Egg Yolk Cures Acne? I Debunk 8 Beauty Myths By Trying 'Em Myself
I swished oil in my mouth so you don't have to. You're welcome.
weheartit Using snacks, condiments and various foods you can find in your pantry in our everyday beauty routines is nothing new; the problem is pre-Internet, we only heard about these fads through friends and neighbors. That meant as a teenager, I spent many sleepovers in my best friend’s bathroom smearing mayo in my hair and sneaking beer out of the fridge to use as a conditioner.
Nowadays, using food items as a makeup and moisturizer replacement is an Internet sensation, seen on Instagram, YouTube beauty vlogs, and even being advertised by celebrities. Even celebs like Blake Lively use mayonnaise in her hair — and if she’s doing one of these weird beauty rituals that work, shouldn’t we all be doing it?
In the name of budget, beauty, and science, I decided to look up, try out, and debunk a few food-as-beauty myths myself. I even asked my friends about what horror stories they've had as a result of using the contents of the fridge on their face — and their answers did not disappoint.
"I spent my early teens applying every substance known to kitchens on my face. My parents wouldn't let me use makeup or beauty products but they couldn't keep me out of the kitchen cupboard. I used EVERYTHING — eggs, mayonnaise, lemon juice, honey, mashed everything. The low point was probably molasses on my face. Oh, and the time I got grounded for putting all our milk in my bath," says Catherine Connors of Her Bad Mother.
We commonly hear about using mayonnaise in our hair for shiny locks, but using beer in your hair for a smooth texture and mayonnaise as a face mask is a bit more out of the ordinary. But hey, we do what we have to while using what we can.
Using beauty products found in the food aisle of your local market and in your kitchen’s pantry and refrigerator is sure to get weird reactions, especially when things don’t go as planned. Rashes, breakouts, smelly hair, and sticky messes are sure to occur, and the clean up isn’t always easy. But it’s what women are willing to go through for glowing skin and smooth, silky hair.
So sit down for these weird beauty rituals that work and grab a beer — but don’t drink it because, by the end of this, I’m going to have you smearing it on your face.
1. THE RUMOR: Eggs in your hair controls frizz.
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THE HORROR STORY: "I did eggs in my hair before my senior year of high school and I smelled horrendous the first day of school. Shivering just thinking about it."
THE VERDICT: This one is just kind of messy and gross. I mean, I get the whole protein element but it doesn't smell good, it's not easy to put in due to the consistency and I don't think the results were anything worth writing home about. I wasn't impressed and I even used one of my highly coveted farmer-eggs from happy neighborhood chickens.
2. THE RUMOR: Using mayonnaise as a face mask is very moisturizing.
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THE HORROR STORY: "Mayo as a facial. Ignoring how much that cracks me up as an adult, apparently, my skin is not topically compatible with mayo and my face began to swell and turn red. Not okay."
THE VERDICT: Ew. Not only does it smell, it sort of drips off in clumps like Mrs. Doubtfire's frosting mask. Too thin and it gets dry and tight; too thick and you smell like a deli floor. Save the mayo for your leftover turkey.
3. THE RUMOR: Coconut oil is a fantastic deep-conditioning treatment.
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THE HORROR STORY: "Sure! Just melt a little coconut oil and rub it into your scalp, they say! Let it sit! Once you rinse it out, your hair will be restored to shiny, healthy glory with no chemicals! NO. THEY ARE WRONG. I looked like someone gave me a swirly in an oil vat. It was gross. I was gross. Everything was slimy for days."
THE VERDICT: A little bit of coconut oil goes a really long way, and if you come across a coconut oil die-hard fan, they'll try to convince you that coconut oil can and will fix everything, including your love life. (I kid.)
Ultimately, the oil was just too heavy for my fine hair so I left the rest of it in my shower for shaving (it works SO WELL for that but wears your razors out quickly). I've also found that a teaspoon of coconut oil melted in my hands moisturizes dry skin better than any commercial lotion. (It absorbs so fast!)
4. THE RUMOR: Swishing your mouth with coconut oil will give you a healthy, happy mouth since it's naturally anti-fungal, antibacterial and moisturizing.
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THE HORROR STORY: "When I first put the suggested tablespoon of solid coconut oil in my mouth, I immediately felt as though I had made a terrible mistake and gagged. I spit half of it out and made it work with the other half. Once it melted I realized I probably needed more, but the process of melting the oil in my mouth was kind of terrible."
THE VERDICT: I couldn't/wouldn't do this every day, despite how surprisingly clean and tidy my mouth feels after oil-pulling in the morning. You're supposed to swish for at least 5 minutes, preferably 20. Some oil pullers replace regular tooth brushing with oil pulling which, NOPE. I always brush after I pull. I also hate the term oil-pulling... can we work on re-branding that?
5. THE RUMOR: Baking soda works as a hair clarifying treatment.
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THE VERDICT: Totally worked. So let's discuss my hair because it's really moody. When the seasons change my scalp dries out then tries to overcompensate with oil production and everything goes out of wack. I end up with crazy oil build-up and in a perfect world I'd wash my hair every day but that causes a whole new set of problems. I most certainly wouldn't use baking soda weekly, more like monthly when things feel really heavy and confused on top of my head.
It was easy to do, too: I made a paste of baking soda and water and rubbed it through my dry hair then rinsed it out a few minutes later, followed by a regular old shampoo and conditioner. My hair was so very happy and so was I.
6. THE RUMOR: Vinegar and Listerine as a foot soak leaves you with baby soft feet.
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THE VERDICT: Smells terrible, totally works. Combine 1:1:2 of apple cider vinegar, Listerine and warm water and let your feet soak for 20-30 minutes. Scrubbing them with a pumice at the end makes them even softer. I hear using warm water and epsom salt is just as effective, too.
7. THE RUMOR: Honey and banana hair mask will moisturize your hair.
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THE HORROR STORY: "When I was in high school, my friend and I made a honey and banana hair mask we saw in a magazine. Oh yes, HONEY and ripe BANANA. We ended up taking turns combing out the sticky, mushy mess, cursing the damn magazine and its stupid suggestions. Epic beauty fail."
THE VERDICT: Look up "banana and honey mask" on Pinterest and you will find plenty of suggestions on combining the two in order to quench dry, damaged hair. Banana is supposedly an excellent moisturizer, while honey promises to heal a multitude of styling sins. My hair is anything but dry so I couldn't try it on myself. It seems that the biggest praise comes from those with coarse, natural hair.
8. THE RUMOR: Beer in your hair makes it shiny and soft.
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THE VERDICT: I did a beer and apple cider vinegar rinse and while it was a little chilly (the beer was cold) and didn't exactly smell great, I did notice my hair was shinier after application. Here's the issue: if you don't drink beer (hi, me) this will probably end up costing you more than a good deep conditioner as you only need a couple tablespoons of beer.
9. THE RUMOR: Egg on your face treats acne.
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THE HORROR STORY: "My mom used to make me put egg yolk on my face for my bad acne when I was in middle school. It was gross and did not help. And once I went to bed without getting it all off and it was shellac-ed to my face and took some of my skin off the next day when I tried to peel it off."
THE VERDICT: Nope, not even trying it. I'm not wasting a perfectly good egg like that again. Not when the skincare routine I already have in place manages my acne just fine. Gross. All of it. Yuck.
10. THE RUMOR: Washing your face with honey will make it super-smooth.
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THE VERDICT: Supposedly to get this one to really work you have to stick with it for at least two weeks. I only made it two days because I prefer the way I wash my face already. My skin certainly felt soft but I worried about how it would handle oiliness in the long run (my skin can be very moody.) You'd also have to come up with a pretty good dispensing method as honey is (surprise!) very messy and sticky. You also may be very appetizing to bears.
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Casey Mullins is a vintage blogger, storyteller, and mental illness combatant. Follow her on Twitter or Facebook.