Looking after your body and your looks day to day often comes with a complicated reflex: expensive products loaded with chemicals, plus beauty rituals that take forever. And yet some of the simplest, quickest tricks work better still — old-school remedies and ingredients with well-known beneficial properties that take care of your beauty better than just about anything. Beauty rituals are all very well, but let’s also make life easier by thinking cheap, eco-friendly and effective. A trick here for whitening teeth, an idea there for shortening a spot’s lifespan, and a tip for whipping up a homemade scrub… Here are a few homemade beauty tricks.

A hand mixing honey and lemon juice in a small glass bowl on a marble worktop
Honey and lemon: the basis of a beauty treatment you can mix up in moments

Gently whitening teeth

There’s nothing more effective than a dentist-led whitening treatment, but professional whitening can cause sensitivity and should be assessed by a dentist, especially if your teeth or gums are sensitive.

A wet toothbrush held above a glass jar of bicarbonate of soda in a bright bathroom
Bicarbonate of soda, sprinkled onto a wet brush, for a gentle brushing routine

To help lift stains, try bicarbonate of soda. Sprinkle it onto a wet toothbrush and use it as you would when brushing, in small circular movements. It is mildly abrasive, so it shouldn’t be used regularly: over time it can wear down enamel and irritate gums. For real whitening, ask your dentist, who can suggest a solution suited to your teeth.

Easing under-eye bags and puffiness

Whether it’s lack of sleep or genetics, the eye area — sensitive because it has a poor blood supply and very thin skin — quickly gives away a bad night, low mood or the passing years. So it’s not unusual to wake up with puffy, baggy eyes that alone make you look tired and crumpled.

To ease puffiness and swelling, your first port of call is an ice cube. Run it under water to speed up melting, then wrap it in a tissue or a clean, thin cloth and apply it to each eye and the surrounding area. Go gently: keep it brief, always through a cloth and without pressing, while the cold constricts blood vessels and reduces congestion — and it feels fresh and pleasant, too. If you have an eye problem, it’s best to ask a doctor.

Then you can apply cornflower water to a cotton pad and leave it on the eye for a few minutes to finish reducing puffiness and soothe tired eyes.

A bowl of ice cubes, a thin cloth, a bottle of cornflower water and cotton pads on a marble ledge
Ice wrapped in cloth and cornflower water: the cooling duo for tired eyes

Washing your hair in record time

There are times when you simply don’t have time but still need to look polished. A night out after a heavy day, a late start before an important meeting — you have no choice but to show up with shiny hair, and when time is short, dry shampoo is the quickest fix.

The ideal is to keep a can at home for exactly these moments. It needs no water, absorbs oil and dust, and brushes out in a few strokes. It doesn’t replace a proper shampoo in your daily routine, but it saves you on those 'no-time' days by freshening the scalp and cutting through grease.

Two cans of dry shampoo on a bathroom shelf with a wooden hairbrush
Keep a dry shampoo within reach for rushed mornings

Oops, a spot

Yep, it’s one of those miserable mornings. One glance in the mirror and, wouldn’t you know it, a spot is staring back like a sore thumb. Let’s not kid ourselves: you won’t make it vanish in a click of your fingers, but you can shorten its life and tone it down a little.

First, let’s be clear: the old wives’ trick of leaving toothpaste on a spot overnight is best forgotten. This occlusive application can irritate or burn the skin, and there’s no solid evidence that it works.

As for lavender essential oil or tea tree, same caution: on the face, a drop of carrier oil doesn’t guarantee sufficient dilution, and the risks of irritation and allergy are very real. Before applying anything, ask a healthcare professional and follow the usage precautions published by the French agency ANSES.

And of course, don’t fiddle with the spot, to avoid adding bacteria that can make it hang around for longer.

An amber glass essential oil bottle, a drop on a finger and sprigs of dried lavender
Lavender essential oil: never neat on the skin, always diluted

A homemade body scrub

In a bowl, mix coarse sea salt, olive oil or sweet almond oil (using the same amount as the salt) and the juice of one lemon. Gently rub over the body, spending a little longer on rough patches, then rinse. Skin feels soft and revived, and your wallet breathes a sigh of relief.

A hand mixing coarse salt, olive oil and lemon in a glass bowl
Salt, oil and lemon: the DIY body scrub

A homemade face scrub

The key ingredient is ground almonds: slightly grainy, so abrasive, but gentle. They exfoliate without attacking the skin and cost next to nothing — brilliant.

Mix them in a bowl with a little milk, adding it gradually until you have a workable paste. You can also add a teaspoon of runny honey. For an essential oil suited to your skin type, it’s better to ask a healthcare professional, who can advise on the right choice and dilution.

Then apply in circular motions over the face, carefully avoiding the eye area.

A blue-tinted mineral water spray on a bright bathroom shelf
A mineral water spray, the final spritz after make-up

A quick refresh for make-up

The trick is simple: once your make-up is done, spritz your face with mineral water, such as Evian. Don’t overdo it — it shouldn’t drip or run — just enough to add moisture. It’s a quick refresh, not to be confused with a setting spray: to make make-up last, use a dedicated product.

Hands rubbing the cut surface of a lemon over fingernails, with a few drops on a saucer
Lemon on the nails: rinse thoroughly and don’t overdo it

Looking after your nails

Half a bowl of warm water with the juice of one lemon added, and soak your nails for a few minutes. Handle with care: lemon is acidic and photosensitising, and it can dry out and irritate skin and nails. There’s also no certainty it will brighten them. After rinsing, apply a little sweet almond oil to the nails and the surrounding skin to moisturise.

Fingertips resting on the edge of a bowl of warm lemon water beside sweet almond oil
A few minutes in warm lemon water to soften the nails
Fingertips at the edge of a bowl of warm lemon water with sweet almond oil nearby
A lemon soak for the nails, then sweet almond oil to finish

Moisturising dry feet

Summer or winter, feet take a beating and are rarely looked after. The skin on your feet is thick and naturally low in moisture, so it needs a little help to feel soft and comfortable again. The best approach is a rich foot cream applied before bed. Pull on a pair of cotton socks and go to sleep. You’ll wake up with soft, moisturised feet.

Got your own unbeatable homemade beauty tricks? Share them with us — we’re all ears!

Want more natural beauty tips? Read our features on essential oils for beauty and our homemade cosmetics recipes.

Lemon and some essential oils, especially citrus oils, are photosensitising: use them only on small areas and avoid sun exposure straight afterwards. As for essential oils, never apply them neat to the skin. If in doubt, speak to a healthcare professional.

Budget

Most of these tricks cost very little. Expect to pay around £1–4 for a pack of bicarbonate of soda or ground almonds, £5–12 for cornflower water or sweet almond oil, and £6–15 for a good-quality essential oil, although a small bottle lasts for months. Dry shampoo usually costs around £3–12, and a rich foot cream around £5–15. Prices vary by brand, size and where you shop.

Sources

  • ANSES, guidance on essential oil use and precautions (dilution, contraindications), anses.fr.
  • NHS, advice on oral hygiene and dental care, nhs.uk.