Beauty Remedies Playing Hide-and-Seek in Your Kitchen

It's probably safe to assume that every woman has received advice on a beauty dilemma from a friend, co-worker, or parent recommending a kitchen-friendly solution.  I remember being shocked when my mom told me she used to wash her hair in beer and condition it with eggs!  But how many people actually get around to trying these home remedies or even know how to make them?  I know that I always think about it, but then I forget and end up at the drugstore buying my Neutragena's Deep Clean Cream Cleanser, Neutragena's Oil Free Wash, or Johnson & Johnson's Purpose (shown below, in that order).  Of course, that all adds up pretty quickly, but I do swear by all of these face washes, depending on my skin dilemma.

But a money-saving, at-home, kitchen remedy is always way more fun than just buying a face wash and some of the ingredients you learn about and use seem so bizarre!  Here are some of the best at-home remedies, several of which I've tried and several that I hope to try soon!

SKIN REMEDIES

1. PURIFY: Lemon & pineapple juice to get rid of large pores and blemishes.  Lemon and pineapple juice contain natural enzymes that tighten and firm the face, simultaneously purifying and brightening the skin.  Lemon, in particular, has the ability to cleanse and shrink larger pores.  The juices don't have to be fresh (they can be canned), but it smells better and works more naturally if freshly squeezed.

1. Fill a large basin with extra warm water, but not scalding.
2. Hold your face over for 1-3 minutes of a calming steam facial to open your pores.
3. Drench a washcloth in lemon and pineapple juice and put on your face for 1 minute.
4. Rinse your skin with warm water.
5. Apply ice cubes to your face by gently placing and holding them along your pores for 15-30 seconds.  This has a tightening effect on your skin.

2. EXFOLIATE: Scrubbing facial with lemon juice & sugar.  This is a great solution a facialist at Aveda told my mom, our friend C, and I about.  She recommended this for anyone that needs a brightening facial, but doesn't have the funds to get it done at a spa.  Again, the lemon juice cleanses and shrinks the pores, while the sugar in the raw gently scrub away the surface layers of your skin, leaving it softer and brighter.

1. Squeeze 1-2 lemons into a small bowl.
2. Empty 3 packets of sugar in the raw (the brown packets you always see at Starbuck's, but you can buy a box of them in any grocery store).  You want the mixture to be a little goopy, not runny.
3. Use the mixture to gently scrub your face.  Make sure to scrub your neck and jaw bone.  I usually spend 30 seconds - 1 minute scrubbing.
4. Rinse your skin with warm water.  Pat your face dry.

3. SOFTEN: Avocado & honey skin softener.  Avocados are packed with anti-oxidants and the honey helps attract and retain water.  And best of all, it gives you that green-colored mask that you always see in spas on TV.  If I'm feeling really decadent, I'll slice a cucumber and put 1 over each eye (as they get warm, replace).  Ahhhh....

1. Mash 1 ripe avocado in a small bowl.  The riper it is, the easier it is to peel and mash.
2. Add 2 tbsp honey and 1 tsp lemon juice; stir.
3. Apply paste to face and let dry.
4. After 10 minutes, wash it off your face with warm water.

4. MOISTURIZE: Sugar & coffee body scrub.  Do not use this one on your face.  This treatment works really well when combined with a night-time shower.  The heat of the shower will open you pores and allow the oils to sink into the skin overnight.  This is a deep moisturizer... perfect for ashy skin (if winter even happens this year).  The ratios of this do not really matter, so feel free to make variations.

1. In an air-tight jar, combine 1 cup coffee granules (wet ones from that morning's coffee), 1/2 cup of both coarse sea salt and table salt, and 1/2 cup brown or granulated sugar.
2. Add 1/2 cup of almond, olive, or coconut oil.  You should have a squishy texture.  If it's still dry, add more oil.
3. Rub all over skin in the shower.  After the body scrub, rinse it off.  It's a pretty oily mixture so it might feel like you didn't totally rinse off... that's the way it should feel.
4. Once out of the shower, pat body dry with towel and get into your PJs :)
5. Wake up the next morning with deeply nourished, almost baby-butt-soft skin.  I like to take another shower that morning if I feel at all oily.  I almost always take a morning shower, so it may just be my neuroticism.  

HAIR REMEDIES

1. CONDITION: Beer & Chamomile.  A mix of beer and chamomile will work as a lightening conditioner (not dramatically; very subtle).  It will leave your hair shiny, thicker, and softer.  Hooray Beer!

1. In the shower, shampoo as usual.  
2. Pour 1 pint of beer (I like to use Guinness, but any will do) slowly throughout your hair.
3. Rinse with lukewarm.  Make sure to get out all of the beer.
4. Take chamomile tea (that has been boiled and cooled) and pour it slowly throughout your hair.  This is primarily to disguise the beer smell; let it sit for a few minutes.
5. Rinse with cool water.

2. SMOOTH: Milk & Eggs to the Rescue.  Now this is one I distinctly remember my mom telling me about.  I remember thinking it was soooooo weird to put eggs in your hair... who does that?!  Well mom, I was wrong.  You were right.  It is magical.

1. Pour about 1 cup of milk into a large bowl.
2. Separate the egg yolk from the whites by cracking the egg and letting the whites pour out, over the shell, while keeping the yellow yolk in the shell pocket (these are what your want!).  Pour the yolks into a different bowl.
3. Pour just enough olive oil in the bowl to cover the yolk.
4. Add 1 tsp of sugar into the yolk/oil mix ans stir well.
5. Soak you hair with warm water.  (I think this whole process is easiest in the shower = less of a mess and easier to deal with your hair.)
6. Shampoo and condition you hair really well, work it into a lather, and rinse.
7. Now pour the milk over your hair & run a comb through it.  Let it sit for 5 - 8 minutes. (This is a good time to shave your legs and all of the other time-consuming shower rituals you have.  Just don't rinse your hair yet.)
8. Rinse out your hair again with warm water.
9. Massage the olive oil/yolk mixture into your scalp (it's going to feel gooey and weird, but let the eggs do their magic).  Let it sit for at least 10 minutes.  (I usually get out of the shower after doing this part and put a shower cap over my hair while I dry off.  I don't take a long-enough shower to let it sit for 10 minutes on top of the milk sitting before.)
10. Rinse out your hair with cold water, helping to get rid of the frizz.  (I rinse it out by leaning over the tub and using the faucet to rinse.  You can just get back in the shower if you want to enjoy some cold water!)
11. Dry your hair by shaking it out or using a hair dryer.

3.  LIGHTEN: Rhubarb & Chamomile Rinse.  Lighten your hair with a fruitful and relaxing rinse.  This natural rinse is best for medium to light brunettes and for blondes. 

Chamomile flowers

TIPS: 1) This rinse works best if you can let your hair dry naturally, especially in the sunshine (perfect!).  

2) Hair benefits most from lukewarm shower temperature and is damaged by hotter temperatures.  The best hair wash is one that uses only lukewarm water for the whole wash.  

3) Borax is one of those random things that can be hard to find.  It is simply sodium borate is typically sold at supermarkets, health food stores, and sometimes hardware stores.  

WARNING: Handle the borax carefully.  Do not leave it lying around where children or pets could access it and possibly swallow it... it's a poison when ingested!

1. Chop 4oz (about 3 stalks) of rhubarb finely and put into a saucepan.
2. Add 1 tbsp dried chamomile flowers and 1 quart of water in the saucepan.
3. Bring the water to a boil, cover & simmer the mixture for 20 - 30 minutes.
4. Remove the mixture from heat and let it stand until lukewarm.  When it has cooled, strain the mixture.
5. Add 1 tsp borax to the mixture & your rinse is ready!
6. Pour it through your hair after washing it as normal with shampoo.

Useful On-the-Go & Quick-Fix Tips:


 QUICKLY DRY YOUR NAILS: by dipping them straight into a bowl of ice cold water OR spray them with a little cooking oil.

If only a cucumber eye mask 

came with that massage...

SLEEPY EYES: Use cucumbers to reduce puffy eyes and teabags to remove dark circles.  A new one I learned is to soak 2 cotton balls in 1/4 cup cold milk.  Place them over your eyes for 5 minutes.
QUICK WAY TO ENHANCE YOUR HAIR:
1) The age-old tip of using fresh lemon juice to lighten your hair and enhance your natural hightlights IS TRUE.  It looks natural and works wonders.  Plus it smells great!
2) A rosemary rinse can also do the trick.
3) A parsley and lemon mixture can be used for "hair so healthy, it shines!"

FIX BAD BREATH: 

A) Order a Waldorf salad when out to eat and request extra apple.  Apples freshen and remove any pieces of stuck food in your teeth that may be causing stale breath. 
B) Rinse with hydrogen peroxide.  It can be used as a quick mouthwash and is one of the best, long-lasting bad 

breath cures.  

C) Order a dish that comes with ginger, basil, mint leaves, or parsley.  Discreetly chew on any of these for instant refreshment.  Tip: You may want to excuse yourself to the restroom and check for any herb pieces stuck in your teeth.

D) Chew sugar-less gum.  It will stimulate the saliva production in your mouth, helping to wash out some of the bacteria and food particles and prevents dry mouth.
E) Drink water and ask for lemon.  Discretely squeeze as much of the lemon into the water as possible; it will help cover up any odor and reduces dry mouth. 

Leighton Meister and Blake Lively on the

set of Gossip Girl in NYC

I'm going to follow as many of the tips and tricks I've shared.  Beauty remedies from the kitchen are fun, inexpensive, and always an adventure.  And maybe, just maybe, if I do them ritually, I'll glow and look as fresh and awesome as Leighton & Blake do so easily.

(Yeah right... I think that one's going to remain a far-fetched dream.  But at least my skin will be soft and my nails will be dry!)
xoxo
K