Today were are going to discuss home remedies and tricks passed down to us by some of the wisest women we know...our grandmothers. Our grandmothers are a veritable fount of information when it comes to homespun beauty advice. Why? Because, in her day they didn't have peptides, or Botox, or glycolic peels or, depending on how old your grandmother is, even sunscreen! There are some things our grandmas did that would make us cringe today (smoking like chimneys, slathering their bodies with oil and frying to get a tan, or sleeping with cold cream piled on their faces) but, a lot of what they did to stay young actually works! Here are a few of the easy (and cheap) remedies tried and tested by some of the youngest looking grandmothers.
1. Sleep on a satin pillowcase. Apparently, cotton absorbs moisture like nobody's business, so it stands to reason that a cotton pillow case will suck the moisture from not only your skin, but your hair. Also, cotton is a pretty rough texture and will rough up your hair's cuticle. It will also give you sleep wrinkles, which over time become permanent, if you sleep on your side or your face ( I know you have seen these wrinkles when you first wake up. yucky). Due to it's slippery texture and the fact that it doesn't absorb moisture, satin doesn't do any of this. Make sure you are buying actual satin, though, not sateen, which is polyester and will smother your skin.You can buy one a Sally's for about $9 or on Amazon.com (the brand is Betty Dain), or, go to a discount fabric store, buy high quality satin and just sew your own. It's really easy.
2. Sleep on your back. I can't and don't. But, if you can, go for it. This will keep you from getting wrinkles and keep your face from looking puffy in the morning due to fluids reacting to gravity. You can buy a pillow that cradles your neck and keeps your head in place if you really want to.
3. Use lemon juice to clear skin and fade acne scars. Apply the lemon juice after cleansing, leave it on for 20min to over night (depending on your skin's sensitivity) and rinse off. If you leave it on over night, just apply your moisturizer on top of the juice once it has dried. You can either buy juice in a bottle (make sure there is no lemon oil in it. You need straight lemon juice) and apply it to skin with either cotton pads or cotton balls (like a toner), or just buy lemons, cut it in half and rub it all over your face. Lemon juice can be used on hands, heels, ankles and elbows, as well.
4. Egg white masks for oily skin. Take an egg white ( I get the kind in the carton. It's pasteurized, so I don't have to worry about the bacteria I might contract from raw eggs) and massage it onto clean, dry skin. Let dry for 20 min. Remove with a warm, wet cloth. I bmix my egg whites with papaya, so I can get an enzyme peel in the process. This is a recipe they use in high end facialists' offices, but they charge like $200 for it. Try it!
5. Cold tea bags for puffy eyes. This works because the cold of the tea bag constricts the skin and the caffeine in the tea acts as a diuretic that gets rid of the excess fluid under your eyes. Just brew 2 tea bags (they must contain caffeine, so black, white, red or green tea is best, no herbal teas) and then pop the bags into a Ziploc bag and then into the freezer. Wabout 10 minutes and then place them on your eyes for about 10 min. If you do this while wearing the egg mask and sitting in a bath with yummy smelling bath salts, it will feel like a spa day!
6. A cotton swab saturated with Visine and then frozen for a red pimple.This is more of a model's trick for getting rid of a pimple than a grandmother's trick, but I just wanted to mention it. What you do is take any cotton swab, saturate both ends with Visine (or any eye drop meant to remove red from eyes. Whatever is cheapest) and then put it in a Ziploc baggie and put it in the freezer. Actually, keep a bunch of these in the freezer and, that way, you will have one when you need one. Just take a swab out of the bag and hold one of the saturated ends on the pimple for about 10 minutes. If it gets too warm, flip the cotton swab around and use the other side. Throw it away when done, so you don't contaminate your skin with bacteria from the pimple by using it, again. The cold will shrink the swelling of the pimple, while the Visine will literally take the red out of the pimple right before your eyes. This is a GREAT trick for brides who wake up with that inevitable "stress zit" the morning of their wedding day.
7. Baking soda to exfoliate your skin and clarify your hair. Basically, just add baking soda to your face wash (enough to form a paste) and then, using gentle pressure and circular motions, rub the paste onto your face for a minute. Rinse. For your hair, pour a bit of your regular shampoo into your hand, them sprinkle in about a teaspoon of baking soda. Mix it up in your palm and shampoo as usual. Be sure not to exfoliate your face and use the lemon juice on the same day.
8. Sleep with an eye mask. Make sure the eye mask is made of natural fibers (synthetic fibers trap oils on your eyelid and can give you a stye or millia) and, as an added bonus, has extra padding where your under eye hits the mask. If it has this padding, it will press on your under eye while you sleep (nothing painful or damaging) and over time will retrain that fluid to collect somewhere else, so your under eye puffiness will be much smaller.
9. Add sugar and coffee grounds to your shower gel for soft, smooth skin. The exfoliating properties of sugar are fantastic, but what you may not know is the main ingredient in most cellulite creams is caffeine. It tightens the skin and makes cellulite less noticeable. Smooth skin also hides these unsightly dimples, so you get a one-two punch with this concoction. Mix sugar and coffee grounds to coconut oil and use that instead of shower gel for extra moisturizing. Then, use your shower gel as usual. If you use the oil method, then you need to rub it onto your DRY skin while standing int he shower BEFORE showering. Just be careful of your slippery shower floor if you do this. If you don't drink coffee, just go to your local coffee shop and ask for some of their grounds. They will usually give them to you for free. Just say you want them for your garden if you feel weird. People ask for them all the time.
10. Take a bath with Epsom salts to detoxify and unwind. You can either use just plain Epsom salts or add a drop or two of lavender oil, chamomile, eucalyptus oil or sweet orange oil (any essential oil really, just make sure it's appropriate to bathe in. Some oils are not.) to 1/3 cup of Epsom salts for a relaxing detoxifying bath.
11. Put a mirror next to the door. Just one last check to make sure everything is as it should be. our grandmothers would have never gone out of the house looking a mess. Just watch Mad Men to see what I mean.
12. Look in that mirror before you walk out of the door and remove one accessory. Less is more. Less is chic. Keep a small dish or saucer on a table under that mirror and put your accessory in there. It can be jewelry (it usually is), a scarf, anything. Just take one thing off.
13. Posture, posture, posture. When our grandmothers were in school, they actually taught posture and groom in class. They also taught Home Ec, but that's another story. It won't matter if you have the best outfit on, the most pulled together hair or the most fabulous makeup, if you are all slumped over you will look sloppy and all of that effort will be for nothing. Also, know that our bodies are constantly trying to balance themselves. You rarely see a person with rounded, slumped forward shoulders who does not also have a rounded, protruding stomach. Proper posture exudes confidence and good health.
This is proper posture for standing:
Bear your weight primarily on the balls of your feet.
Keep your knees slightly bent.
Keep your feet about shoulder-width apart.
Let your arms hang naturally down the sides of the body.
Stand straight and tall with your shoulders pulled backward.
Tuck your stomach in.
Keep your head level-your earlobes should be in line with your shoulders. Do not push your head forward, backward, or to the side.
Shift your weight from your toes to your heels, or one foot to the other, if you have to stand for a long time.
My dance teacher used to say that if you imagine a string coming out of the crown of your head and an invisible puppeteer pulling on that string, that will automatically give you good posture. The best visual I have ever heard is to imagine you are in a crowded cafe and trying to navigate between the backs of two chairs that are very close together while carrying a tray of drinks. You will automatically put your pelvis, spine and shoulders into the right positions and will lift your ribcage. At home, put two dining chairs back to back with just enough space for you to get between them if you turn your body sideways. You will see what I mean.
14. Use a boar bristle brush for shine. It distributes your natural oils from your scalp to your hair and adds shine. Detangle with a plastic, ball tip bristle brush first, then finish with the boar bristle. The best brush is Mason Pearson, but those are sooooo expensive. Marylin makes a great one that is cheaper. Just go to Sally's and look around.
15. Sleep with your hair in a loose bun on top of your head. This will keep your hair from getting roughed up and tangled and will extend the life of your blowout. Use my favorite hair item, Spin Pins, to do this or a fabric covered scrunchie. Come on, you know you have one.
16. Never go out of the house looking like a total wreck. Yes, we all get sick, or it's "that time of the month" or whatever, and you think you won't run into anyone you know, right? Well, you will. And, it will be the last person you want to see you in your stained hoodie and sweatpants with no makeup on and your hair in a ponytail. You don't have to go totally glam every time you leave the house, but at least pull yourself together a bit. Trust me, you will be grateful when your super successful ex-boyfriend shows up at Trader Joe's with his hot, younger girlfriend and you don't look like a pathetic sack of frumpy hell. Just sayin'.
If you have any tips or tricks you learned form your Grandma, feel free to post it in the comments.
Warmth and Peace,
The Thrift Store Barbie
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