Amazing things can happen when you get inventive in the kitchen. For example, you can wow your coworkers with cookies made from sweet potatoes or whip up healthier chicken tenders that please the pickiest of children.
That’s not all: With a couple of staple kitchen ingredients, you can also make DIY beauty products that are good for you, both inside and out.
Imagine a face mask so chocolatey you’ll want to lick it off your fingers. Or an anti-inflammatory, chemical-free approach to removing unwanted hair?
We scoured the web to find some of the most brilliant, simple ways to incorporate the foods and spices you already have into your beauty routine. Prepare to nix toxic (and pricey!) products from your life with these 10 creative skin-to-hair fixes.
10 DIY Beauty Remedies Made With Healthy Ingredients
1. Apples for a Brighter Complexion
Beauty blogger Kimberly Loc uses green apples to make her homemade brightening apple mask, but you can use whichever variety you have on hand. “Apples are rich in vitamin C, which is a documented skin-brightening agent,” she writes, recommending the mask two to three times per week for clearer skin, especially after a weekend getaway in the sun.
2. Cinnamon for Acne
The next time you wake up to a surprise zit, reach for the spice cabinet. Glam Organic Goddess’ cinnamon spot treatment is made with three simple ingredients that work together to make skin-clearing magic. “The cinnamon detoxifies by bringing blood and oxygen to the surface to open pores and dries out affected areas, the nutmeg helps relieve pain and inflammation while removing blackheads. And the honey seals in nourishment for new cell turnover while reducing the appearance of scars and fine lines,” she says.
3. Eggs for Shinier Hair
Your favorite brunch staple does double duty as the main ingredient in Wellness Mama’s DIY hair mask recipe. (You may have to prep this in advance to make sure you have all the ingredients.) Eggs are filled with minerals like iron and calcium and vitamins A, B, D, and E, all of which can contribute to shiny, healthy locks. Pro tip: Be picky about your eggs, as if you were eating them. “Eggs from less-than-healthy animals won’t have as good of a nutritional profile,” she says.
RELATED: How To Decode Confusing Labels and Buy the Healthiest Eggs
4. Beer for Deep Conditioning
Okay, beer isn’t exactly a healthy food, but we still support stocking it in your fridge. And if you use some of it on your hair, you’ll have less of it to drink! We made our own hair conditioner by combining some Saturday night leftovers with a couple of egg yolks. The result is hair that’s smooth, silky, shiny, and strong. We’ll cheers to that!
5. Dark Chocolate as a Body Scrub
Yes, you can have your chocolate—and wear it, too. This dark chocolate honey beauty mask and scrub can be used two ways, making Hello Glow’s recipe a must-try for anyone itching for a cocoa fix. Be a total stickler when you choose your chocolate bar of choice, says the beauty blogger: “Be sure to check the ingredients on the label; if the ingredients show sugar or milk first, you are not getting a high enough cacao content to reap the benefits.” A bar with 70% cacao content will help amp up the recipe’s anti-aging properties.
RELATED: 5 Healthy Reasons to Eat Chocolate (As if You Needed Them)
6. Turmeric for Hair Removal.
The Indian Spot shares a slew of ways to use the powerful spice, but her turmeric pack for hair removal is one of our faves. The all-natural alternative to chemical-filled creams and painful waxing is made with three ingredients that are as clean as can be. She says that prolonged use can even result in permanent hair removal. (We can’t verify that claim, but if it’s true, buh-bye, lasers!) Once you’re done with your application, “use an apple cider vinegar toner or coconut oil on your skin and mildly rub with a cotton ball as this helps in removal of stains.” Keep this step in mind in case you turn orange!
7. Baking Soda as Dry Shampoo
Making your own dry shampoo is super easy with The Natural Nurturer’s three-ingredient recipe. The baking soda works with the cornstarch to soak up the oil. Then, you carefully add cocoa powder until you reach your desired shade, so the mixture blends perfectly into your hair. Pro tip: Use a makeup brush to apply this mixture. “It doesn’t have to be a special makeup brush, just one that you can dedicate to your dry shampoo so that you don’t find yourself with clumps of makeup in your hair or dry shampoo in your makeup,” she says.
8. Yogurt for Face Exfoliation
Next time you sit down for breakfast, you may consider sticking your face in the leftovers. We love making this coffee yogurt face mask whenever we feel like our skin needs a little pick-me-up. What makes these two ingredients a match made in DIY beauty heaven? The yogurt is filled with lactic acid, which helps break down dead skin cells, the ground coffee brings the perfect exfoliant texture, and the caffeine helps reduce the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles, and skin discoloration.
9. Apple Cider Vinegar for Dandruff
There are so many ways to make apple cider vinegar part of your regular beauty routine. One of our favorites is to mix it with water for an all-natural solution to pesky dandruff. “Apple cider vinegar has natural antifungal properties,” reports Prevention. “Plus, its acidic properties balance pH levels and restore the scalp’s protective acid mantle layer to ward off further fungal growth.”
10. Honey for Literally Everything
Honey is known as nature’s nectar, and for good reason. This natural ingredient is a skin and hair superhero, due to its antibacterial properties. Looking for a simple skin mask? Slather on some honey (add a dash of inflammation-fighting turmeric for extra credit!). Battling acne or oily skin? Honey’s antimicrobial abilities will zap those zits right off. For luscious locks, mix up honey and coconut oil to make a hair mask. Best of all, honey costs a fraction of high-end products and it never. goes. bad. (Pro tip: If your honey starts to harden, heat it up slowly in a microwave or in a pot of simmering water).
(Image: Shutterstock)
