Most of the best beauty products available for purchase contain some sort of natural ingredient. If they didn’t have natural ingredients, we probably wouldn’t be interested in buying them, right? Who wants to put a bunch of chemicals all over their face, hair and body? Natural beauty products are also the most pricey because they’re in demand. Natural products work better at achieving the results we want.
Since so many beauty staples in our bathroom cupboards are full of natural ingredients, that must mean that we want to use natural ingredients in our beauty routines. Do a little investigating, and read the labels on some of your favorite beauty products. Are any of the ingredients things you may already have in your kitchen? We’ll bet that your refrigerator is full of awesome beauty ingredients. Here at 10 ways to turn everyday foods into beauty products!
1. Coconut
This is a pretty obvious one! Coconut is in everything from hair products to lotions, milk baths, and even vitamins and supplements. Coconut oil is used to condition, polish, and soften hair. It’s found in tons of shampoos and conditioners. Have you heard of oil pulling? Oil pulling is done by swishing with coconut oil to remove bacteria and toxins, and maintain good oral health.
Coconut oil is so versatile, but that’s not the only reason it’s used so frequently in beauty products, and food items alike. What other oil smells and even tastes absolutely delicious? We know coconut water is excellent for hydration, and for our skin. Some women swear that drinking coconut water daily gives them flawless skin.
Coconut is known for its wound healing and antimicrobial properties. Because of its antimicrobial properties, it’s often used as an acne treatment. It’s used as an excellent moisturizer, and is an anti inflammatory product.
So you’ve gone and found a jar of coconut oil, and you want to use it as a beauty product today. Here’s a recipe for an incredibly conditioning hair mask:
Organic Coconut Honey ACV Hair Mask
What You need:
2 Tbsp Organic Coconut Oil
2 Tbsp Organic Honey
1 Tbsp Organic Apple Cider Vinegar
Heat up the organic coconut oil in the microwave for 30 seconds. Add the honey and ACV and mix gently. It’s best to use a brush as you’d use to dye your hair with, to apply the mixture into your hair. You’ll want to start with the ends because they are generally the most dry, and move upward to your roots. Throw your hair up into a bun and keep the mask on for at least 30 minutes. For added conditioning and moisturizing benefits, put on a shower cap and keep the mask on overnight.
2. Avocado
The avocado is having a moment right now. It’s one of the most popular fruits. Avocados can be found on thousands of pieces on toast on Instagram. They’re delicious, nutritious, and contain a lot of fat- but it’s the good kind of fat! Full of antioxidants, and nutrients, avocados can be used in so many different culinary ways. But, we’re talking about beauty here aren’t we? So how do we use avocado as a beauty product?
Avocado oil’s hydrating benefits can be used as skincare. The oil is super hydrating and can even reduce fine lines and wrinkles when applied on the face. You can mash it up and put it in your hair to treat dryness, and add shine.
If you’re trying to lose weight (who isn’t?) the avocado is the fruit for you. Full of healthy fats that are good for your heart health, it actually promotes weight loss. Thanks to its high fiber content, it keeps you fuller longer, while aiding your digestive system.
Avocado Face Mask
What You’ll Need:
1/2 Ripe Avocado
1 Tbsp Organic Honey
1/4 Cup Oatmeal
Mash the avocado in a bowl, and add the organic honey and oatmeal. Mix together! Apply mixture to freshly washed face, and keep on for 15-20 minutes. Rinse off with warm water and gently pat dry with a clean face towel. This awesome DIY avocado face mask will not only hydrate your skin but also exfoliate it.
3. Honey
People have been reaping honey’s beauty benefits since the beginning of time. We know Cleopatra to have been an extremely beautiful woman, who had many beauty secrets. One of her most famous beauty tricks was to bathe in a milk and honey bath. Honey is believed to slow down wrinkles the signs of aging with its antioxidant properties. It’s used in countless face masks for this reason.
Honey moisturizes and soothes your skin. What’s more, honey is a natural antibacterial agent so it’s often used as an effective acne treatment and prevention. It’s also used as a pore cleanser.
Skin isn’t the only organ honey benefits. When applied to your hair, it can work as a damage preventing cream. It’s hydrating, it seals in moisture, and strengthens your hair follicles. This means that using honey as a hair mask promotes hair growth!
Honey & Lemon Blackhead Scrub
What You Need:
2 Tbsp Organic Honey
1/2 Lemon
Chop your lemon in half, and add 2 tbsp of the honey onto the lemon wedge. Gently scrub your nose and other affected area with the lemon and honey. The natural antibacterial agent pulls oil and dirt out of your pores. Try this scrub once a week, and see the improvement in your skin.
4. Oatmeal
We’ve all heard about the beauty benefits oatmeal has to offer, but sometimes we’re just a little bit unclear as to how exactly to use oatmeal. First of all, while the large-grained oatmeal is super to use for face and hair masks, it’s a bit irritating on the skin when used as an exfoliant. You can powder down the oatmeal and add into face scrubs, or even into your hair conditioner.
Oatmeal is a hair strengthener. It improves hair’s elasticity, and can be used in your conditioner. With regular use, you’ll see a major difference in your length. It’s used as a moisturizer for the hair, and can even help with scalp itchiness.
Milk & Oatmeal Face Mask
What You Need:
2 Tbsp Whole Rolled Oats
4 Tbsp Whole Organic Milk
In a bowl, combine the rolled oats with the milk until the mixture is smooth. Make sure your face is clean and makeup free when you apply the mask liberally to your face and neck. Leave on for 20 minutes and rinse with warm water. Pat dry with a clean fresh face towel. This mask is exfoliating and smoothing.
5. Green Tea
Drinking green tea helps with weight loss, so there’s one way to utilize green tea to your beauty benefit! But the benefits don’t stop there. Green tea combined with witch hazel is an incredible do it yourself face toner. It’ll work as an astringent to reduce the appearance of pores, and cleanse your skin.
Green Tea Face Toner
What You Need:
3 Tbsp Green Tea
3 Tbsp Witch Hazel
Mix the two ingredients in a bowl or a cup. Make sure your face is freshly washed and dried. Dip a cotton pad into the mixture and evenly wipe your face with it. Let air dry!
6. Eggs And Egg Whites
Would you believe me if I told you that egg whites can tighten pores? Now you’re wondering why you don’t wear egg white on your face daily? Well the truth is, egg whites have astringent properties, and are an incredible natural toning product. They’re one of the most effective natural ways to tighten and shrink pores.
Your pores won’t be the only ones to thank you. We know that protein is excellent in promoting hair growth when ingested. But what about if used externally? Good news for us gals trying all methods to grow out our hair! Using egg masks regularly will help promote hair growth, repair damage, and even reverse hair loss! Don’t quit eating food full of protein however, it still benefits you greatly.
Egg White Face Mask
What You Need:
1 Egg White
1 Tsp Organic Honey
1 Tsp Lemon Juice
Crack the egg, and separate the egg white from the egg yolk. Whisk the egg white in a bowl until foamy. Add the honey and lemon juice and whisk together. Make sure your face is washed and clean. Splash warm water on your face before applying the mixture to your skin. Then use a brush, cotton pad, or simply your fingers to apply the mask onto your face. Try to lie down and relax for about 10 minutes with the mask on, and then rinse with warm water. Pat dry with a clean towel. ENJOY the skin tightening benefits. Try this mask a few times a week.
7. Olive Oil
If you’re someone who struggles with dandruff, you are not alone! Dandruff is a super common and frustration condition where skin flakes off the scalp. If you think you’ve tried everything to relieve the symptoms of dandruff, don’t give up yet. Olive oil is known to relieve the itch and inflammation caused by dandruff. Since one of the reasons dandruff doesn’t go away is the itching, removing the itch from the equation has a lot to do with removing dandruff altogether.
Olive oil has tons of beauty benefits, from skin moisturizing, to hair strengthening. It even promotes healthy hair growth, and helps prevent split ends. Olive oil penetrates the hair shaft, and locks in moisturize leaving your hair incredibly soft and silky. You can apply olive oil onto wet or dry hair, depending on your preference.
Olive Oil Hair Treatment
What You Need:
Pure Olive Oil (How much depends on your hair thickness and length)
Warm up the olive oil in a bowl in the microwave for about 20 seconds. As mentioned above, you can apply the olive oil on either wet or dry hair. If your hair is wet/damp apply the olive oil and massage the scalp, working your way towards the ends of your hair. Make sure the ends are saturated in the olive oil. The ends are usually the most damaged. If you’re applying the oil to dry hair, use the same application method. Depending on the type of damage you’re trying to reverse, the time you keep the olive oil in your hair varies. If your hair is deeply damaged, put on a shower cap and sleep with the olive oil in your hair. Rinse, shampoo and condition in the morning.
8. Sugar
Sugar is an incredible exfoliating tool that you always have on hand in your pantry. You can use sugar as a lip scrub, foot scrub, face exfoliating scrub, or just an overall body scrub. The obvious trend here is that sugar scrubs dead skin cells, making your skin extremely soft and smooth. Sugar on its own is a fine scrub, but it’s easy to incorporate other great ingredients into your scrub if you wanted to.
Moisturizing Sugar Face Scrub
What You Need:
1 Tbsp Argan Oil
2 Tbsp Sugar
1 Drop Lavender Essential Oil
In a bowl, mix together Argan oil, sugar, and lavender essential oil. (You can use any essential oil of your choice). Take a spoonful of the sugar scrub, and apply to clean fresh slightly damp face. Use your fingers to gently scrub away dead skin and dirt using circular motions. Do this for about 2 minutes. Don’t forget to simultaneously scrub your lips. Rinse your face with warm water, and dry gently by patting with a fresh towel. Triple the recipe, and put it into a cute mason jar so you can keep it on your bathroom vanity. We recommend using this scrub once per week.
9. Lemon
Lemon is one of our very favorite beauty tools. It has SO MANY different uses! It works as a blackhead remover. We mentioned a recipe up above while discussing “honey”. It fights acne because of its antibacterial properties. It might sound crazy, but cutting a lemon in half and rubbing it onto your knees and elbows can actually lighten them if they’re dark and discolored!
Clarifying Lemon Moisturizer
What You Need:
Lemon (juice)
Coconut Water
Just mix these two ingredients together and apply onto your face with a cotton pad. The coconut water moisturizes, while the lemon juice brightens and clarifies your skin! Just make sure you don’t use lemon juice that’s already prepackaged. Cut a lemon in half and juice it.
10. Strawberries
Strawberries are delicious, but these pretty little fruits has a lot to offer our skin! Packed with Vitamin C and antioxidants, strawberries can be used to clear our complexions and reduce signs of aging! Strawberries are known to be used for teeth whitening, and skin brightening.
DIY Strawberry Face Mask
What You Need:
5 Strawberries
1 Tbsp Argan Oil
2 Tbsp Organic Honey
Mash up the strawberries in a bowl, and add the Argan oil and organic honey. Mix all three ingredients together. This mask doesn’t require any essential oils because it already smells AMAZING. Apply the mixture onto your freshly washed face. Keep on for a total of 20 minutes. Rinse off with warm water, and pat dry with a clean towel. You should notice a feeling of exfoliation, and you should see skin brightening!