TEA
Steep a pair of Earl Grey teabags in boiling water, run them under a tap and place over eyes for 10 minutes before night out. Use four bags of chamomile tea. Leave them to steep for 5 minutes then hold your face over the bowl. Freeze cooled chamomile tea in an ice-cube tray. When set, remove cubes and run over your face. Soak some gauze in cooled green tea and apply on skin the way you would a toner.
OLIVE OIL
Heat a cup of olive oil in the microwave for a few seconds. Massage onto dry areas of your skin. Heat enough olive oil to fill half a small clothes basin. Soak your hands in the oil for about 10 minutes, followed by the feet. Use it as a conditioner by leaving warmed olive oil on your hair for 15 minutes before shampoo. Remove all traces of mascara by dipping an overused mascara wand into some olive oil and use it to apply on your lashes the way you would mascara.CUCUMBER
Chop up a cucumber and drizzle a few drops of lemon juice in the mixture. Apply on your face. Soothe tired eyes by cutting two rounds and place them on the eyelids.
Rub down hot skin with a mixture of chopped cucumber, olive oil and plain yoghurt.
LEMON
For sparkling teeth, mix one teaspoon of fresh lemon juice with one teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda and half teaspoon of salt. Use like toothpaste – once a week. Lighten the skin and smoothens rough edges of elbows and knees. Cut a lemon into two halves and rest your elbows in each half for 15 minutes. Or squeeze juice of lemon and apply on your knees.
TOMATO
Peel a tomato and chop it finely before spreading on face. Work as an effective cleanser and gentle astringent to tighten pores.
ORANGE
Squeeze juice of an orange and mix with a tablespoon of plain yoghurt. Apply on face, avoiding the eye area. Rinse off after 10 minutes and splash face with cold water.
POTATOES
A great way to get rid of dark undereye circles. Run a large potato in a blender. Squeeze the pulp to get rid of excess juice and form two patties from it. Place the patties over your eyes and keep them there for 10 minutes.
APRICOTS
Pound the kernel and add body lotion to blend into smooth paste. Use it as a gentle exfoliator for face. Note the pip is the rough “seed” and the ivory kernel is what you need when split open the pip.MAYONNAISE
Massage mayonnaise into your hair after shampoo. Leave it on for a few minutes before rinse off. You can also use mayonnaise as a lip mask. Leave it on for 10 minutes before removing with cold water.
AVOCADOS
Mash a ripe one and use it as a facial mask; rinse off after 10 minutes. To get rid of puffy eyes; use a linen cloth, make a “moneybag” filled with mashed avocado. Dab it gently on eyes.
GINGER
Chop ginger and mix it with body lotion for a facial scrub. Avoid the sensitive eye area.
MILK
Soak a cotton pad with cool fresh milk and press it gently all over your face. Besides protein to feed your face, it gets rid of dirt thoroughly. Chill a cup of milk in the fridge before pouring the contents into a clothes spray. Use it like a spritzer over inflamed skin. Warm a bowl of milk in the microwave for half a minute and pour contents into a clothes basin. Soak your feet for half an hour and then give it a good hard brush to remove dead skin.TURMERIC
Mix two teaspoons of turmeric powder and one teaspoon of honey with just enough warm water to make a thick paste. Spread the mixture all over your face and leave it on for 15 to 20 minutes. Rinse off with water.SUGAR
For a three-in-one pre-bath treatment; blend two tablespoons of brown sugar with one teaspoon of fresh lemon juice and two to three drops of olive oil. Rub the paste over rough areas like the knees and elbows. Citric acid from the lemon unclogs the pores, skin-polishing sugar gets rid of surface dirt and olive oil moisture the skin.
CHERRIES
Run about 10 unripe cherries in a blender. Mix the juice with a tablespoon of dry oatmeal and use as a five-minute facial mask.
For the body; mix cherry juice with a tablespoon of sea salt and massage over damp skin.
HONEY
Dilute one tablespoon of honey with one teaspoon of water then heat it in the microwave for 10 seconds. When it’s cooled, apply on your lips and leave for 10 minutes. To dry out pimples, pour out a teaspoon of honey into a bowl. Dip a cotton bud into the honey and apply on the spots.EGGS
For a temporary facelift, use just the eggwhite. Mix it with a tablespoon of honey and spread over face and throat in an upward motion. Leave on for 15 minutes and rinse off with warm water. Whisk egg yolk with a tablespoon of olive oil and leave on your hair for a few minutes before your shampoo. It makes a great hair conditioner.
PAPAYA
Mash half a ripe papaya with two teaspoons of honey. Apply to areas of face that are prone to wrinkles such as between the brows and along the sides of the nose. Leave on it for 10 minutes.