Growing up my mom used to tell me to eat lots of strawberries to whiten my teeth. I used to do it because I loved the taste of strawberries – who doesn’t?

A part of me thought she might be be right, although most of me thought that I was ridiculously silly for believing her. But the joke, as it turns out, is on me – strawberries really can whiten your teeth!

Why It Works

Strawberries have a gentle whitening agent called malic acid which works wonders for removing any kind of surface discoloration (aka yellow enamel). So good-bye coffee and tea stains and hello gorgeous pearly whites!

Some research, however, partly debunks my mother.  Apparently just eating them doesn’t do much good, so maybe a small part of me was right to doubt her advice.

How to (Really) Get Those Pearly Whites Using Strawberries

Health.com reports that teeth can be whitened using a homemade paste of one strawberry and half a teaspoon of baking soda.  Brushing it on, then rinsing it off after 5 minutes can leave you with whiter teeth before long!

(Photo credit: dulcelife)

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Too Good To Be True

We’ve covered shower order, so now it’s time to cover shower temperature. Another tip that helps me keep my back and neck pores from clogging up is by monitoring the temperature of my water as I shower. It is important to realize that when you shower with hot water, the heat is causing all of your pores to open up and sweat out any bacteria or dirt that might have been collecting in them.

When you shower with cold water your pores close up to trap in body heat and keep you warm. But your pores aren’t biologically concerned about whether or not they’re also trapping in any bacteria in keeping you warm – they just shloop! and close right up without a care in the world, which is why it’s so important (if you do have problems with body acne) to monitor your water temperature.

There are plenty of other great reasons to pay closer attention to temperature, let’s go step by step. As I enter the shower I make sure to wash and rinse my hair before beginning to wash my body. It’s important to wash with low temperature water because hot water has a tendency to dissolve natural oils on your scalp, which are essential for protecting your hair.

After rinsing your hair, turn the water up a few degrees to what you consider comfortably hot. Now it’s time to wash your body. This should be the one of the most, if not the most, relaxing parts of your day. If you have long hair, pin or tie it up so that you can have direct contact between the streaming water and your back and shoulders. As you wash your body, allow the hot beads to massage you and loosen the tension in your neck, shoulders, arms, legs – really any part of your body that needs attention. You can do stretches while letting the water wash away not only the soap, but tension aswell.

After fully pampering your muscles, end with noticeably colder water – doesn’t have to actually be cold to get the job done, just cold enough to close your pores up again. Then when you get out to lotion /oil up you can set your mind at ease that nothing is clogging any of your pores.

(Photo credit: NJ Jess,  -liyen- , and rachel (wildflower))

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So, I’m not supposed to use Q-Tips for that…

We, as women, have tried so many ridiculous things with our hair, face, and body, for the sake of beauty. Here are a few more things you can add to the list. Icky remedies that work, but you could never publicly admit to using as part of your beauty regimen.

1. Phlegm: Apparently, nobody knows of this remedy because no one talks about it. But besides the disgusting consistency and appearance, phlegm has three major ingredients which restore the skin and leave you with a lovely, hydrated glow: glycoproteins, anitbodies, and lipids.

Before I go any further, I must say that I’ve never tried this remedy, I have only heard rumors as to how well it works. I also must confess that I tried to try this remedy, but couldn’t get past even beginning to collect enough phlegm to cover my face…ew.

Lets break down the “Why would anyone ever put phlegm on their face?” barrier.  Well, one reason is lipids. Lipids in phelgm are very similar to those found in the skin already (e.g., mono-saturated linoleic omega-3 and linoleic polyunsaturated fatty acids). And when applied to the skin directly, these lipids work to occlude the skin for a while and impede water loss. This process leaves your skin moisturized and nourished.

But if you’d rather not spread your phlegm across your face every night, try eating foods rich in linoleic acid, such as flaxseeds, fish, or fish oil supplements.

2)Bull Sperm: This is becoming the new “deep conditioner” and has taken the nickname “Viagra for the hair.” But, if you don’t happen to have your own bull to, ahem, “exchange favors” with, this hair treatment can cost $140 for a 90 minute treatment. Bull sperm is well endowed with protein ready to penetrate any hair shaft, leaving each strand wonderfully soft and thick.

3) Placenta is obtained from maternity ward donation, treated to prevent contamination and diesease, and applied to your face for $350-500 a pop.  However, there is no actual science behind this recent “age-defying” treatment aside from anecdotes. But don’t get hung up on the details, because you’ve seen that it works! Eva Longoria, Denise Richards, and Jennifer Aniston all use it and have managed to maintain that “baby-face” look the media loves.

4) Egg yolk. You can apply just the yolk (make sure to beat it first) to your face and leave it on for thirty minutes, or you can make a facial mask. The facial mask can consist of egg yolk and honey, or my personal favorite:

1 egg yolk

1 teaspoon of olive oil

1 teaspoon of whole milk

1 teaspoon of honey

You just mix all of the ingredients together until they form a creamy consistency and then apply it to your face and neck. Let the mask set for 20-30 minutes, then rinse off thoroughly with cold water and pat dry.  Don’t forget to moisturize afterwards!

Apparently, egg yolks are high in vitamin A and lecithin which is great for healing blemishes. The yolk and honey both have emulsifiers which are great for clearing up oily skin. And once you add whole milk and olive oil those dry skin cells and blemishes don’t stand a chance!

(Photo credits:  Ally Jade, evaxebra and SantiMB)

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One Easy Step To Prevent Acne That You’re Forgetting

One of the most important things I do every day, whether it’s to start my workday or to end a long day in the garden, is shower.  It’s a relaxing experience with obvious health benefits, many of which are for your skin.  Cleaning yourself properly can and will help prevent common problems like acne, but many people don’t know how to do this.  After going to college and experiencing the communal showers (*not fun*), I realized that men and women alike had acne on their necks, backs, and shoulders, and many of them asked me how I kept so clear.

It wasn’t a cream, scrub, or wash.  In fact, I wasn’t using a product at all. When I was younger my mother taught me exactly when and how to do each part of my shower and for how long. But no matter how long you shower for, the key is the order in which you do it.  If you wash your body first and then do your hair, the oils and chemicals in your shampoo and conditioner will rinse down to your body and accumulate there, causing skin problems later on.

But if you wash your hair first and rinse it completely before washing your body, you will scrub away those chemicals – leaving you acne-free later on!  It’s always worked for me, and anybody I’ve shared it with has seen a noticable improvement.  So enjoy your showers, and wash right!

(photo credit: Sara Björk)

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One Easy Step To Prevent Acne That You’re Forgetting

So, I’m not supposed to use Q-Tips for that…

Do you have acne?  Any at all?  If you do, there’s one easy thing you can do about it.  In fact, it’s probably so simple it didn’t even cross your mind.  But it’s a fast and easy way to save your face about eight hours of exposure to acne-causing oil and grease.

All you need to do is wash your pillowcase.

That’s right, your pillowcase.  The amount of oil that accumulates there night after night is hard to overstate, which is disgusting all by itself.  But without a good, full run in the laundry, there’s no way to get rid of it.  You can’t just wipe oil away.  Water alone has no effect.  So it’s critical to get the pillowcase in a sudsy spin cycle, which will cut right through the oil and leave your face happy in the morning.

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