When I was about fifteen I decided to create my own hair conditioner. I made it from eggs (which I’d heard were good for your hair), beer (ditto) plus – for some insane reason – flour.
As you can imagine my hair ended up like cake mix and it took forever to wash out.
If there’d been an internet back then I’d have known better. I could’ve Googled DIY beauty treatments and done a much better job of it. But better late than never (she says, at almost fifty!).
Here are 10 of my top DIY beauty tips, all very effective, all cheap ‘n’ cheerful. I’ll be back with more tomorrow.
- run out of blusher? Use lipstick instead. Draw a small circle on the apple of your cheek and blend it in gently with your fingertip
- mix together old lipstick remnants to make gorgeous new shades, putting the bits in a small plastic pot and melting them together in the microwave. You can apply it with a brush or your finger. This is great if, like me, you have a few shades that almost but don’t quite suit your skin tone. Mix them together and create a tone that works beautifully instead of making you look either mad or dead (!)
- here’s a cool equation for you: bronzing powder plus cheap moisturiser = an excellent false tan. Even though it’s only temporary it’s handy when you’ve run out of self-tan and can’t get to the shops
- the Romans used olive oil to clean their skin, rubbing it all over then scraping it off along with the dirt for (I imagine) a clean yet greasy look! I reckon that’s just nasty, but olive oil is useful stuff all the same and 100% natural. Mix some olive oil with a dollop of moisturiser for lovely soft, glimmering, shimmery skin
- apparently when you mix up an aspirin and water paste and blob it onto a zit, it works amazingly well. I am far too old for zits but if you try it, let us know how you get on
- most people already know this one, but it’s worth mentioning anyway – when your eyes are feeling puffy, dry and dull, bung a used teabag on each eye and lie down for half an hour. Green tea is supposed to work best but I find bog standard PG Tips does the trick, leaving your eye area feeling wonderfully refreshed
- deep-condition your locks with coconut oil, microwaved first to soften it. Leave it for half an hour with a towel wrapped round your hair then rinse off. It feels absolutely fabulous, really great, much better than any conditioner I’ve ever bought
- If your fingernails are all yellow and horny, bleach them with whitening toothpaste on a piece of cotton wool
- Honey is magical. I use it to soothe cuts and bruises as well as for a fantastic face mask. Use the grainy set honey – the runny stuff just ends up all over the place: in your ears, on your clothes, all over the floor. Leave it for ten minutes them wash it off with warm water
- even the most expensive shampoos eventually leave build-up on your hair, and it’s good to change brands regularly. To remove build up for cleaner, shinier hair, rinse it with a glass of apple vinegar before shampooing. It also helps if you use less shampoo in the first place