used and cooled chamomile tea bags over your eyes for about 5 minutes.
A trick that models have used for years to tighten up the skin quickly (and isn’t a homemade remedy) is hemorrhoid cream. You can slick a layer along your jawline and on any puffy areas on your face, and you’ll see them reduce in a matter of minutes.
Using natural ingredients means you are less likely to have an allergic reaction and almost sure to have the ingredients in your house already! So when the mood takes you, you can have a pamper session with things from the fridge or the cupboard.
