Who says you have to spend a fortune on pricey organic beauty products to reap the benefits of nature’s best ingredients? Some of the finest all-natural beauty remedies can be whipped up at home using basic items you probably already have in your kitchen. To give you some ideas, we got beauty experts to share their favorite “recipes” for curing common skin and hair gripes using equally common pantry staples. So go whip open the cabinet doors, tally up what you’ve got in there and get cookin’—in a matter of minutes, you’ll look good enough to eat.
1. Potatoes
French fries may not be great for your thighs, but raw potatoes make for an excellent skin-brightening scrub, says Shobha Tummala, owner of the Shobha salons in New York City. Her trick is to mix equal parts grated raw potato and loose tea (cut open a tea bag, if need be) with 1/3 as much olive oil and slowly massage onto your face with your fingertips, using light circular motions. Then rinse with warm water. “Potatoes contain lanolin, which is moisturizing, and the dried tea leaves work as a natural medium to exfoliate the skin’s top layers,” Tummala says. “Your skin will be left with a natural glow.”
2. Bananas
“Bananas are very soothing and moisturizing to the skin, so they make a great homemade mask,” says New York City makeup artist Kimara Ahnert. Just mash up a nice ripe one and spread it all over your face. Leave on for a few minutes, then rinse with warm water. For added oomph, Boston dermatologist Ranella Hirsch, MD, likes to mix half a banana with 2 Tbsp full-fat sour cream and 1 Tbsp honey and leave the blend on for 15 minutes before rinsing and applying moisturizer. Bananas also work magic on parched hair; mash one together with half an avocado and leave on damp hair for at least 30 minutes as a deep treatment, suggests hairstylist Ryan Nickulas of New York City’s Ryan Darius Salon: “Wind your hair into a bun, throw on some sunglasses and lip gloss, and you can wear this out as a chic beach look while hydrating your hair at the same time—without anyone knowing it.”
You can see the other 8 over at Women’s Day
10 Kitchen Pantry Beauty Ingredients
I agree with everything. I have been using my honey on my skin and to eat as well. My acne has completely faded. Thanks for a lovely article. http://makeupandskincarereview.blogspot.com