8 Natural Ingredients for Glowing Skin & Hair – That are Probably in Your Kitchen!

Most of us will go through a lot of trouble to keep to a strict beauty regimen so that our skin, hair, and nails look gorgeous all the time. People across the world spend millions to reach their beauty goals and to try and prevent themselves from going under the knife eventually.

The beauty industry is a multibillion-dollar business, and most of the products are not your typical home ingredients, but commercial products, packed with chemical ingredients; some of which can often cause allergies and damage to your hair and skin if you aren’t careful.

That can be pretty daunting for some people to keep trying product after product looking for the perfect match. These chemicals in commercial beauty products can do plenty of harm. Which has made people turn to more natural options!

There are natural ingredients you probably have at home that should not be scorned or under-estimated. Some of these products listed below have the capacity to make your skin and hair glow and shine with health from inside and out:

• Olive Oil
• Avocado
• Green Tea
• Lemons
• Coconut Oil
• Honey
• Oats
• Apple Cider Vinegar

1. Olive Oil: For your hair and skin is not only a wonderful oil to consume and cook with, but it is an ancient ingredient, being used because of its beautifying abilities. Not only does your hair benefit, but your skin and nails too. Olive oil has monounsaturated fatty acids to protect your skin from sun damage. If you want to enhance your hair and skin and your overall health, add 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil – extra virgin olive oil – to your diet, period.

2. Avocados: It makes no difference whether it’s the fruit, the seed or the oil, avocados need to form part of your beauty routine – especially if you have dry skin. When you eat half an avocado every day when in season, you are protecting your skin. The Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology did a study in 2012. The report found that when people take regular doses of avocado, they bolster their cells to protect them against harmful free radicals.

3. Green Tea: There are many health and beauty benefits when it comes to green tea. First of all, it has plenty of antioxidants in it to prevent free-radical damage from harming your skin caused by sun damage. Green tea, in addition, helps to fight against you getting skin cancer. Use this fantastic face mask a couple of times a week to hold back time and keep your skin healthy. Mix plain yogurt, 3 tablespoons, with 1 tablespoon of ground green tea leaves and a touch of turmeric powder. Smooth this over your face and neck, allowing it to stay on for about 20 minutes before using lukewarm water to rinse it off.

4. Lemons: We all know just how many beauty secrets lemons have. Full of vitamin C, and brimming with antioxidants to prevent free-radical damage, lemons have the ability to boost collagen production in your skin, restoring elasticity. As far as your hair goes, lemons are known to combat itchy scalp and dandruff, balancing the PH levels of your scalp and supporting beautiful hair growth. Just take 2 lemons, and add the juice to a cup of water. After shampooing, rinse your hair with this, and then 5 minutes later, with clear water. Do this about twice a week for soft shimmering hair.

5. Coconut Oil: There are heaps of nutrients found in this oil that support hair health, skin, and nail health; general overall health. Coconut oil has plenty of moisture in it, protecting your skin from sun damage, reducing inflammation, and revitalizing your skin. The oil penetrates deep into your hair, helping with its growth, gloss, and health. And for hair that has been chemically treated, coconut oil is sheer healing because of its hydrophobicity properties. For your skin, you can smooth soothing coconut oil all over the body, waiting about 30 minutes before going under the shower, and then applying a light moisturizer afterward. If you do this daily, your skin won’t be dry and if your skin is really dry even after a shower, apply a light layer of coconut oil on your skin.

6. Honey: It is a natural beautifier, healer, and tonic for the body. Composed mainly of glucose and fructose, there are amazing proteins, vitamins, amino acids, enzymes, and plenty to offer to keep your skin and hair in peak condition. Recent studies from the Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology complement honey saying that it has emollients and humectants in it to soothe and condition the hair, let alone keep the skin young and wrinkle-free. Raw organic honey even improves seborrhea dermatitis of the hair, preventing hair loss when applied on a weekly basis. For hair loss, take 2 tablespoons each of onion juice and honey and massage into your scalp, allowing it to stay on the scalp for about 30 minutes. Then shampoo as usual. For your skin, mix the same amounts of fresh lemon and honey and apply them to your face and neck, allowing it to dry naturally before rinsing.

7. Oatmeal: it’s great for your skin! Try this oatmeal mask below to moisturize and cleanse your skin. Oatmeal has the helpful ability to boost collagen and reduce inflammation in your skin.

Try this soothing mask: Oatmeal and Almond Oil Skin & Hair Mask

• ½-cup oats
• 1-2 tablespoons almond oil
•  ¼ -½ cup milk

Mix all ingredients well, ensuring hair is detangled. Apply from your roots to your tips, leaving them on for about 20 minutes. Then shampoo as normal. Oats help to exfoliate the skin, getting rid of dead skin cells, and even dandruff, itching, and combatting hair loss. As for your skin, it helps to reduce acne, soaking away the oil. It is also superb as a scrub for the skin.

8. Apple Cider Vinegar: Apple cider vinegar helps to treat dandruff on the scalp because the acidity makes it difficult for dandruff-producing fungus to develop on the scalp. All you have to do is mix the same parts of water and apple cider vinegar adding to a spray bottle. After your hair is shampooed, spray over your scalp, leaving for about 15 minutes before rinsing. Do this twice a week to see amazing results. If your hair is thinning and you experience hair loss, spray ACV over the scalp, because it balances the PH balance of your scalp.

Instant facelift: Splashing icy water on your face or rubbing it with ice cubes gives you an instant facelift and brightens the face as well. Follow these steps to see for yourself:
1. Wash your face, making sure no make-up is left behind
2. Splash with the icy cold water or rub ice cubes all over your face
3. Then whisk up an egg white until it’s frothy, spreading this over your clean skin. Leave to dry for a couple of minutes
4. Wash the face with cold water and leave it to dry
5. Add some non-comedogenic moisturizer

Seeing as our skin is our body’s largest organ and since our hair is our crowning glory, it makes sense that we should try and give them the best in attention and care. A lot of us who are health conscious are becoming more and more conscious of what we put into and on our bodies and this same attitude needs to be taken when we plan on products to look after our hair and skin. The face creams, the body lotions, and potions for our skin and hair are what gets absorbed by our skin and our scalps – surely you don’t want to punish your body with toxic stuff? Consider going natural with natural products – you will feel and look on top of the world. Remember that your hair and skin are really 90% of your selfie! And both hair and skin are what you wear for the rest of your life!

Have any beauty tips you use yourself? Comment below!