Beer, yogurt, dough - make your own cosmetics

By Susanne Collins Aug 4, 2011, 3:06 GMT

Munich - Beer isn't just for drinking - it can also be poured into the hair to make it shinier - and yeast dough isn't just for bread - it can also be used to soften hands.

These are just a few examples of natural foods and drinks that can be made into skin- or hair-care products, said Marlies Busch, author of a book about cosmetics that can be made from ordinary items available in grocery stores. Some of the products are especially useful on hot summer days.

Sunburned skin, for example, can be soothed by a mixture of a half cup of pureed strawberries combined with two tablespoons of natural yogurt, while a mixture of peppermint leaves and vinegar helps relieve sweating, according to Busch.

'You put a cup of fresh mint leaves into a closable container and fill it with vinegar,' she said describing the mixture for relieving sweating. 'Filter it after letting it stand for two days and pour it into a brown medicine bottle. This ensures the vinegar will keep.'

Swab it on sweaty skin right out of the bottle or put it in a spray bottle for quick and simple relief away from home, said Busch, who believes everything required for maintaining beautiful hair and skin can be found in the garden and the refrigerator.

'I have normal facial creams and body lotions in my bathroom at home because you can't always find time to make natural products,' said Busch. 'But my basic facial and body skin-care products are taken from nature.'

Homemade skin- and hair-care products, however, don't have a long shelf life and should therefore be made only in small amounts and stored in a cold place. Another downside is they can cause allergic reactions.

'Pure natural ingredients sometimes cause allergic reactions,' said Angelika Baur-Schermbach, a beauty expert at a Duesseldorf wellness association. 'Testing the homemade product on a small patch of skin on the underarm is advisable.'

Baur-Schermbach said making cosmetics at home is very popular, especially because natural and for the most part inexpensive ingredients are used. But she cautions that freshly produced cosmetics often are not as effective as industrially produced ones because an egg yolk or honey isn't as potent as their concentrated industrial equivalents liposome, hyaluronan or algae.

Brigitte Neumann, who has a degree in nutritional science and home economics, has a different opinion.

'Of course, you can spoil yourself with expensive spa visits, but there are alternatives, many much easier and with long shelf lives,' she said. Kneading yeast dough, for example, is a first-rate therapy for dry hands. 'The combination of flour, water, fat and yeast puts a soft coating on the skin,' Neumann said. Soaking the hands in lukewarm cooking oil also makes them tender and soft, she added.

'It has been known for centuries that herbs, fruits and vegetables and other foods like milk and honey are beneficial not only for staying healthy on the inside, but also externally,' said Busch, stressing that home remedies are sustainable products made without preservatives, animal testing and with traceable ingredients. She also provides another very old and actually well-known beauty recipe.

'My all-time favourite ingredients are milk and honey - and I understand Cleopatra bathed in mare's milk,' said Busch. 'Milk and honey are things I always have in stock. They are not seasonal and can be easily and quickly processed.'

While milk is used for bathing, honey, sugar and lemon juice can be combined to make a hair remover. It is made by mixing three tablespoons of honey with a cup of raw sugar. Lightly cook the mixture and add two teaspoons of lemon juice.