Forget the expensive chemicals. Sometimes, the remedies to your everyday skin and hair problems can be found right in your pantry! Try these 8 skin and hair DIYs.
Remember, always try new skin and hair DIY treatments on a small patch first, to test for sensitivities to any of the ingredients.
Bentonite clay is also great for hair.
Clay/Charcoal Acne Mask
Ingredients:
1 tbsp bentonite healing clay (if it’s powdered and not a paste, add water or green tea to desired consistency)
1 capsule activated charcoal
Instructions:
Just mix them together and gently rub onto your face. Let it dry, then wash right off. You’re done!
Why:
Used externally, bentonite healing clay swells open like a super-absorbent sponge and its electrical components change to a strongly negative charge, giving it the ability to soak up and bind positively-charged toxins, heavy metals, impurities, and chemicals through electric attraction.
Activated charcoal, typically used to purge the body of toxins after food poisoning (or when a three-year-old girl swallows an entire bottle of aspirin…cough), you can use the toxin-removing powers of charcoal on your skin to adhere to and remove oils, dirt, toxins, and all other buildup deep in your pores.
Honey
Honey/Baking Soda Blackhead Remedy
Ingredients:
2 tbsp baking soda
1 tbsp of honey
Instructions:
Combine to make a stiff and very sticky paste, and smother it all over your face. Let it sit for about 15 minutes, then scrub lightly and wash off. That’s it!
Why:
Raw, unheated, organic honey has antibacterial properties that speed the healing of infections and wounds, including acne. It also contains antioxidants, which neutralize free radicals to promote healthy skin.
Baking soda, you have to be careful with. It’s high (basic) pH can throw off the pH balance of your skin, which naturally slightly low (acidic). If applied correctly and sparingly, however, it is an excellent exfoliator.
Sea Salt/Oil Body Scrub
Sea Salt
Ingredients:
1 cup sea salt (large or small grain)
1/2 cup of your favorite oil (almond, olive, jojoba, or coconut)
Instructions:
Mix to desired consistency. During shower, scrub all over body, focusing on elbows and knees, and any other spots where dry skin tends to build up. Store in airtight container for up to two months.
Why:
Sea salt is an excellent exfoliating treatment, and is found as a primary ingredient in many high-end spa treatments. It is also a natural detoxifier, as the salt absorbs the toxins from the skin. Sea salt also reduces stress, called talassotherapy, a word derived from the old Greek word thalassa, meaning sea. A sea salt bath therapy provides psychological benefits and improves quality of sleep. In addition, increased circulation, antiseptic effects, soft skin without a greasy feel and reduction in fluid retention are just some of the further benefits of sea salt for the skin.
Since sea salt does not go through the same manufacturing processes as table salt, the minerals from the sea remain, giving sea salts different colorings depending on where they are from. Many of these minerals also provide nutrients and benefits to the skin.
Olive oil is a common folk remedy for very dry skin. It’s silky smooth and does not usually cause allergic reactions. Olive oil may also protect your skin against sun damage and cancer. In one study on mice, an application of extra-virgin olive oil after exposure to UVB light reduced the number of tumors the mice developed [source: Budiyanto et al].
Cucumber/Honey Soothing Skin Toner
Cucumber Slices
Ingredients:
1 medium cucumber
2 tsp honey
Instructions:
Peel the cucumber, cut it into pieces and puree it in a blender. Now line a sifter or sieve with cheesecloth and set it over a glass bowl or container. Pour the cucumber puree through the sieve. Let this stand for 15 minutes so that the cucumber juice collects in the bowl below. Pour the cucumber juice into a clean bottle with a lid. Add the honey to the juice. Shake the bottle to mix it, and soak a cotton ball or pad with toner. Simply sweep the lotion over your face and neck and let it air dry for three or four minutes. Store it in the refrigerator for up to a week.
Why:
The older you get, the fewer antioxidants you have in your skin to combat wrinkles and sun damage — cucumbers can help restore some of these. Your skin has the ability to absorb antioxidants. Cucumbers are a source of several compounds that fight inflammation and aging, including cucurbitacins and cucumerin. These include, vitamin C, and vitamin K, antioxidants which fights dark circles under the eyes. This is why a couple of cucumber slices placed over tired, puffy eyes in the morning makes you look refreshed. Pantothenic acid, or vitamin B-5, is another compound found in cucumbers that helps your skin retain moisture. The vitamin A, or retinol, in cucumbers fights dark spots and freckles because it helps control your skin’s production of melanin.
Cucumbers are a source of silica, which, as a precursor to collagen, can help fight wrinkles. They also have high water content and a cooling quality, making them appropriate to help soothe mild burns, particularly sunburn, and can also reduce swelling and relieve minor skin irritations.
Honey is a natural humectant, which is a natural substance that attracts and helps retain moisture.
Egg White/Cucumber Soothing Face Mask
Separating egg whites.
Ingredients:
1 cucumber
1 egg white
Instructions:
Chop finely, grate, or pulse cucumber in a blender. In a bowl, whisk the egg white until frothy. Add your cucumber mixture into the bowl and stir into the egg white. Apply an even layer to your face and leave on for about 15 minutes. Wash well with water.
Why:
Soon after you’ve applied an egg white mask you’ll feel your skin start to tighten. This effect usually lasts for about an hour after you’ve rinsed the mask off, giving your face a healthy glow and diminishing the look of fine lines. Some people believe its effects are similar to a short-term facelift. At the very least egg whites draw out oils while tightening pores and, once rinsed, remove dead skin cells.
Avocado
Honey/Avocado Moisturizing Hair Mask
Ingredients:
tablespoons of honey
1 medium-sized avocado
Instructions:
Take a medium-sized avocado and mash until smooth, then add in 2 tablespoons of honey and mix well. Massage into dry or slightly damp hair and leave on for 15-20 minutes. Then rinse well and follow with shampoo and conditioner if desired You might want to wrap your hair in a shower cap or saran wrap to prevent a mess.
Why:
Vitamin deficiency can cause hair loss or hair to grow slowly. Avocados are high in vitamins B and E, which work at the cellular level to protect and strengthen hair. Vitamin B is essential for hair growth. Vitamin E helps repair damage on the scalp, which may slow or prevent hair growing. Healthy hair grows half an inch every month. Using avocado in a conditioner or as a hair mask are the best ways to promote regular hair growth.
Honey is a humectant; it attracts and holds moisture. This makes it a good choice for damaged or dry hair. It also has antimicrobial properties that make it an effective cleanser.
Oatmeal/Olive Oil Scalp Treatment
Oatmeal
Ingredients:
1/2 cup oatmeal
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Instructions:
In your food processor, pulse about 1/2 cup oatmeal until it is a powder. Add about 1/4-1/2 cup of warm water, and a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil. Lather mask on to the top of your head, and massage into your scalp, then rinse after about 10 minutes.
Why:
The fatty acids that olive oil is made up of will coat the shaft of your hair, helping to keep it healthy and protected. Using hair dye, flat irons and even using hair dryers can damage the outer layer of your hair. Olive oil will coat the damaged outer layers of your hair, giving them a sleeker, smoother, and healthier appearance.
Oats contain natural cleansers called saponins that can remove excess sebum, oil, and dirt accumulated in the scalp.
Listerine
Mouthwash/Vinegar Smoothing Foot Soak
Ingredients:
1/2 cup of Listerine Mouthwash
1/2 cup of Vinegar
Instructions:
Using a shallow bowl (or if you aren’t too grossed out, a baking dish), let your feet soak for 10 minutes. Towel dry.
Why:
Vinegar’s acidic properties also make it an ingredient that can help with foot problems, such as hard and dry feet, warts and toenail fungus. If you are treating athlete’s foot—a fungal infection that can cause scaling and itchy skin—a vinegar soak is a convenient alternative to special foot baths or treatments.
In addition to skin-sloughing benzoic acid, Listerine contains ethanol, which kills bacteria, fungi, and germs that can lead to athlete’s foot.
Find more skin and hair DIYs (among other things) here.
