My mum has always been a bit of an advocate of kitchen cupboard beauty and home made remedies. I vividly remember her with tea bags on her eyes or mixing up homemade face masks. Nowadays she makes us lovely foot and body scrubs which I adore. Given how youthful she looks there definitely must be something in it. In the interests of sharing her secrets I thought I’d encourage you to raid your kitchen cupboards rather than the aisles of Boots. Honestly, there are some amazing beauty finds in there.

Cucumber Slices

A lovely cooling mask for your peepers. Cut a slice and place on each eye for instant relief. Cucumber reduces water retention and has a very subtle skin lightening effect, ideal for those dark circles.

It is also good for sunburn although you may need quite a few slices if you’ve burnt your whole back!

Cold Tea Bags

If you’re like us and get through a fair few cuppas a day then this is a good one. The tannin in tea bags is excellent for reducing puffiness and dark circles so be sure not to throw them away. Brew a cup, put the tea bag in a tub and pop them in the fridge. Then in the morning place them on your eyes. Ideally leave them on for 10 minutes if you have time but a quick dab will be just as good. It temporarily tightens the skin around your eyes which is something I definitely need.

It’s also excellent for eye infections like conjunctivitis or, if you aren’t a caffeine fiend, green tea contains antioxidants which are great for the eyes too.

Avocado

I often find a rather mushy avocado lurking in my fridge. Rather than throwing it away mash up half with a bit of honey to make a nourishing face mask. Leave on for 10 to 15 mins to soothe dry skin. Or try an avocado and yoghurt mix (plain not strawberry!) which is the best creams for your skin and it is moisturising and restores the skin’s ph balance.

Yoghurt

Not the best look but once on holiday in Turkey I got a tad sunburnt so my mum sent me off to the supermarket for some plain (live if poss) yogurt. It’s cooling, soothing and draws the redness out. Top tip is lie on a towel first!

Lemon

As a teenager I was known to squirt lemon juice on my hair as a replacement for the ever popular sun in. Try mixing 1/4 cup lemon juice with 3/4 cup water and rinse your hair in it. Either leave to dry naturally or if it’s a sunny day head out into the garden.

Lemon is also great for your nails. Mix some lemon juice and olive oil and soak your nails in the mixture to strengthen and whiten them.

Finally lemon is also excellent for blackheads due to its antibacterial properties. Simply apply like a toner or place a slice directly on your face.

Eggs

This might sound a bit yucky but eggs make a great face mask. Egg white tightens and egg yolk nourishes. Use one or the other rather than both. Simply spread on your face and then wash off after 5 to 10 minutes.

Sugar

Sugar is the perfect base for a scrub. Pop a handful of granulated sugar on your hands when you wash them to get off any ingrained dirt. You can either just use with your normal soap or mix with with a bit of olive oil to make your hands super soft.

You can also make a great lip scrub by mixing a little bit of olive oil and caster sugar. Add some vanilla essence to make it taste nice, plus you can then lick your lips!!

To make a simple face scrub mix some granulated sugar (or caster if your skin is sensitive) and mix with olive oil or even grape seed, almond or avocado oil.

Salt Scrub

Salt is another excellent scrub and my mum has made some fabulous foot scrubs and soaks with this cupboard essential. Opt for rock salt or sea salt with the larger chunks. Salt has magnesium, potassium and calcium which is good for your skin restoration and reducing aging so mix with a bit of olive oil to make a gorgeous scrub. If you use it as a body scrub just be careful as it will make the shower very slippy!

Baking Soda

This is one of my favourites as it’s excellent for white teeth. You don’t need these fancy whitening creams as this bad boy is amazing. True story, my mum once told me to dip my toothbrush in the baking soda in the bathroom to help get my teeth white. I came out asking if my mouth was meant to foam this much. Turns out I’d dipped it in the Radox bath salts instead! I’d advise not doing that, although I must admit my teeth have been very white since!

Banana

Banana has all manner of healing properties due to its antibacterial nature.

Mix half a banana with some granulated sugar to help exfoliate the skin and make it super soft.

Apparently one banana, mixed with a spoon of yoghurt is good for hair loss. I may tell Edd, although fear his hair may be beyond repair! Put it on your head and leave on for an hour. If you do this regularly for a month apparently you will see dramatic reduction in hair loss and thicker glossier locks.

Still on the hair front apparently two bananas and a spoon of honey massaged in to wet hair is excellent for dry, frizzy hair.

Coconut

We all know coconut is the stuff of wonders. We have long been fans of coconut oil for all manner of skin moisturising but coconut milk is also amazing for split ends and dry/damaged hair. Just leave on your hair for a while before rinsing off.

Honey

Finally grab your jar of honey whenever you have a cut or a bite as its healing properties will have you feeling better in no time at all.

So there you have it. Kitchen cupboard beauty for beginners. A few store cupboard essentials can change up your beauty regime and hopefully bring a few natural remedies. I’ll be back soon to share a few more of my mum’s favourite combinations for everything from scrubs to face masks. Is anyone else tempted to raid your kitchen rather than the beauty counter?