There are many natural beauty tips, tricks, and recipes that you can make at home, and your kitchen contains all the ingredients you’ll need.
1. Oil Cleansing
Use olive, coconut, or almond oil with Castor oil to clean your skin instead of a harsh soap. This will cleanse your skin naturally and keep from pulling out natural oils. My personal blend is 25% Castor Oil (don’t use straight!) and 75% sweet almond oil.
How to do it: Rub a small amount of oil onto dry face and massage into skin for several minutes. To remove, soak a clean washcloth in steamy water and place on face until it starts to cool. Gently use the washcloth to wipe your face until the oil is gone. Softest. Skin. Ever!
2. Natural Bronzing
Until I switched to eating healthy, I never tanned well at all! I used to try all kinds of natural “bronzers” and self tanning lotions (cringe on the ingredients!) in hopes of golden skin. Now, I’m excited to be able to tan easily, but for days when I want a slightly more bronze look, I head to the kitchen…
How to Do It: Mix cocoa powder, cinnamon and arrowroot (optional) until you get a shade you like. For me, this was at least half cocoa powder, about 30-40% cinnamon and a little arrowroot, but experiment to get your skin tone. Store in a small jar or container and brush onto skin for an instant bronze look. Bonus: it smells good! You can also mix this into lotion for a liquid version!
3. Food Facial Mask
No need to drop a lot of money at the spa for great skin, just rub breakfast on your face instead! Many foods are also beneficial for your skin too!
How to Do It: Use honey, plain yogurt or whipped egg whites by themselves or in combination for a great toning facial mask that leaves skin glowing.
4. Naturally White Teeth
Use strawberries (I know they are red!) and baking soda as a highly effective and natural teeth whitener. Oil pulling (swishing oil in the mouth and then spitting) is also an effective way to whiten teeth.
How to Do It: Make a paste of equal parts mashed or pureed strawberries and baking soda. Put in mouthguard or tooth tray and leave on teeth for up to 30 minutes. Repeat a couple times a week until your teeth are as white as you want. To speed things up, swish with 1 TBSP of olive oil each night for 20 minutes and then spit and brush well. This supposedly helps remove toxins too, but I can certainly vouch for its whitening capabilities!
If you don’t want to try this way or are allergic to strawberries, activated charcoal makes a great natural tooth whitener too.
5. Natural Hair Conditioner
For an occasional hair strengthening treat, mix up some other breakfast foods into a natural hair mask. This certainly isn’t one for everyday use, but it makes hair shiny and smooth and even works on really curly hair (according to a lucky friend with lovely curls!)
How to Do It: Mix one banana and one avocado and puree until smooth (great way to use over ripe bananas and avocados!). Add essential oils if Banana isn’t your fragrance of choice. Comb through clean, damp hair and put a shower cap on. Leave on for at least 15 minutes and rinse out in the shower. Go sign up to audition for a hair commercial!
6. Sugar Scrub
Sugar is not good for your body. It is, however, great for your skin! Since your skin doesn’t metabolize and store glucose or fructose like your fat cells do, sugar is a great way to tighten and smooth skin! Sugar scrubs in stores are expensive! Sugar scrubs in the kitchen are not!
How to do it: Mix equal parts of white or brown sugar and olive or almond oil and add essential oils of choice (optional). To exfoliate skin, rub the mixture onto skin and massage in for a couple of minutes. Rinse off with warm water. Enjoy! Here is a full recipe.
7. Natural Microdermabrasion
Ever seen those ads for microdermabrasion (not even sure I’m spelling it right!). Well, they look expensive and I’m leery of the chemicals they might contain. No worries though… the kitchen can help! Baking soda is a very effective natural and gentle abrasive that pulls off dead skin cells and makes skin glow!
How to Do It: Wet face with warm water. Pour some baking soda into hands and massage into your face for at least 3 minutes. It will sting a little (its called abrasion!). Rinse with warm water and pat dry.
What is the strangest thing you’ve tried in the name of beauty? Share below!
Hi wellness,
thanks so much for the information. I`ve gone the natural route for the past 3 months or so. My face has been naturally pimple/rash prone and wrinkly on the forehead. I decided to use a blend of aloe vera gel from Palmers, almond oil and coconut oil thinking its the harsh chemicals in soaps that dry out my skin but alas! after a few hours of application my skin gets very shiny, the plastic- like and wrinkly texture isn’t going away. Using the aloe vera gel alone also caused it to get shiny after a few hours of application. I cleanse with oatmeal and sometimes in combination with honey. I drink lots of water and my skin is naturally normal. Do these natural remedies really work or its just taking its time? Why is my skin shiny like never before? All seem to get results except me. Any suggestions on what to
Do you know how to get ride of candidate i have breakouts on my skin that causes itching and bums and redness very painfull and it causes me to have yeasts information s alot also
For increasing your fair complexion use the curd which acts as a complexion grower and proven to make skin softer. It even contains zinc and lactic acid that is very useful for making skin lighter.
These are great tips! Thank you for sharing. Can’t wait to try some of these out…especially the teeth whitening!
How long can you keep the sugar exfoilant or do u have to make it up every time u use it?
I just want to say THANK YOU!!!! Ihave been using proactibe for years and my skin was clear except for a plague of blackheads I could never rid myself of. I switched to the oil cleansing method all at once and threw out all my nasty chemicals. I was going for broke here. I must say my skin has never looked better!! It improved the first day and two weeks out Im still way better off than any day on proactive. Cancelling my proactive subscription has been more difficult than switching to oil. Thank you for saving my skin and my wallet!!!
Best hardening face mask ever: WHEAT GERM!! This stuff is so “strong” when it hardens, I caution you to be extremely careful not to put in sensitive areas around eyes or below jaw line or right around nostricls. I use the bones in my face as boundaries. Eye socket area outside the bones around the eyes, and the jaw line are great! Everywhere else on the face? Perfect! I don’t mix anything but water with the wheat germ, or when I esp. want a really clean feel, I’ll use lemon juice, but be careful with that if you have sensitive skin. It may sting a little bit if you have any sensititive spots on your face re your skin or have any small cuts that can happen sometimes (i.e., you went out hiking and caught a switch somewhere in the face from backlashing branches! ). But the sting for me has never lasted more than a few moments and I’ve been using this face mask for 20 years now!
I don’t measure anything anymore, sorry! I use about 1/4-1/2 t of ground wheat germ that I initially ground up in my blender and keep in a jar in the fridge. I add just enough liquid to make a paste (as liquidy or dry as you will get to feel is best for you over time. No way to know which you prefer till you try, unfortunately ).
You need to apply the paste somewhat quickly as the mixture hardens up fairly fast, then I apply all over my face, just avoiding points I mentioned above – not in and around eyes, keeping to above eyebrows and outside the eye socket area, never below jawline (ouch!!) and avoiding right around the nostrils. If you can stand the idea of sleeping with this mixture on, that works the best but even 1/2 hour will give great benefits. I use the overnight method when I need an esp. radiant-feeling skin the next day, like for my little sister’s wedding in 1997! I felt really super great that day with radiant skin and lovely makeup job and great dress!
To remove, to take your morning shower and _gently_ soften the hardened wheat germ mask and gently wash away. It’s easier in the shower, though you can do in sink. It just takes more effort as this dries on really nice and well.
Boy oh boy, for the next few hours, you’ll realize there are breezes in the daily air you walk around in your now baby-soft skin never feels, the results are that good!
I have never found any other face mask that cleanses and cleans so thoroughly or so gently. It’s a food product that you can put inside your body, so the outside of your body loves it just fine. I’m lactose- and gluten-intolerant, but have never had any reactions to this. If in doubt, though, I’d do the usual test, mix this up and try on a small spot on your jawline to see if your skin likes it. Should be safe enough if after a few hours, you still don’t feel any reaction at all. Good luck!
hey katie i like your smile 🙂 and more over i like this whole post which is too interesting i promise i follow this post from my heart
I use fresh lemon juice as a fruit acid facial exfoliant…much less irritating than a gritty scrub, and it leaves my skin smooth. I only leave it on for 5-10 minutes before rinsing and moisturizing with coconut oil.
I have been on the Lady Soma Detox 3 times in the past year and have experience exceptional results each time! I feel so clean internally afterwards, plus I have higher levels of energy and clarity of thought. The 7 days of cleansing is intense but the results are worth the effort!
I am very careful to drink plenty of purified water (8 – 10 cups) each day during and after the cleanse. I really love how I feel during and after the detox – it’s amazing!!
Baking soda?! Hm, might have to try it out. Love the post!
For your skin I would caution the use of coconut oil if you break out. It is NOT noncomedemic meaning it can clog pores. I would also not use baking soda as an exfoliant on your skin because it will through your skins PH way off because it is
I love making natural cosmetics, but is there a way to use cocoa as a colorant for lotion without it staining the skin? I just want lotion, not a bronzer, but it’s a gift and I want it to be a tan-ish brown color….
I’m also going to post here to warn people: don’t put anything on your teeth without knowing anything about the chemistry it does! You only have one set of teeth, don’t ruin them to get them white.
Any fruit, also strawberries, is acid. Wait at least 30min before brushing your teeth (or a similar action), otherwise you’ll be damaging your enamel. Also, baking soda damages enamel. Please don’t overdo it. I’m European and I sometimes wonder at the fluorescent smiles I see on television… there’s a difference between getting your teeth ivory and ruin them. Also bear in mind that each person has a natural teeth color, and rather than fixing stuff later, don’t drink tea/coffee/… (or rinse thoroughly afterwards) or smoke.
I love love love all of these all-natural remedies. I will definitely try and post results. Thank you, all, so much!!!
I used the OCM twice a day and my skin looks amazing – I’ve had no problems at all and have been doing it for six months, maybe I’m just lucky? I use just pure organic olive oil. I wouldn’t want to try anything that’s an acid as a teeth whitener though, but I might give the charcoal a go. My big hunt at the moment is hair conditioner, nothing I’ve found is working on my hair the way conventional stuff does, I find all the oil treatments refuse to wash out even after two shampoos – but I’m still looking. Going to try Katie’s shampoo next and have just set my hair in pin curls with the salt spray, though I fear I may have over done it – my hair feels a bit gritty!
After oil treatment work shampoo into hair and scalp, then add enough water to make lather, then rinse.
Amazing Hair Conditioner – You will never go back. My hair has never been softer, look better and I could never get a brush thru it without lots of tears. Put in spray bottle and just spritz 3 or more sprays (depending on length of hair). I have long hair so usually use 5 spray around head and rub in & leave in.
2 oz. Rose Water
.5 oz Organic Aloe Gel
.5 oz Organic Vegetable Glycerin
2 tsp. Organic Borage Oil
2 tsp. Organic Meadowfoam
3 drops – Organic Frankincense (Sacra) oil
2 drops – Organic Tea Tree (Muleluka) oil
Gentle shake before each spritz. Lasts for about a mo or so. To preserve I put in 1/40th tsp. of EDTA if you want it to last longer. Before anyone jumps in re; EDTA, it is a gentle preservative and I even take it as a supplement, that’s what I was doing when I found out it could be a preservative too in my products. I would much rather know that it’s good lasting than end up with bacteria & mold which is more dangerous,
I have some gingivitis and have so desperately wanted to get into the habit of oil pulling to help reverse the condition. (I also use the tooth powder recipe on your site) However, each time I try (I’ve tried coconut oil, olive oil, and sesame) I have such a terrible gag reflex that I can’t make it more than a minute. I try distracting myself, breathing deeply through the nose, etc., however, each time I can’t make it long. What am I doing wrong and what can I do to get past this?
Eggs in my hair! Once a week makes hair grow. I just mix one raw egg with my shampoo. Must rinse with cool water so not to” cook” the egg on your head. Or my favorite hair mask: avocado, egg, honey and olive oil, blended until smooth and let sit in my hair for 20 min.
I have a black pits on my bootom of my leg please help
Saw this post on the natural skincare forum. Some of your tricks aren’t safe.
We shouldn’t use strawberries to whiten our teeth because it will damage the enamel because of sugar.
Another thing about Natural Microdermabrasion, you said it stings because it is called abrasion. No, it stings because it is very alkaline and really bad for our skin. Baking soda’s pH is 9 (which is equivalent to SLS) and our skin is between 4.5 to 5.5. In the long run, it will damage the skin barrier. Scrubbing it with baking soda can increase moisture loss and decrease the ability to keep bacteria on your skin in check.