Win a Burt's Bees Essential Body Kit
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Want a chance to win a Burt's Bees Essential Body Kit, completely free, from Wise Bread?
Clue us in to your favorite all-natural beauty secret! Have a family recipe for rice bran scrub that leaves your skin glowing? Know something about sesame oil that we don't?
Let us know what your secret is by commenting on our site, and all participants will be entered in a drawing for an Essential Body Kit from Burt's Bees ($13 value), with free shipping. Make sure to use your real email when placing a comment so that we can get in touch with you if you are the winner.
Anyone (outside of Wise Bread writers and editors) are eligible to win. We're looking for fresh, frugal, natural ideas. Here's an example from a friend of mine:
My parents used to buy coconut oil from the market in Nairobi where we lived. They would then take all three of us kids, scrub us really good in the tub, and coat us with coconut oil, from head to toe and have us sit outside (naked, but we were only 5-7 years old) in the warm sun for about an hour. Not directly in the sun, of course. The we'd get hosed off, and then washed with a gentle soap. Our skin would be soft and supple for a full week afterwards. To this day, I still like to give my hair a coconut oil treatment every month or so. I comb the oil through my hair while leaning over the bathtub, then wrap it in a towel and sit around and read for an hour. It's a little like doing a Vidal Sasson hot oil treatment, but more natural and cheaper. Then I wash my hair with a gentle shampoo and condition it. Very shiny. A note of caution, though - if you oil your hair and then get into the shower, it will be incredibly slippery. Take precautions not to slip.
Your idea doesn't have to be purely of the kitchen ingredients-variety. A friend of mine pointed out that kissing her stubbly boyfriend's mug is a grea exfoliator. A brunch pal suggested that there is nothing better for the complexion than a quick romp in the sheets in the afternoon.
See how easy it is? You don't have to write a lot - just a few words about a home remedy beauty treatment that you like, and the benefits it gives you. Again, be sure to use a real email address so we can contact you if you win our homebased beauty tip drawing.
Click here to see what is included in the Essential Body Kit.
The dealine for contributing your home-based beauty trick idea is May 15th. We'll announce the winner the day after.
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I'd like to share my post about my cheap & simple at-home microdermabrasion.
PS. I am addicted to Burt's Bees lip balm-the one in the tin & my sis has used their baby products on both her kids & they smell even better than babies. If that is possible.
I know exfoliation has already been represented, but I have another cheap exfoliation tip. I use a pot scrubber on my arms and legs. Just a regular round plastic mesh pot scrubber. Now this is for serious exfoliators! It's kind of harsh but it feels so good and those brightly colored round mesh scrubbers are usually a dollar for two, they last forever, and if you are a shaver, you will find that scrubbing your legs with one just prior to shaving lengthens the lifespan of your razor AND makes your legs smooth and shiny.
What a lucky coincidence to see this contest of yours. Actually, in all honesty, the kit wouldn't be for me. It would be for my dear little Syl who just a few days back slathered our faces with a mixture of honey + aspirin. I'm not going to lie. It worked and did exactly as we both expected - made our faces super smooth and soft. I'm not too keen on the idea of applying acid to my face again so the Burt's Bees kit would be a much welcomed prize.
Put used tea bags in the freezer and the next time you have puffy eyes place a tea bag over them. It's very soothing.
Wet tea bags or dry ones?
Wet teabags. Dry won't do much for you.
You can use those cheap hair condistioners (Suave, V05) as a wonderful shave cream. It's more moisturizing than foam or soap, lasts a long time and cost about $1.00.
The best make-up remover I've found is baby oil. Yup, simple cheap baby oil. You dab a little bit on a cotton ball, rub that across your eyes, and even the most stubborn water-proof mascara comes right off. It even moisturizes!
Slice up a cucumber and place them on areas that are puffy..eyes,cheeks, etc. They have mild astringent properties and will help these areas.
For shaving...soap and water, but that's not what you are after.
Exfoliator...I have a friend that grows her own sponges. They look like huge cucumbers that she just peels and leaves them out to dry out. These things last forever and are great for your skin and here is another tip I have used them to wash my dishes as well. A 2-in-1.
Soft feet...Try using your child's baby oil on them to soak in water. Once you are pruned take your feet out, apply more oil and slide on the soaks. I'm the type of person that walks barefoot everywhere so I need something to do it. Baby oil may also be used to take off dandruff/cradle cap. I needed it for my little guy and applied it to his 10 year old brother's head and he no longer has the dandruff.
Keep 'em coming! Love to hear this kind of stuff!
If you put 1/2 cup of baking soda in your bath water it softens the water, reduces the amount of soap and shampoo you use and leaves your skin and hair super soft. I also use Olive oil on the ends of my hair. I put it on dry hair and let it sit for an hour and then rinse and wash as I normally would. I also use lanolin for my lips and elbows. Lanolin is what you use when you are breastfeeding and it's safe and non toxic. It comes from the wool of sheep and is what makes sheep water resistant. Anyways, these are all natural. Cheap Cheap Cheap and works better than most of the expensive products you buy at the store.
I have had oily hair since I was little and since it gets oilier the more I wash it I have to be careful. After a period of time I get product build-up in my hair. My grandma's solution, a 3/1 mix of water & white vinegar in the shower before I wash my hair. The solution is stinky, but does a great job of cleaning the hair fibers. Mix up at least a half gallon for long hair and let it just flow through. The shampoo afterwards will remove any odor and your hair will be full of body for several days. I do this about every other month.
I take my regular facial soap and add a little bit of baking soda... it is a really good scrub!--- Also, aloe vera makes a wonderful hair gel... I have curly hair... so, I mix it with a little bit of hair wax,-- its awesome!
For a super-quick and inexpensive acne treatment, I just put a dab of toothpaste on the spot before I go to bed. It dries it out and works wonders! For daytime, women can smear a bit of the clear gel kind on in a very thin layer, and then put on make-up over it.
Adding just a tablespoon or so of apple cider vinegar into a shampoo bottle does wonders to hair. It gives new meaning to "squeaky clean!" Don't know how the science works, but my hair feels lighter and less weighed down, so maybe the acidity dissolves hair product buildup. Also, I swear it brings out brunette/reddish highlights in my dark hair.
One of my friend in High School had the most beautiful complexion in the world.
I asked him what his secret was and he told me that he sleeps 8 hours a night.
What kind of secret is that? I said. That's a BS answer!
He told me that I didn't understand. He ALWAYS sleeps 8 hours a night. No matter what is going on the next day he always gets his 8 hours. No homework deadlines, no girl trouble, no worries about the SATs will ever stop him from sleeping those 8 hours.
Even if he has to choose between flunking a final and missing sleep, he would rather flunk the final. His grades were kind of average but he has beautiful complexion.
adding a capful of bleach to a bucket of water as a foot soak is the best thing ever for whitening nails and getting rid of warts (gross)
For the past few weeks I've been applying a thin film of honey to my face before bed. Just a dab of honey (1/4-1/3 a teaspoon or so), with a TINY bit of water to help it spread, has helped my skin lose its redness and blemishes. I started using it because honey is apparently a natural antibacterial agent. If applied sparingly enough and you pull your hair back at night, the honey won't get anything too sticky. Still, you'll probably have to wash your hair each morning.
I know someone already mentioned honey+aspirin, but this is MUCH gentler on the face, and it works for me! :)
My hair gets kind of flat sometimes, and a great trick for texture and body is to wash it with a natural soap, like Burt's Bees peppermint shampoo soap! It can be any soap, though; it doesn't have to be a shampoo kind. This gives great body and texture, as long as you don't use it too often, because if you do, soap residue can build up and make it look like you have dandruff. Use sparingly and enjoy!
Grind up some fennel, sarsaparilla, and aloe vera, and add them to some olive oil. Allow this to macerate for a week or so. Add the oil to an equal amount of beeswax, and melt them together in a 300 degree oven.
Apply this mixture to dry or cracked heels to soothe, soften, and heal them.
The "Barefoot Sisters," who hiked the 2000+ mile Appalachian Trail barefoot (twice!) used a similar concoction, and it kept their feet healthy and crack-free through thousands of miles of difficult terrain.
I know toothpaste has been done, but dabbing lemon juice on it dries it up within hours!
Also, try using clear eye drops on them to reduce swelling and redness, it really works quick too.
I use vaseline as lip blam, eyebrow gel and over places where i've scratched my zits,(naughty naughty i know) it's good if you don't have anything on hand to cover it to stop the bleeding and it helps heal it too. I do the same thing for blisters with vaseline or lipbalm. Lipbalm makes for a good hair de-frizzer, just rub a bit on your hands and run your fingers thru your hair.
Carrot juice is good for acne.
I bought 2 squeeze type bottles from walmart. the kind you use for vinegar and oil or ketchup and mustard and I put a blop of my shampoo in one and another blop of my conditioner in the other then I fill each bottle about 1/2 full with warm water and then I shakey shakey shakey !!!! The shampoo sudses up BIG TIME and I can do my shoulder length thick hair a couple of times. The conditioner only takes a small amount this way. It almost acts like a cream rinse but better.
mix a little bit of plain yoghurt with porridge and add some lavender in the mixture.
this gives my face a soft touch and it is no longer greasy.
i also have less impurities.
if you want it to exfoliate aswell, add a little table salt or sugar!
i luv burt's bees product, they are sooo cool!
You can use white distilled vinegar to strip all hair product buildup off your hair. Doesn't smell great while you do it, but wash after and it leaves your hair feeling clean and soft.
my entry is not only for the contest but also to share this wonderful secret that has served me so well for over a decade...i use it on myself and my children...i would never ever buy anything else to deep condition my hair but this...It is in my oppinion the best deep conditioning hair treatment ever!
i have very long dark hair that occasional gets brittle and drab.
I find if i microwave an 1/8 a cup of cheap olive oil~you might use a few table spoons/my hair is almost down to my waist! (just a few seconds)I then apply it to dry unwashed hair and wrap my hair in a bun with a rubber band (or washable scrunchi) i then procede to pull off big sheets of aluminum foil and cover my head with it...pressing it into place with my hands until i have what look likes a silver cap on my head. then i put a disposable plastic shower cap or a grocery bag on top of that....i then leave it on either 4 hours while i clean the house and cook or during the 8-9 hours i sleep..the longer the better!.afterwards i wash my hair. my hair always appears fuller/softer and a bit darker and richer...i have done this for years...i have a friend who does hair who tells me this sounds similar to those fancy deep conditioning treatments you can have done at a salon....the olive oil is really great for the hair, any extra can be rubbed into my feet prior to putting socks on and into my cuticles and hands..the foil and shower cap creates heat so the oil sinks deeper into the hair strand and the scalp! just remember you could clean them and reuse them to save more money if you wish.
let me also mention everything i used from the oil/the foil/the disposable shower cap even the scrunchi were all bought at the dollar store! for a whole whopping $4 i can get several (normally at least 8) hair treatments which amounts to about 50 cents each..versus the $20 or even $100(per treatment) you could spend at a salon or even a spa for the same exact thing just a bit fancier. (if you have shorter hair, you could get more treatments out of the oil, but you'd have have to reuse or replace the foil.)
at just $4 for 8 treatments at home versus $160-$800 for 8 treatments at a salon or spa (higher number being the spa)that is quite a savings!
Let me also mention i do this at least once month but you can do it twice if you like...and that this is the only hair conditioning treatment i use for my hair because it not only works the best but it is so cheap its humourous.
***Let me also mention i have black/brown hair and my girls have light brown hair...i have no idea if it would darken red or blond hair. just being honost..if you have light hair or dyed hair you may want to try it on a small patch or hair first before doing it everywhere. but the darkeneing is not permenant..it lasts me a month or so...so coincidently i don't have to color my hair either.
I love this hair treatment its amazing how well it works.
also thou i cannot garentee you wont have an allergic reaction...i strongly doubt it... we all have sensitive skin, my youngest daughter even has eczema and none of us have ever had an issue...
***enjoy :)
oh well, i know i'm late..but i am still so glad i had the opportunity to share my tip...i truly hope everyone and anyone who reads it enjoys the hair treatment as much as i have.
A couple of times a year, especially before a big event or portraits, I combine a couple teaspoons of baking soda with peroxide and scrub my teeth using my toothbrush. The result is visibly whiter teeth, at a fraction of the cost and way less time. This should be used sparingly - not more than once or twice a year.
Odd as it seems, canned Crisco is the best makeup remover and night cream ever. Also great on hands and feet. It is odorless and I just bought a small can for $1.98.
if u have a big zit dab teatree oil on it with a Que tip and it will dry it out overnight it works great and is a natural way to get rid of a zit and doesn't scar like some zit creams. also i usally have puffy bags under my eyes and cold wet tea bags really help and they make u feel nice and fresh too. does any1 have any other tips for puffy bags under their eyes?
Preparation H (yes, for hemmorhoids)is great for zits. It reduces swelling and inflammation. Be warned it doesn't smell good :(
Just put regular baking soda in your hair when you first shampoo to get rid of product buildup and to be good to your scalp! (Helps drandruff and dry scalp.)
Hydrogen peroxide (in snowball earth, that's what the earth seas WERE) is great for lightening my hair (put it on dirty hair to avoid drying effect) and is also good for minor zits and skin eruptions.
I have also used salad oil on my upper eyelids to moisturize them (there are no oil glands there, so the eye area is always thirsty.)
And when you wash your face, leave it damp before quickly putting on your moisturizer, to help hydrate skin.
Compresses of cold, black tea are the only think that help when my allergy eyes get really BAD. If the skin doesn't swell, then it prevents bags! Also put a dab of witch hazel under your regular eye cream AM & PM to get the benefit of this ingredient of many high-priced eye treatments!