Budget Friendly Tips: Using Household Items for Hair and Skincare
If you’re looking to save some money on skincare without compromising the quality of your skin, then consider shopping for products in your own bathroom or food pantry. There are great ways to care for your skin and hair using everyday household items in place of more expensive products you might normally use.
Olive Oil
Olive oil is known for its many culinary uses, making it a staple in kitchens everywhere, but did you also know that you could use it on hair, skin and even ears? It works great as a natural moisturizer, capable of penetrating deep into the skin, regenerating skin cells and softening tissue. You can use it in place of lotions, moisturizers and shaving gels. If you mix the oil with a little coarse sugar, you can even make your very own body scrubs. A few drops in your ear can help to loosen wax buildup, and is a great alternative to invasive methods of earwax removal. Olive oil has also been used as a conditioning mask to tame unruly hair.
Baking Soda
Baking Soda has served purposes other than baking for a long time. Its benefits in teeth whitening and deodorizing are really nothing new. However, you might be surprised to know of its great uses in skin and hair care. By adding a little water or adding it to your current face wash, you can create a fine, gritty paste that is great for exfoliating skin. You can apply the mixture to your face and use it as a mask to promote pore reduction as well. Mixing it with water can also create a solution that is great for clarifying your hair after you’ve shampooed.
You might not have this item at home unless you have a child, but luckily it’s very inexpensive and easy to find. Baby powder is known to work well as an anti-chafing agent, as it absorbs moisture, but it also very useful in removing excess oil from your hair, not unlike most dry shampoos. Make sure to purchase unscented powder to avoid having your hair smell like a baby. Baby Powder also doubles as a stain remover and oddly enough, a great way to get sand off your body after a day at the beach.
Tea Bags
Tea has amazing rejuvenating qualities, which is why most people have it around. Besides enjoying it as a tasty beverage, you can also apply it to your skin. A green tea mixture can be used in place of a toner, being particularly beneficial to acne prone skin. Wet tea bags can be applied directly on the skin around the eye to reduce puffiness; around the areas you shave, to relieve razor burn; and areas of sunburned skin, to take the sting away.
These ordinary, everyday items are easy to find at any grocery store, which can save you a trip to the mall for items that essentially do the same thing. The money you save will be sure to surprise because, as we all know, skincare products do not come cheap. You might already have these budget friendly alternatives stored in your bathroom or kitchen, just waiting to be used up.
