5 Quirky Beauty Tricks from the Kitchen

Don't want to spend a bomb on expensive beauty products? Raid your kitchen instead – it has all the secret ingredients! These unconventional beauty tricks will come to your aid like nothing else….

• Clean with oil:

Use: Olive oil for dry skin and jojoba oil for oily skin

Cleaning your face with oil clears out pores, decreases sebum production and cleans skin without drying it completely. Put a few drops of oil on a soft cotton ball and rub it in circular motion on your face. Take a muslin cloth and dip it in warm water. Place it on your face for 10 minutes. Remove it and use a dry cloth to wipe off the oil.

• Removing a tan:

Use: Kitchen staples

-Apply a paste of yogurt and oatmeal on the tanned area. Wait till it is completely dry. Wash with cold water.

-Mix a teaspoon of honey with equal parts of milk powder and lemon juice. Add half a teaspoon of almond paste to the mixture and apply it over the tanned area.

• Whiten teeth:

Use: Apples and carrots

-If you want to whiten your teeth naturally, eat apples, carrots and even celery, to minimise staining from other foods. These food items have abrasive qualities because they're crunchy and remove bacteria from your gums and teeth.

• Greasy hair:

Use: Cornflour

Don't have time to wash your hair? Flour and cornflour help banish greasy roots. To add body to your hair, sprinkle a little flour on your scalp and rub it into your roots. Take a brush and remove excess flour.

• Lighten scars:

Use: Potato slices

Unless you're blessed with phenomenal skin, almost everyone suffers from blemishes, pimples and breakouts once in a while. And while these go away after a while, they leave behind ugly scars. While there are several medicated creams and gels to counter this problem, a simple (and useful) home remedy is potato juice. Potatoes contain enzymes that are known to reduce scars and improve skin tone. All you need to do is cut potato slices and rub them over the affected areas. Leave them on for about 15 to 20 minutes and wash with lukewarm water.