Organic beauty is where it’s at in 2019, as more and more beauty mavens seek out the best natural answers to their skin and hair prayers.
The answer may actually lie within your fridge or pantry, which is jam-packed with natural food products that also work as effective at-home beauty treatments.
This week on the Natralus blog, we detail eight of our favourite kitchen staples that have powerful beauty qualities.
1. Honey
Honey isn’t just great on hot toast or added to tea with lemon as a flu remedy. Honey has always been a much loved beauty product of its own, and Manuka Honey in particular is seeing a resurgence in cosmetic use. Honey has natural antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties, and acne sufferers sing the praises of it in treating their painful condition as well as brightening the overall complexion. A cheap, cheerful and effective facial scrub can be made by simply mixing a generous dollop of organic honey with some baking soda and applying to the skin before rinsing off. Keep reading, as the miracle that is baking soda makes its own appearance on our list!
2. Coconut
The popularity of coconut in beauty products is constantly increasing, as more and more items pop up that contain this superfood. Coconut has a number of diverse beauty uses, including using its shredded form as part of an at-home body scrub, organic coconut milk as a super nourishing leave-in conditioner or widely-loved coconut oil in a variety of ways, from hair masks through to body moisturisers. You can even use coconut water as a simple and totally natural skin cleanser. The coconut truly is one of the gifts from the food gods!
3. Olive oil
Olive oil has been lauded for thousands of years as the key to overall health, and is central to the Mediterranean Diet, which has been awarded the title of the world’s healthiest lifestyle. This natural substance was spoken about as far back as the days of the Ancient Greeks, and even Cleopatra was said to make her skin glow with the help of olive oil as a skin application. These days, olive oil hasn’t gone anywhere, and is still used across the world as a skin, hair and nail nourisher. You can even remove wax residue or makeup by simply applying olive oil to a cotton pad and swiping it away. It’s a true all-rounder.
4. Banana
The next time you are doing a grocery shop, pick up a big bunch of organic bananas both to eat and to use in your next DIY beauty treatment. We all know bananas are a fantastic source of nutrition for your physical health, but we bet you didn’t know just how many purposes they can serve in boosting your outer health! Applying bananas to your skin (and even their peels) has been found to be an excellent acne treatment, due to their bacteria combatting properties. Rubbing the inside of the peel over your face is also said to brighten the complexion. Banana is a very hydrating hair mask for dry and damaged hair, a fantastic foot treatment for cracked heels and even acts as a natural teeth whitening treatment, again by rubbing the inside of the peel against your teeth after brushing. Bananas are simply amazing!
5. Cucumber
While they are mostly comprised of water, cucumbers are actually a powerful beauty product with a large variety of benefits. Mashed cucumber can be applied to the face and body as a cooling and refreshing treatment, and we have all been using cucumber slices as a revitalising eye treatment for generations! A cucumber body or foot scrub is so easy to make by simply blending organic white sugar, cucumber and coconut oil. Cucumber is particularly helpful in the summer months, where it rivals aloe vera as the best natural, soothing after sun treatment that leaves your skin with that stunning glow for hours.
6. Baking soda
We teased it earlier, and we couldn’t leave baking soda off our list of pantry staples that are also excellent beauty products in their own right. Baking soda is astounding in what it can achieve. It's great to cook with, a powerful, natural cleaning product, and a simple but astoundingly effective natural beauty product. Baking soda is now commonly used in vegan and organic deodorants as a natural body odour fighter, so if you run out, head straight for your pantry! When mixed with a small amount of water and applied to the armpits it quickly banishes any smells. Baking soda and coconut oil is a dynamite body scrub, while baking soda has been relied on for generations as a way to remove hair product build-up. Just add it to your regular shampoo and you’ll see! And if you are yearning for an extra soothing bath or foot soak, just add a cup of baking soda to hot water and soak your cares away. Much like Epsom salts, baking soda soothes your muscles while treating skin conditions.
7. Coffee
Mmmm…. we can’t get enough coffee in our day, so adding it to our beauty regime only makes sense! Organic coffee grounds can be used alongside the aforementioned coconut oil to create a sensational body scrub. Studies have shown that caffeine not only has an effect on our internal organs, but can actually be effective in stimulating blood flow when applied externally as a scrub. With that being said, applying a homemade coffee scrub to areas with cellulite or stretch marks can go a long way towards boosting your skin's healing potential! Get scrubbing!
8. Lemon
Lemons are a refreshing Vitamin C boost, particularly in the warmer months, but you can enjoy the perks of lemons year round in your beauty routine! Lemons are hydrating, synonymous with radiant skin and are excellent for internal health - especially gut health. The next time you have a big bunch of beautiful lemons sitting in your fruit basket, don’t let them go to waste! Remove pesky blackheads by simply halving a lemon and rubbing one half over your nose and affected areas. Let that lemon juice work its magic for a few minutes and rinse off. Lemon juice has also been proven to heal and erase old scars if applied daily, as well as being capable of lightening discoloured skin. Lastly, we all remember using lemon juice as a cheap cheat for summer hair highlights. Indulge in some nostalgia by spraying lemon juice mixed with warm water on areas you want to lighten up (ends etc) and expose to the sunshine for around an hour before rinsing out. It's a great way to brighten things up during summer!
Have you tried any of these food products within your own beauty routine? Buying good quality, organic products is important, and you will reap the many benefits once you take the leap.
Natralus' range of beauty products are all crafted from natural, organic products, and are designed to leave your skin feeling nourished, hydrated and radiant.
