A Growing number of people are beginning to follow such strange rites as rubbing orange peel on their skin or putting egg white beneath their eyes. At times they can be found lying around with tea bags covering their eyelids.
No. They are not members of a new cult. They are merely a rapidly expanding group discovering a new and delightful way to enjoy the effects of many items they may already have right at home.
For example:
- Orange ring, which is rich in vitamin A, can do wonders for your face. Squeeze a few drops into your palm and smooth over your skin
- Rubbing a slice of tomato over blackheads is healthy way to relieve an unsightly problem.
- Apply the last bit of egg white from a broken eggshell to the lines under your eyes and you’ll soon find them fading away.
The growing concern for health is certainly a reflection of the new-found interest in ourselves and our environment. We have also become more aware of our ancestors and are beginning to take pride in learning about home remedies used by grandparents and great-grandparents. These folksy tonics not only can be a lot of fun to try, but may prove quite effective as well.
Many of our most common beauty problems can be tackled via our own kitchens – often through the use of foods that otherwise would have been thrown away. It can be very rewarding to watch the results obtained by using truly natural ingredients and learning how to concot beauty potions of your own.
Let’s look at some of the more common beauty dilemmas and see what can be done to deal with them.
Dry Skin
- Natural vegetable oils (i.e. safflower oil) taken internally are helpful to both skin and hair and can easily be added to salad dressings.
- Mix equal parts of baby oil and table salt. Massage over face and throat. The friction of the salt will slough off dead skin while the baby oil provides moisture.
Barley water:
1/2 cups pearl barley
2 1/2 quarts boiling water
2 lemons
6 oranges
honey to taste
Simmer barley for one hour. Drain. Squeeze juice from fruit. Drinking this cleans up pores, adds moisture and tones your skin.
- Use skim milk at room temperature. Pat on face and let dry.
- Mix oatmeal and one whipped egg into a paste. Apply to face. Let stand 5 to 10 minutes. Rinse with warm water, then cool.
- Make a mask of dried apricots (soak first) and honey. Rinse with a splash of warm water.
- Mayonnaise can be applied to the face as a night cream or used as a mask.
To Refine Pores
- Mix a dash of fresh lemon with yogurt and apply to face. Steam and rinse with warm water.
- Beat an egg white with a few grains of alum. Apply to face. Leave on for 5 to 20 minutes. Rinse.
- Slice a tomato into thick slices and let juice and seeds drain off. Mash and apply to face. Cover with a hot washcloth for 15 minutes. Rinse.
- Ice cubes can be rubbed over your face to close pores.
- Soak cotton pads in buttermilk and pat on face. Let dry for 15 minutes and rinse with cold water.
- Other: Almond meal, aloe juice, cornmeal, camphor water, honey, strawberry, vinegar.
Wrinkles
- Cocoa butter facial. Mix equal parts cocoa butter and lanolin. Beat in a double boiler over hot water, mix together. Rub over face and neck. Leave on overnight. Wash off with cold water.
Cucumber wrinkle cream:
1 cucumber peel
3 ounces lanolin
3 ounces almond oil
1/4 teaspoon tincture of benzoin
Chop and heat peel with oils for 30 mins in double boiler. Strain and add benzoin. Use as a night cream.
- Mix 2 teaspoon herb tea (cooled) with egg white and 1 teaspoon powdered milk. Apply to face and leave on for 15 minutes. Rinse with cool water. Repeat nightly.
Acne
- Boil fresh green beans. Mash and apply to skin blemishes. Let dry and rinse off in cool water.
- Slice three peeled onions. Cook in shortening till transparent. Cool. Wrap in cheesecloth and apply as poultice.
- Mix one teaspoon of alum with one quart of water and use as a wash three times a day.
- Make a puree of tomatoes or lemon and apply to face.
- Combine bran with baking soda and water to make a paste. Apply to face for 15 minutes. Rinse with one part apple cider vinegar to 8 parts water.
- An oatmeal-and-water paste is effective in clearing up blackheads.
- Dilute 3 to 4 tablespoons of brewers’ yeast to a soft dough consistency and apply to affected areas.
Miscellaneous
- After enjoying a cup of rose hip or chamomile tea, relax with the tea bags over your eyes. Or soak cotton pads in the tea and apply to eyes. This will relieve redness and puffiness.
- Cod liver oil can do marvelous things for your face. Simply apply it for acne, freckles, blotches, sunburn, rash, etc. Leave it on as long as possible and rinse in cool water.
There are, no doubt, hundreds of other beauty aids you might use. They may have been passed down to you by your mother or grandmother. Or you may have discovered them on your own.
However you come by them, use them. Don’t be afraid that others may catch you with “egg on your face.” Join the thousands of people who have already decided to let nature lead the way to beauty.
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