Home remedies that prove mother nature should be your new dermatologist
Call me a skeptic, but I don't believe there's a single person out there with truly perfect skin.
Even Hollywood starlets get dry skin and crow's feet — they just have more money than I do to cover it up! Fortunately, there are plenty of options to heal your skin without the help of a professional makeup team.
For example, did you know that the location of blemishes and skin flaws may give you important clues about what's causing the problem in the first place? Even better, there are plenty of simple ways to solve your skin problems, with minimal fuss and expense.
In fact, lately I've turned to a new specialist — mother nature! Turns out, there are plenty of natural ingredients in my kitchen right now that serve as a DIY fix for just about every blemish and bump!
From mashed-up tomatoes to your evening cup of tea, here are all the secret ingredients you should be using on your skin right now!
Sunburn: Milk
Maya Borenstein for LittleThings
We all know that sun damage is dangerous, but, especially during the winter months, it can be easy to forget sunscreen. If you land yourself a terrible burn (bonus points for a "glasses tan") you can soothe the discomfort and redness with an ice-cold glass of milk.
Soak a washcloth in milk and refrigerate for a minute for extra coolness, then apply to the affected area for a few minutes. It will soothe the burn, and may even help ease the redness.
Rosacea: Chamomile Tea
Maya Borenstein for LittleThings
If you struggle with rosacea, then you're well-acquainted with the itchiness, redness, and discomfort of the chronic skin condition, which most commonly causes blotchy red areas on the cheeks and chin.
Though there's no cure-all for this condition, applying chamomile, which reduces inflammation, may ease reddened areas and calm swelling. Try soaking tea bags in cool water and applying to skin, or making a cold compress out of chamomile oil.
Blackheads: Epsom Salts
Maya Borenstein for LittleThings
Nobody likes blackheads, but we all get them from time to time. It's icky to think about, but these unsightly blemishes are actually plugs of oil and dirt trapped in pores.
To loosen them from your skin, try boiling epsom salt in water until it dissolves. When it cools, apply a little to the areas that tend to have blackheads, and repeat daily. Over time, your blackheads should disappear!
Minor Injuries: Arnica Oil
Maya Borenstein for LittleThings
This treatment is a bit more popular abroad than it is in the United States, but it really works! Cuts, scrapes, bruises, and pulled muscles can all benefit from topical application of arnica oil or cream.
The essential oil from this flowering herb helps to boost the immune system, and is also an anti-inflammatory powerhouse. It helps open up blood vessels, reducing swelling, redness, and bruising, and allowing skin to heal.
Dark Circles: Potatoes
Maya Borenstein for LittleThings
We all know that potatoes are tasty, but who knew this humble root veggie also had beautifying properties? If you suffer from dark circles under your eyes, even when you get a good night's sleep, try slicing up an ordinary spud and laying raw slices over your eyes.
The enzymes in the potatoes juices will help lighten the dark circles, and, if you chill them beforehand, may help reduce puffiness.
Wrinkles: Aloe Vera
Maya Borenstein for LittleThings
Aloe vera is famous for helping to soothe the symptoms of sunburn, but the hearty desert succulent is actually more like an all-around panacea. One of its most remarkable properties is its ability to fight aging.
Drinking pure aloe or taking aloe capsules daily has been demonstrated to significantly improve skin elasticity and firmness.
Scars: Rosehip Oil
Maya Borenstein for LittleThings
Cut roses are beautiful and smell lovely, but if you leave them to bloom on the plant, they eventually turn into the equally wonderful rosehip, the fruit of the rose plant.
Chock-full of vitamins and fatty acids, rosehips are a wonderful treatment for scars, thanks to their high complement of vitamin C, which encourages skin healing. Distilled down to an essential oil, rosehips are a great topical treatment for all kinds of scars and stretch marks.
Acne: Tomatoes
Maya Borenstein for LittleThings
Not only do tomatoes make a great addition to any salad, they could be the miracle cure for a stubborn case of acne. Tomatoes have the benefit of being both acidic and vitamin-rich, a winning combination that can help combat even the toughest pimples and blemishes.
Peel raw tomatoes and mash into a paste, then apply topically as a mask, or use pure tomato juice mixed with lime as a spot treatment.
Have you ever used any of these natural skin solutions? Let us know below, and SHARE this helpful skincare guide with friends and family!
Your skin isn't the only thing that can be treated naturally:
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