When it comes to all-around household and beauty MVP (most-valuable-product), the winner is hands down – BAKING SODA! Yes, the good ol’ Arm & Hammer. This product can be mixed and utilized in all sorts of ways to keep your skin, hair, and body beautiful without any harmful chemicals! Plus, it’s very cost efficient. Win-win-win!
Here are five great ways to use baking soda in your beauty routine:
1) Baking soda + Cetaphil: In the early 90s, my celeb crush- Natalie Imbruglia confessed that secret to luminous skin was a mixture of baking soda and Cetaphil cleanser. Since then, I’ve varied the ratio of cleanser to powder (I like a thumb nail of powder + loonie size pump of Cetaphil) for the perfect facial scrub, leaving my skin clean without irritation.
2) Baking Soda + Cetaphil + Honey: This is a DIY favorite. Honey has moisturizing and healing properties, and the baking soda turns into a nice paste with a dab of water and Cetaphil. Leave the mask on for 10-30 minutes depending on how dry your skin is. I like to leave it on for 30 minutes and rinse the sticky goop off in the shower. The mask is drippy and unglamorous, but it will leave your skin glowing.
3) Baking Soda+ Toothpaste: This is a super duper zit treatment! Perfect for ouch-y under the skin zits, yes, you know the ones. Make sure you do not use a whitening toothpaste as that has bleaching ingredients. Mix a bit of toothpaste as a base for the tacky texture and for the drying properties, and then add a dab of baking soda and water for deep action overnight pimple treatment.
4) Baking Soda + Olive Oil + Lemon: The ultimate moisturizing body scrub. In a small bowl, mix 3-5 tbs olive oil, 1-2 tsp lemon juice and a generous amount of baking soda (but not too much to make it a full on paste). I love to use this as a body scrub and a foot exfoliant. The olive oil leaves the skin feeling silky smooth and by massaging the baking soda into your skin it polishes off dry skin and leaves skin super clean.
5) Baking Soda + Shampoo: Almost all dry shampoos list baking soda or baby powder in their active ingredients, as both do a great job in absorbing excess oil. To extend the length of time between hair-washes, mix a quarter-sized amount of baking soda with your regular shampoo. It also works as a great clarifying hair treatment for product build-up.
