Wellness & Prevention

At-home remedies for 5 common beauty challenges

Look for low-cost lotions and natural remedies at your local drug store to help prevent and treat skin problems.

With winter on its way, it’s time to start prepping our skin, hair and nails to withstand Chicago’s bitter cold and dry air. But, there’s no need to rush out and buy expensive beauty products — you can make simple, at-home remedies from items in your medicine and kitchen cabinets.

“You can treat many skin problems or even prevent skin issues by using low-cost lotions and natural remedies found in any corner drug store,” said Dr. Rusalina Mincu, an internal medicine physician at Swedish Covenant Hospital. “The key to many of these treatments is time and patience. It may take a few months or even a year to see results, but over time you can manage some common skin problems for the longer-term without the side effects, cost and reoccurrence rate that you may encounter when using prescription treatments.”

Mincu recently shared many tips and natural recipes for hair, skin and nail health at a Ladies’ Night Out event at Spa O in Lincoln Square last week.

Rose Irwin of Des Plaines attended the event and said she was surprised by the simplicity of the remedies.

“Medicine is not always the answer to everything, and I was impressed to hear a doctor recommend common-sense treatments that can be done at home at a much lower cost,” she said.

But a proper hygiene regimen is not the only factor in a healthy appearance.

Jennifer Maloney, a registered dietitian from the Galter LifeCenter, also spoke about the affects diet has on our appearance.

“We’ve all heard, ‘You are what you eat,’” Maloney said. “Various nutrients in food have a positive affect on not only our internal organs but externally as well, especially on the way our skin, hair and nails look and feel.”

To get started with your fall skin care strategies, check out these tips and recipes provided by Mincu and Maloney for five common beauty challenges:

1. Aging skin
To help your skin appear younger, Mincu recommends using a mild cleanser on your face daily, along with products that contain key ingredients:
• Alpha-hydroxy acids with a strength of .5-1.0 to 10 percent to minimize wrinkles
• Tinted moisturizers with a sun protection factor (SPF) of 15-30
• Vitamin A derivative such as Retin A for lines around eyes and fading liver spots (note: pregnant women should not use this product)
• Vitamin C cleanser

In addition to drinking plenty of water, Maloney recommends a diet that provides vitamins A, E and C to reduce skin damage caused by sun and pollution. Foods that contain vitamin A and E include leafy greens, spinach, Swiss chard, pomegranate and sunflower seeds. Foods rich in Vitamin C include bell peppers, broccoli, kiwi and oranges.

Maloney said pomegranate is the hands-down winner for the super food that comes to the aid of our looks.

“With antioxidant properties, pomegranate repairs damage from sun and aging and extends the life of cells that are responsible for the production of collagen and elastin,” she said, adding that it can benefits can be seen from eating the fruit itself or its juice.

Grapeseed oil is another beauty dietary aid that can be used in cooking, salad dressings or applied topically for skin care.

“Grapeseed oil has essential fatty acids that help repair damaged skin, wrinkles around the eyes, stretch marks, varicose and spider veins,” she said.

2. Dandruff
Follow these tips and feel confident wearing dark colors to your next holiday party:
• Mix the original Listerine (amber colored) with baby oil to treat hot spots.
• Shampoo with sage or rosemary tea
• Rinse with a vinegar mixture of one part vinegar and one part water
• After treatment, switch off using different shampoos every six to eight weeks to prevent shampoo resistance and build-up of yeast that causes dandruff

3. Hair loss
According to Mincu, male baldness is inherited, so there’s little one can do to prevent it. But there are natural remedies for sudden hair loss that’s caused by emotional stress, age, menopause, chemotherapy and pregnancy:
• Massage rosemary and horsetail on scalp to increase circulation and stimulate hair growth
• Drink two cups of green tea every day
• Take valerian root to ease stress
• Take 100 milligrams of Saw Palmetto or other supplements including a B Complex, Vitamins C and A, Zinc and Iron

Diet can be a key to preventing hair loss and maintaining your hair’s shine. Maloney recommends consuming foods with biotin, which is a B vitamin found in liver, red meat, avocado, wheat germ, egg yolk, bran, raspberries, chard, tomato, romaine lettuce, carrots, cabbage, cucumber and cauliflower.

4. Brittle or split nails
To prevent your nails from becoming brittle, soak them nightly for about 20 minutes in water to moisturize your cuticles. Don’t think you have time?

“You can do this easily while watching Glee,” said Mincu.

If your nails are prone to splitting, Mincu said simply coating your cuticles with olive or almond oil as frequently as you remember will do trick.

According to Maloney, the hair-loss-prevention diet with biotin also helps keep your nails healthy. So feel free to dip into that avocado dip and know it’s working overtime for you.

5. Nail fungus
Yes, there is an ewww factor for nail fungus, but thankfully there are some simple home remedies for this common problem. To prevent nail fungus, it’s important to make sure any instruments you use when you do your nails have been soaked in rubbing alcohol for 15 minutes.

To treat nail fungus with vinegar:
1. Soak nails in solution of 1/3 vinegar and 2/3 water
2. Dab undiluted vinegar directly on nail

To treat with cornmeal:
1. Pour one inch of cornmeal into hot water for one hour
2. Soak affected area in cornmeal mixture for one hour
3. Repeat once a day for a month; after a month you should start seeing results

• Login
• Comment