Double Duty: My Favorite Uses for Food as Personal Care & Beauty Products

As a dietitian, I love to talk about food: the nutrients found inside of it, the ways it affects our bodies, traditional or cultural customs involving it, and anything else relating to the consumption of it.

Yet once in a while, I enjoy a discussion about the non-edible benefits of food, especially as it pertains to toiletries and personal care products. And while I don’t claim to be a dermatologist, esthetician, or beauty expert, I’ve definitely experimented with using food outside the kitchen (not in that way you pervert!).

All kidding aside, below is a list of common foods and how I’ve used them as part of my personal care routine. While this list isn’t exhaustive, I tried to include ones that aren’t as well known or ones that friends have asked me about upon seeing them in my bathroom. In fact, I can remember a particularly interesting conversation many years ago after a friend found an avocado and a jar of cooking oil near my shower, and his relief once he knew that I hadn’t made the salads we’d had for dinner in my tub. So without further ado, read on for my favorite foods as personal care products and if you have any tips of your own, please let me know - always looking for more creative, food-related inspiration!

FOR AN EXFOLIATING FACE OR BODY SCRUB, TRY: BAKING SODA

Real talk – exfoliating your skin is kind of fun, right? And nothing beats that super clean and smooth feeling once you’ve finished scrubbing down your face or body. However, many store-bought scrubs – especially those marketed for your face - are too coarse for my sensitive skin’s liking, not to mention that the ingredient list can get a little scary (what exactly are they using to make it “scrubby”?). For an au natural option that doesn’t irritate my skin, I reach for some good old-fashioned baking soda. Not only is the grit/texture super fine, but baking soda is pretty affordable – I think the last box I bought was less than $2 USD, which will last me several months. And as a bonus, you can use some of your baking soda as a tooth whitener, especially when mixed up with a little hydrogen peroxide.

FOR CHEMICAL-FREE EYE MAKEUP REMOVER, TRY: GRAPE SEED OIL

My first foray into makeup remover was in high school, when my dad had finally had enough of the black mascara marks I left all over our bathroom hand towels (hi Dad. I’m sorry.). My well-meaning parents bought me a pack of makeup removing wipes from the pharmacy, and the rest was history…until I started to look more critically into what was being used to get rid of my makeup. While I try to be somewhat reasonable when it comes to additives in my beauty products (as in I try to avoid the bad stuff, but try not to completely stress myself out over it either), I knew it was time to look for something different when nearly every product on the shelf contained at least one ingredient I was trying to avoid (i.e. parabens, phthalates, etc.), not to mention that some of the makeup removers were irritating my skin. The answer came to me in the form of organic grape seed oil, which I can buy at the supermarket or Whole Foods. Unlike other oils, grape seed oil doesn’t have a strong smell, nor does it clog the pores around my eyes or cheeks. Just dab a cotton ball with a little bit of oil, and gently wipe away your eye makeup after washing your face. Like baking soda, this is also a pretty economical product – I spend way less on a bottle of quality oil that lasts me several months than I used to on my makeup remover wipes. I’ve also heard that avocado oil works well, and that coconut oil can work, but can also clog pores and harden, which makes it more difficult to use. I like coconut oil for other purposes, which brings me to the next section…

FOR CRACKED, DRY SKIN (AND MANY OTHER USES!), TRY: COCONUT OIL

This is a bit of a no-brainer, isn’t it? Coconut oil, while awesome for cooking and baking, has long been used as a skin salve or moisturizer. Below are a few of my personal favorite uses for coconut oil when NOT in the kitchen:

·      If you’ve rubbed your nose raw after a particularly nasty cold, soothe red, irritated skin by dabbing a bit of coconut oil around your nostrils.

·      For cracked heels or dry elbows, a small amount of coconut oil (especially as soon as you get out of the shower) works wonders.

·      When my daughter had a raging case of cradle cap as an infant, I found that gently applying a small amount of coconut oil helped keep the flakes at bay. However, note that if you use coconut oil on your baby, definitely do a patch test on an arm or leg first and use only a small amount in case of allergies.

·      For dry, frizzy hair, simply Google “coconut oil hair mask” and have at it with any one of the MANY recipes out there. I keep it simple with just plain ol’ coconut oil, but some of the masks call for honey and other fun food ingredients so raid your pantry and get to it! And speaking of hair treatments…

FOR THE EASIEST HAIR MASK EVER, TRY: AVOCADO

If you have enough self-control to buy an avocado and NOT eat it, I salute you. But if you eat part of one and then aren’t sure what to do with the rest of it before it goes bad, do yourself a favor and use it on your hair as a moisturizing hair mask. I’ve seen avocado mask recipes that are more involved, but the way I learned to do it is simple: just take your avo, mash it all up, and work it into wet hair. Seriously, that’s it. Leave it on for 20 – 30 minutes, then rinse. The soft texture works into hair easily, and unlike coconut oil, you don’t need to shampoo it out (although this will depend on your hair porosity, texture, etc. - just note that if it does feel too heavy after rinsing, you can always give it a quick shampoo). Just don’t get mad if your roommate accidentally eats your leftover avocado before you got to put it in your hair (this actually happened to me once, he thought I made him a snack) because while this stuff is good for your hair, it’s also great for your body thanks to a hefty dose of unsaturated fat.