Food on Your Face

Sick of chemical-laden products? While it may seem crazy to put food on your face, it makes a lot more sense than slathering yourself in chemicals you can’t pronounce. These home remedies have been around for a long time and they’ve lasted because they are both effective and cost-effective. Best of all, these methods are inexpensive and you may already have the ingredients in your kitchen.

Tooth whitening treatments are popular, but they can be expensive, time consuming, and full of chemicals. You can get whitening results (though not as pronounced as a professional treatment, of course) at home with a strawberry and some baking soda. According to Health.com, all you have to do is mash one strawberry to a pulp and add about a quarter-teaspoon of baking soda. Make sure you really mash those strawberries; I tried this and found the chunks of berry I left in the mixture wouldn’t stay on my teeth. Use a clean toothbrush to apply the mixture to your teeth and leave on for five minutes. When the time is up, rinse your mouth with water, then thoroughly brush your teeth with toothpaste to remove the mixture. This shouldn’t be done more than once a week, because the acid in strawberries will wear away your teeth’s enamel.

There are multiple food-based solutions to dark under-eye circles. One of the best known is probably cucumber slices; almost every depiction of people at a spa include images of people with a facial mask and cucumber slices over their eyes. The cucumbers are cooling and reduce puffiness. To do this at home, place a thick slice of cucumber on each of your eyes and relax for 15 minutes. Potatoes can also be used to reduce dark circles. Potatoes contain catecholase, a skin whitener used in cosmetics. To get the catecholase to fight your dark circles, The Guardian recommends cutting a half-moon out of a raw potato slice and resting it on your under-eye bag for 20 minutes.

Cool tea bags do wonders for under-eye circles because the tannin in tea reduces inflammation and discoloration. The caffeine in tea may also reduce inflammation; it can be found in commercial under-eye products like Garnier Skin Renew Anti-Puff Eye Roller. Reuse tea bags after drinking your tea by refrigerating the tea bags overnight, then applying one to each of your eyes for 15 minutes.

Most of the time, we do everything we can to remove oil from our skin. However, the right oils, used in moderation, can moisturize and condition. Oils are best used in the winter when dry, cold air and central heating strip skin of all of its moisture. According to Beauty Geeks, “Facial oils slow water loss, replace the lost natural skin oils, boost elasticity… and help strengthen your skin’s barrier function against the elements.” While there are plenty of facial oils on the market, including Weleda Almond Facial Oil, you can mix your own so that you can customize it to your own needs, save some money, and know exactly what you’re putting on your skin.

To make facial oil, mix one part olive oil to one part castor oil. If you have oily skin, use two or three parts castor oil to one part olive oil, and if you have dry or sensitive skin, go heavier on the olive oil. To prevent acne, you can add a few drops of tea tree oil. To use your new oil, The Seattle Girl says to start with dry hands and face. Take a small amount of the oil in your hands and gently apply it to your face for a minute or two. Moisten a washcloth with warm (not hot) water and place it over your face, leaving it there until it cools to help the oil to penetrate your skin. Afterward, rinse the washcloth and wipe the oil off your face.

With all of these beauty tips, all you need is a trip to the grocery store and a couple of minutes to be looking your best. Staying natural and avoiding chemicals is becoming increasingly popular, and saving money never goes out of style, so give these natural, inexpensive, and delicious food-based beauty cures a try.