Hello everyone,
I am so so sorry for not writing for some time now, but I do have a good excuse. I've been terribly sick and I really couldn't do anything but to lay around and whine.
But, to apologize, I have prepared something really fun for today!
15 ways to use lemons as beauty products! Why would you spend tons of money on product that can be replaced by something as simple as lemon?
So let's get started :)
1. Anti-Aging
Lemon water reduces the production of free radicals which are responsible for aging skin and skin damage. Lemon water is calorie free and an antioxidant.
2. Lighten Age Spots
Why buy expensive creams when you’ve got lemon juice? To lighten liver spots or freckles, try applying lemon juice directly to the area. Let it sit for 15 minutes and then rinse your skin clean. It’s a safe and effective skin-lightening agent.
3. Create Blonde Highlights
For salon-worthy highlights, add 1/4 cup lemon juice to 3/4 cup water and rinse your hair with the mixture. Then, sit in the sun until your hair dries. To maximize the effect, repeat once daily for up to a week.
4. Clean and Whiten Nails
Pamper your hands without a manicurist. Add the juice of 1/2 lemon to 1 cup warm water and soak your fingertips in the mixture for 5 minutes. After pushing back the cuticles, rub some lemon peel back and forth against the nail.
5. Strengthen nails
There are tons of nail hardeners on the shelves at your local drugstore, but you can get the same results -- and naturally -- using olive oil and lemon juice.
6. Cleanse Your Face
Zap zits naturally by dabbing lemon juice on blackheads to draw them out during the day. You can also wash your face with lemon juice for a natural cleanse and exfoliation. Your skin should improve after several days of treatment. Lemon water is also a cooling agent, best way to beat the heat.
7. Freshen Your Breath
Make an impromptu mouthwash by rinsing with lemon juice straight from the bottle. Swallow for longer-lasting fresh breath. The citric acid in the juice alters the pH level in your mouth, killing bacteria that causes bad breath. Rinse after a few minutes because long-term exposure to the acid in lemons can harm tooth enamel.
8. Treat Flaky Dandruff
If itchy, scaly dandruff has you scratching your head, relief may be no farther away than your refrigerator. Just massage two tablespoons lemon juice into your scalp and rinse with water. Then stir one teaspoon lemon juice into one cup water and rinse your hair with it. Repeat daily until your dandruff disappears.
9. Soften Dry, Scaly Elbows
Itchy elbows are bad enough, but they look terrible too. For better looking (and feeling) elbows, mix baking soda and lemon juice to make an abrasive paste, then rub it into your elbows for a soothing, smoothing, and exfoliating treatment. Rinse your extremities in a mixture of equal parts lemon juice and water, then massage with olive oil and dab dry with a soft cloth.
10. Heal acne and remove blackheads
Lemons' antibacterial and antifungal properties make them a natural alternative to treat acne. Simply slice open a lemon and rub it across your face. Or you can add a few drops of honey to a lemon half before applying it directly to the area where you have blackheads. Wait five to 10 minutes before rinsing off with cold water.
11. Whiten teeth
Not only you can reduce bad breath, but also whiten your teeth. So why spend a lot of money on expensive treatments? Save yourself a lot of money and time with a homemade teeth whitener using baking soda and lemon juice. Mix the two ingredients into a bubbly solution and put onto your teeth with a Q-tip. Leave on for no more than one minute (the acid is strong enough to break down tooth enamel) and gently scrub off with a toothbrush.
12. Get rid of oily skin
We've tested out some pretty weird ways to bring down the shine on our faces, including laxatives. But swiping a cotton swab with a little lemon juice is just as effective. Try doing this before bed and washing your face the next morning to prevent oily skin.
13. Soothe chapped lips
Another overnight beauty treatment that only requires slicing open a lemon is an exfoliant for chapped lips. Rub the fruit onto your pucker, then wash off the next morning. The lemon juice will remove any dead skin cells so that your lipstick goes on super smooth.
14. DIY deodorant
The citric acid in lemon juice kills odor-causing bacteria, making it the perfect emergency deodorant when rubbed under your arms.
15. Jewelry polisher
A lemon cut in half and dipped in salt offers the perfect combination of chemical and physical abrasiveness to clean brass, steel and copper.
Do you have some other uses of lemon as beauty products? Please let me know :)
I will talk to you soon, and 'till then, have an amazing week!
