3 Natural Ways to Relieve Embarrassing Winter Woes From Cold Sores to Dry Scalp

We all want to look and feel our best during the winter, and we definitely don’t want to be sidelined by embarrassing uh-ohs. To the rescue: at-home winter hacks that will have you feeling better quicker!

Get Sweet Relief for Cold Sores

Applying raw (unpasteurized) honey to a cold sore four times daily cuts redness and pain by 57 percent — plus it will heal that ouch 43 percent faster than prescription acyclovir cream, Australian researchers report. Thanks goes to raw honey’s rich stores of natural antibiotics and enzymes, which tamp down inflammation and calm irritated pain nerves, plus kick-start the growth of healthy new tissues.

Avoid Bladder Leaks by Visualizing Lights

Next time you feel the sudden urge to go, close your eyes for 1 minute and picture a bright string of light connecting your brain to your bladder. Sounds wacky, but this simple visualization technique reminds you that your mind and body are connected and that your brain can actually control and prevent bladder spasms. This hack helps gradually retrain your brain to give your bladder “permission” to go only when you want to, reducing leaks by 68 percent, Loyola University researchers reveal.

Combat Dry Scalp With Lemongrass

Great news from British researchers: If you mix 15 drops of lemongrass essential oil into a dollop of your usual shampoo, then massage this mix into your scalp for 2 minutes before rinsing, you’ll be able to wear your dark-colored sweaters and dresses worry-free! Explains biochemist Carol Phillips, PhD, lemongrass oil soothes a dry, irritated scalp, plus it kills up to 74 percent of the fungi that cause chronic itching and flaking — often in as little as three days. This is just of the many effective winter hacks for combating a dry scalp!

A version of this article originally appeared in our print magazine, Woman’s World.