If you think kitchen food scraps are good only for the bin or your garden compost heap, you could be in for a surprise. A number of seemingly useless kitchen leftovers can offer a variety of bizarre-sounding but effective beauty treatments. Here are just three kitchen scrap beauty secrets that could have you rethinking what you do with your leftovers…
Used teabags – The caffeine in used teabags can have an anti-inflammatory effect and is ideal for reducing puffy eyes. A number of skincare manufacturers include caffeine as an ingredient in creams designed to help refresh and tighten the skin around the eyes. You can achieve a similar effect by simply squeezing the excess liquid out of a couple of used teabags and popping them in the fridge for fifteen minutes. When they’re ready, lie back and place the bags on your eyes for five minutes – the antioxidants will do their work on any puffiness and inflammation and, what’s more, it’s also incredibly relaxing!
Avocado skins – Eating avocados can do wonders for your health, as they are rich in vitamins and antioxidants as well as healthy, monounsaturated fats. In addition, many celebrities swear by homemade avocado facial scrubs to help achieve a beautiful complexion. Simply mash the avocado flesh with a little water and apply as a facemask for 15 minutes. But it’s also possible to achieve a similar effect using just the leftover skins. Simply rub the inside of the avocado skin on your face and let the left over pulp stick to your skin for 15 minutes before washing off with water. The vitamin-rich, oily flesh acts as an excellent natural moisturiser.
Melon seeds – Rather than throwing melon seeds in the bin, how about toasting and eating them? The seeds of melons – much like pumpkin and sunflower seeds – are high in zinc, which is essential for the production of collagen in the body. Collagen is a structural skin protein whose levels reduce with age and factors such as smoking, exposure to ultraviolet rays and poor diet, but can be boosted by a healthy diet and lifestyle. So give your system a zinc boost by toasting your melon seeds either in a dry frying pan or with a very small amount of olive or coconut oil until they start to brown. Munch on them as a snack, or sprinkle over a salad to give a delicious contrast in taste and texture.