Kitchen miracles: Beauty essentials you can eat

Right girls, enough with all the old wives’ tales, here is the truth behind those tasty treats in your kitchen cupboards that double up as the perfect beauty fix! It’s all good and well spending twenty quid on a face scrub, but how many of those tubes from boots can double up as breakfast? 

Oats

Porridge goodness aside, whole oats make the perfect face scrub when mixed with organic milk or plain yoghurt. They’ve got anti-inflammatory properties, and the Polysaccharides present in oatmeal improve skin tone, making dull skin more vibrant. This splendid homemade exfoliator scrubs away dead cells and leaves skin smooth and well moisturised. It is also known for treating acne successfully.

Lemons

Lemons are riddled with that glorious Vitamin C, making them a natural brightener for hair and skin. They can also help to remedy discolouration of the skin caused by scarring or blemishes. Be sure to dilute lemon juice with water when applying to skin or hair, and save the rinds in the fridge for later… Just add a little honey, massage the rinds onto your face, avoiding the eyes of course, and leave for ten minutes before washing off with warm water. This will leave your skin glowing! 

Milk

First and foremost, drink milk, as it does glorious things for your insides. Unless you are lactose intolerant… If you are, definitely ignore the following beauty tip! For the rest of you, listen carefully. Milk works as a brilliant make up remover! Just dip your cotton wool ball in and gently wipe away the grime of the day. The lactic acid in milk lightens and softens skin by reducing skin pigmentation. Mush some milk and honey in with some bananas for an all-natural and super luxurious facemask. Scrummy! 

Honey

Honey has been used by communities for hundreds of years, probably more, due to its abundance in natural antioxidants. Whether it’s a wee bit in your tummy or one your face, honey reduces sun damage and leaves skin bright and youthful. Mix it with other natural ingredients to make cheeky facemasks, moisturisers and tasty smoothies.

Coconut Oil

First things first, we at The Upcoming heartily encourage you to grab a wok, some diced chicken or turkey breast pieces and to cook them in a teaspoon of coconut oil. It adds a multitude of flavour and is endlessly better for you than a lot of other cooking oils. Again, cooking aside, coconut oil (and coconut water for that matter) is great for you in so many ways. The oil is antioxidant and antibacterial, and is proven to cleanse and moisturise skin.  Coconut oil also soothes muscles and smooths out those dastardly wrinkles. Need we convince you further? 

So there you have it! Food-shaped beauty tips. Who said DIY beauty was a thing of the past? Look after your skin while avoiding those nasty chemicals and those lofty price tags. Have fun with the contents of your kitchen, mash up various fruit and veg to eat or massage into your skin… But make sure to do a skin patch test first; even mother nature can unearth some naughty allergies! 

Elizabeth Finney