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Beauty

5 Natural Beauty Hacks That Will Make You Pretty in a Pinch

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The holiday hustle and bustle means it’s easy to accidentally run out of beauty essentials. To the rescue: Sub in these household staples for instant gorgeous from head to toe.  

Replace skin scrub with baking soda. 

Your daily scrub keeps your skin soft and free of rough patches, but you’ve run out of it. Grab some baking soda instead. The mildly abrasive texture gently, but just as thoroughly as a premade scrub, whisks away dead cells without irritating skin, says dermatologist Ted Lain, MD. Plus, it balances the skin’s pH so it isn’t left too dry or too oily.

To try it, mix one tablespoon of baking soda and one tablespoon of water. Massage onto damp skin in circular motions for one minute, then rinse.

Replace shampoo with an apple cider vinegar rinse.

Skip trying to squeeze out that last drop of shampoo and reach for apple cider vinegar instead. How it works: The vinegar’s high concentration of malic acid dissolves the product buildup that can weigh down strands and make hair color appear dull, cleansing tresses as well as, if not better than, your regular shampoo!

To try it, combine a quarter cup of apple cider vinegar and a half cup of water. Pour over damp hair and let sit for five minutes, then rinse.

Replace deodorant with a sage spritz. 

A spice-rack staple, sage can save you from getting smelly when you’re out of antiperspirant. The herb’s astringent properties constrict sweat glands to keep skin dry, plus it’s packed with compounds that prevent perspiration and odor.

Try it: In a saucepan, bring one tablespoon of dried sage and one cup of water to a boil; remove from heat and let cool. Pour into a spray bottle and mist onto underarms as needed.

Replace makeup remover with coconut oil.

Rather than turning to harsh soap to clean your face when you have no makeup remover left, swap in coconut oil. Its antibacterial, antifungal and detergent-like properties make it excellent at removing dirt, oil, and makeup from the face, says Dr. Lain. Even better? The oil’s fatty acids hydrate, so the skin doesn’t feel tight and dry like some makeup removers tend to cause.

To try it, massage one tablespoon of coconut oil onto dry skin with makeup on for one minute, then rinse.

Replace conditioner with aloe vera. 

All out of conditioner? The aloe vera gel you bought to calm a painful sunburn last summer can come in handy! That’s because the plant’s compounds deeply hydrate hair just as well as they soothe skin. What’s more, aloe nourishes strands to help keep them strong so they’re free of breakage and split ends.

To try it: After shampooing, apply a quarter-size amount of aloe vera gel onto hair from midshaft to ends. Let sit for two minutes, then rinse.

This story originally appeared in our print magazine.

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