DIY Anti-Aging Beauty Remedies From the Pantry

Store-bought products that are known for their anti-aging benefits aren’t cheap. Consider giving these recipes, remedies, and tricks that use products you may already have in your kitchen.

Lemon Rinds

I save lemon rinds and rub them on my face. The juice tightens up my skin and gives it a youthful glow. If I have many rinds, I cut them into quarters, freeze them in a plastic bag, and remove one as needed.
Ellen

Eggs Whites

I crack an egg into a bowl that can be sealed later. With a cotton swab, apply the egg white over the clean eye area. Remove with a warm, wet washcloth after 15 minutes and see tired-looking eyes disappear! It’s the choline contained in the egg that does the magic. If you seal the remainder and refrigerate, one egg will provide a week’s worth of applications.
Joyce

Honey and Lemon

Here’s something I do to lift and tighten my face. I take one or two drops of honey and an equal amount of fresh lemon juice. Mix together and apply to the face. Let it dry. Once it’s dry, it will not feel sticky. You can apply your makeup over it if you wish. Honey is a humectant that helps retain moisture in the skin. The lemon will brighten your skin and give it a boost of vitamin C. I see a little bit of a lift by doing this. Vitamin C is also needed for building collagen.
Kathleen

Coconut Oil and Sugar

I swear by coconut oil. I buy unrefined, organic oil inexpensively at Aldi. I consume up to a tablespoon per day. It helps move food through my system and has many internal benefits. Some say it helps with arthritis and Alzheimer’s. I keep a jar in my bathroom, too. I use it as a cuticle cream, eye cream and lip conditioner before bed. I also mix a little with plain cheap white sugar (I don’t eat that kind, so I keep this in the bathroom, too). This is a great exfoliator in the shower for hips, legs, elbows, heels, and even rough winter hands.

My chiropractor and a friend were discussing age at the gym one day and determined mine to be around 38. I’ll take it. I’ll be 49 this year!
Lisa J. in Wisconsin

I am a 57-year-old woman and have yet to show wrinkles. My routine is a simple one:

1. I wash my face with “sensitive skin” bar soap.
2. Next, I apply a toner (I prefer Clinique) with 100% Organic cotton pads.
3. Finally, I massage in coconut oil.

That’s it! I hope this works for you!
Tamara

Olive Oil, Milk, Oatmeal and More

I am a 37-year-old mother of a teen girl and a toddler girl. I have a few tips to help you out with inexpensive facial treatments. I use organic olive oil to remove my makeup and also as a face lotion. A small amount goes a long way and I have noticed I have no blemishes and only one wrinkle that can be seen when I’m very tired. Olive oil makes my skin so soft.

For blackhead removal, I warm a little dairy milk, gently apply it to my face, let it dry, and then wash it off. Then, I use organic olive oil or facial cream. I do this every other day to get the best result. It is a tip from my grandma, and Cleopatra used to bathe in milk, too, so it cannot be bad.

The best gentle, cheap facial scrub is to mix oatmeal with natural yogurt. It works as a mask as well. I also use fresh-cut lemon to perk up my skin, but I do it only once or twice a month.

For puffy eyes, I use cucumber slices or used tea bags. I have found these helpful, inexpensive, and more effective than anything I have ever bought in a shop.

Also, drinking two liters of water does wonders for your skin and getting enough fresh air, sleep, and fruits and veggies helps.
Marjo-Riitta Raiha in Finland

Baking Soda, Papaya and Yogurt

Baking soda added to a facial cleanser makes a great exfoliator. Mashed ripe papaya as a mask is a good exfoliator. A yogurt mask will brighten the skin.

The most important thing anyone can do for their skin is to use sunscreen. It will keep wrinkles and brown spots, which are the most apparent signs of aging skin, away. If you live in a dry or cold environment, a humidifier will make a big difference in keeping your skin looking better and less wrinkled.

Not a food remedy, but a good tip: If you have large pores, any of the clay masks work (they are relatively inexpensive), so some people use cat litter, which also contains clay, to make a mask.
Miriam

Combine baking soda and Manuka honey, then use it as a scrub.
Sandra

I’ve always favored nourishing skin from the inside rather than applying external creams and moisturizers that my skin may or may not utilize. Vitamin C is great for wrinkles, as it’s an essential building block of collagen. Papaya is the best bang for the calorie buck, as a serving has three times the Vitamin C content of an orange. I buy papayas regularly and eat some almost every day. Pineapple, strawberries and bell peppers also have more Vitamin C than oranges or orange juice. (Plus, as most orange juice is pasteurized these days, who knows how much of the vitamins remain intact?)

Copper and magnesium are also important, and Swiss chard is rich in both (as well as Vitamin C). Cashews and sesame seeds (i.e., tahini) also have a lot of magnesium, and garbanzos have lots of copper. Make some hummus! You may also notice that after eating these foods, your complexion is more consistent in color and has smaller pores.
Terry in Hoschton, GA

Almond and Avocado Oil

I recommend searching “the oil cleansing method.” It is mixing a small amount of castor oil with (one or more) natural “carrier oils.” I alternate using almond, jojoba, and avocado oils. Use the method to cleanse your face. I rub a little extra in after cleansing for added moisture. It completely cleared my acne-prone skin and blackheads, leaving my face glowing, hydrated, and younger-looking than ever. After years of wasting money on every face product imaginable, I’ll never buy facial soap or manmade moisturizers again. As an added bonus, this method is inexpensive and natural.
Amanda in Alaska

Advice From a Skin Care Expert on DIY Beauty Remedies

As a chemical engineer who worked for many years in skin care product development, I can share a few tips. There are only a few proven things to fight aging. The first and foremost line of defense is to protect your skin from the sun. Wear sunscreen every day and wear a hat if you will be outside for any amount of time. Don’t forget the back of your hands! They are always on display and show age almost as much as the face. Make sure your chosen sunscreen is labeled as “broad-spectrum.” That is one you can’t DIY.

Your skin needs antioxidants to help fight the cross-linking of collagen that contributes to the appearance of aging, and the most potent anti-aging benefits come from Vitamin C. You can buy it in a granular powder form in most vitamin shops. Mix a little powder into your product right before you put it on. Start with just a little and gradually work your way up to using more, because if you use too much, it will sting until you are used to it. Do not mix it in advance. Vitamin C is unstable once it’s mixed in and when exposed to light. So, by DIY-ing, your product will be more effective than the expensive stuff!

Vitamin E is an antioxidant that is oil-soluble, whereas Vitamin C is water-soluble, and skin needs both kinds. You can pierce a capsule and rub it into your skin. It might be something you would prefer to do at night since it is oily. Green tea also offers powerful antioxidant benefits and makes a great toner to use before applying your sunscreen.

As we age, skin cells shed more slowly, so gentle exfoliation can help restore some of the brightness of youth and make it easier for your products to penetrate. The most economical way to do this is with a glove or mitt made with a slightly rough fiber that can be washed in the laundry on occasion. It can last as long as a lot of jars of cream before needing replacement!

The lactic acid in milk, yogurt, and other dairy products has a strong exfoliating effect and is ideal for mask-type treatments.

Friends often ask me what the difference is between skin care products at various price points. I tell them there isn’t much difference between a big-name brand at the drugstore and the expensive department store products, except for price and packaging. Some drug-store products can be overly fragranced, but unfragranced versions are now becoming available. If one is inclined to invest in anti-aging, the best products are dermatological skin care lines. They are sold in the dermatologist’s office, online, and in specialty beauty stores. They are usually designed with input from a dermatologist and carry a higher load of active ingredients. This also carries a higher chance of irritation, so professional guidance is suggested. These products are more costly, but the entire regimen is not necessary. Do not buy the cleanser or toner; just buy one, or at most two, products. In my opinion, these represent the best value in off-the-shelf skin care products.

If you want to really go for it, you can get a prescription for Retin-A cream. There are multiple brands available and the doc will have recommendations for your skin. You can also get professional-strength anti-aging peels, light treatments, and deep exfoliation at med spas. All without needles, knives, or pain! That is definitely not DIY, but it is nice that options now exist in between lotion and a facelift.

If you decide to DIY, I highly encourage you to store your products in the fridge and not keep them for more than a couple of weeks, or at most a month. Give them the “sniff test” and check for any off-colored spots. Separation is not necessarily a sign of spoilage, but odor is. You don’t want to get a fungus or staph infection on your face or in your eye! Creams and lotions are a perfect breeding ground for bacteria, and you are introducing more bacteria every time you touch them to take some out. Better to be safe than sorry!
GE