Beauty Treatments in Your Kitchen

In her book, "Natural Superwoman," Rosamond Richardson says that over the centuries women have discovered that many of the everyday foods we use in our kitchens have beauty-nourishing effects. Everyday products, such as avocado, yogurt, milk, lemon, eggs and many other types of fruits, have pleasantly surprising, beautifying ingredients. As she aptly puts it, the obvious advantage of beauty products found in the kitchen is that they are cheaper and have none of the side effects which many commercial expensive products may have, particularly on sensitive skin.

So what exactly does Richardson recommend? Try these tips.

• Dab small amounts of olive oil on the skin with cotton pads to keep it soft and supple. Olive oil is nature's best moisturizer. You can also let it soak into your face while in a hot bath.
• The lactic acid in yogurt cleanses and nourishes the skin. Likewise, using milk or buttermilk as a toner gives it a natural first-aid treatment.
• Rub a little lemon juice into oily skin to tone and refresh. This is great for scaly elbows too. 
• Egg whites dry and tighten the skin, and are excellent for oily skins. 
• Rub strawberries into oily patches on facial skin. 
• If you have dry skin, homemade mayonnaise is the best natural moisturizer from your kitchen. It softens and enriches the skin. 
• For a great skin toner, rub the inside of watermelon, banana or papaya skin onto your face. 
• Use sesame oil for stretch marks. 
• Removing make-up with white vegetable fats also acts as a deep moisturizer. 
• Cucumber whizzed in the blender gives a juice that is a brilliant skin freshener. 
• Fine oatmeal is an excellent exfoliant. Mix it into your normal moisturizer and massage the skin gently. 
• Use egg yolks, honey, glycerine and avocado on dry and sensitive skin.

If you analyze the basic ingredients of commercial cosmetics, says Richardson, they amount to water, oil, wax, lanolin, alcohols and glycerine. "So, with little trouble, you can make your own. You can care for your skin and, indeed, hair, hands and feet, without depending on expensive products that can contain allergenic substances and can create more problems than they solve. Pamper yourself and feel good without depleting the bank balance," she advises in this brilliant book.

She cautions, "Remember your skin type may vary, in that it may be drier in winter or summer, oilier around period time, and can change several times between puberty and menopause."

But, also important to remember, is that beauty cannot be perfectly accomplished without good nutrition. Richardson believes the best formula is not to be regulated by complicated rules and she has devised a rule she calls REAL -- a simple, easy-to-remember formula that can effortlessly be incorporated into any busy woman's hectic lifestyle: R for Regular meals; E for Eat a balanced diet; A for Avoid processed foods; and L for Light and Low (low in fat, light in calories).

"REAL is satisfying, sociable, stimulates the brain and, above all, meets your nutritional needs," she says.

So, ladies, remember to get REAL!