Lemons are not just bright and tarty, looking perfect in your cocktail glass. They are, as well, an incredible source of vitamin C, calcium, magnesium and potassium – agents that significantly improve our hair, skin and nail condition. If you love lemonade and lemon tarts, you’re also going to love saving a few bucks on your beauty products and use these incredible lemon-based alternatives instead!
1. Lemon revitalizing mask
Keeping your skin fresh and bright does not always require huge spendings or special appointments to the cosmetologist. Take advantage of the lemon beauty benefits instead! Vitamin C will help neutralizing the free radicals which cause early aging signs, while other lemon juice properties will lighten blemishes, freckles and aging spots.
Here’s a simple DIY mask anyone can prepare at home:
- 2 tbls of natural yogurt
- 1 tbls of freshly-squeezed lemon juice
Mix them up and apply onto your face and neck for 20-30 minutes. You can leave it up to an hour for a better lifting effect.
2. Lip exfoliator
If you want to have softer smoother lips, apply a drop of lemon juice on each before going to bed. Gently rub it off in the morning to get rid off dried skin particles and cells. However, better avoid the procedure if you already have chapped lips.
3. Organic Face Scrub
Lemon juice is know to have antibacterial properties that reduce acne, tighten pores and smooth the skin. Instead of using another acne wash with loads of harsh chemicals, try this simple recipe. It works particularly well on oily skin!
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/2 cup rolled oats (that serve as an exfoliant)
- 1/2 tbls honey
Mix everything in a bowl. Gently massage the substance onto your face for 30 seconds, than rinse with warm water.
Alternatively, you can try this amazing scrub that can be used both from head to toes.
- 1/2 fresh lemon
- 1/2 cup of granulated sugar
- 1 tbls of organic honey
- 1 tbls of olive oil
Take a bowl and blend together lemon juice and olive oil. Add honey and whisk the mixture till it becomes consistent. Afterwards, pour sugar and mix again well. You can add or reduce the amount of ingredients till you reach the perfect consistency up to your liking.
4. Dry Hair Conditioner
Lemons are true life savers for damaged and dry hair. Joining the no poo movement will not only save you a pretty penny, but also make your hair more shiny and less fizzy. This simple conditioner is a great add-on to the traditional recipe!
- 2 tbls fresh lemon
- 3/4th cup olive oil
- 1/2 cup of raw honey
Whisk everything up well and apply the mixture on your hair. Cover it up with a plastic wrap for 30 min. Afterwards, thoroughly rinse off with warm water and use some shampoo if you don’t feel ready to go all natural yet.
5. Dandruff treatment
Now that’s a bit of an embarrassing problem some of us face once in a while. Lemon juice can soothe your scalp and make it less itchy, thus avoiding those tiny skins flaking off on your clothes. Here’s a simple hack to get rid of dandruff within a week:
- Rub one tablespoon of fresh lemon juice down the scalp on dry hair
- Shampoo as usual and rinse off
- Mix two cups of water and two tablespoons of juice, massage gently down the scalp. Do not wash off.
Alternatively, you can apply a mask of 1/2 fresh lemon juice mixed with 1/4 of a cup coconut oil for 15 min at least twice a week.
6. Natural Hair Highlighter
Lemon juice is an excellent organic bleacher. If you’d like to get those amazing sun-kissed highlights, apply lemon juice using different methods to reach the desired effect.
- All-Over Lightening: rinse your hair with 1/4 cup lemon juice mixed with 3/4 cup water. For extra effect, chill in the sun till your hair dries.
- Streaky Highlights: apply cold lemon juice in a zigzag across your part. Comb both sides away from part.
- Streaky Highlights For Pulled Back Hair: starting applying lemon juice in short lines from the center of your forehead down your hairline. Go from center to the ear, one side then another. Brush back from forehead.
Don’t forget that the trick will not work on natural black hair and may give unpredictably odd effect on dyed hair as well.
7. Pre-Bath Gel
To reduce the negative effects of chlorine on your skin and keep it well-moisturized and silky-smooth, consider applying this tasty gel all over your body before soaking into a bubbly bath. It’s probably the oldest skin rejuvenation method that still gives incredible results!
- 8 tsp natural yogurt (or curds)
- 3 tsp lemon juice
- 5 tsp starch (rice)
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp any oil vegetable
Blend everything up and apply all over your body. Leave for 15 minutes and then rinse off before taking a bath.
8. Teeth whitener
Do you want to have a Hollywood-white shiny smile without spending much at your dentist’s office? Use this simple technique:
- Mix 1 tsp baking soda and 1 tsp lemon juice
- Apply on each tooth with a clean Q-tip
- Use your toothbrush to scrub your teeth and rinse.
9. Nail strengthener
Hopelessly trying to grow long healthy nails? Fret not! Vitamin C can drastically strengthen your nails and speed up the growth. Just let them soak for 10 minutes in a bowl of lemon juice mixed with a spoon of oil one-two times a week. Also, lemon juice will help you get rid of yellowish color and dark nail polish stains.
10. Elbow and knee bleacher
If you don’t like the way your skin looks after the tan is gone (especially a fake one) don’t spend hours scratching it off, thus damaging the skin. Instead, slice one half of a lemon and gently rub them. Now watch the dark areas disappearing like magic. Just be sure you don’t have any cuts – ouch!
Featured photo credit: Jill Clardy via flickr.com
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