Unexpected Beauty Hacks for Healthier Skin

We’ve all seen the beauty hacks for healthier skin floating around Instagram, the ones with the complicated steps that require you to purchase a bunch of new and expensive products. But it turns out there are affordable solutions that don’t involve dishing out hundreds of dollars.

From puberty to pregnancy—these natural products can help improve the skin’s appearance while the body undergoes significant changes.

Here is a list of simple, and perhaps uncommon, beauty hacks that anyone can use for healthier-looking skin, some of which you might already have in your home.

Silk Pillow Cases

You may not think of your pillow as a beauty tool, but it can help you achieve better clearer-looking skin. While one of the best ways to prevent wrinkles is to get more sleep, a silk pillowcase can also help.

Silk is a natural protein fiber that can help to improve your skin’s elasticity, which is a key factor in preventing wrinkles and sagging. Silk is also a natural exfoliant due to gentle rubbing against your skin while you sleep. Silk also absorbs less moisture, which means less moisture loss while you sleep, which translates to visibly softer skin.

Stone Rollers

Stone rollers are an ancient tool for promoting circulation, stimulating lymphatic drainage, breaking down muscle tension, and improving the appearance of the skin. They can also help reduce puffiness and inflammation. As a bonus, they’re also a great way to relax after a long day and can help you fall asleep faster.

Rollers are commonly made from stone, such as jade or rose quartz, and are designed to be used with your choice of facial oil or lotion. 

Stone rollers are made with small, generally marble-sized balls that fit into the palm of the hand. Some are made with textured surfaces, while others are designed to be smooth. You roll the stone roller over your skin upwards in one direction, rather than up and down, for best results.  

Coffee Grounds

You may have heard of the popular beauty secret of rubbing coffee grounds on your skin as an exfoliant to clear accumulated dead skin cells, dirt, impurities, and even help with the appearance of stretch marks.

Exfoliating may seem like a mysterious practice, but there’s increasing evidence that it is vital to skincare. Regular exfoliation helps reduce discoloration and spots of skin damage, and that this process not only removes dead skin cells but also stimulates skin renewal and collagen growth.  

The most common way to exfoliate with coffee grounds is to create a homemade scrub by mixing the grounds with honey (or an oil of your choice). Combine this with using a loofah or a scrub to gently remove dead skin cells, without irritating or drying your skin. 

Petroleum Jelly

The beauty industry loves to tell us that we need to splurge on fancy products to get and stay beautiful, but that’s simply not true. Petroleum jelly is a versatile, tried-and-true product that’s been around since the late 19th century, and it can help you get gorgeous skin without spending a lot of money. 

Petroleum jelly remains one of the cheapest products on the market, and many beauty buffs consider it to be a good substitute for more expensive skincare products. However, many of them don’t know that the substance has long been used in a variety of skin treatments.

Vaseline, which is an emollient, helps to smooth skin by reducing flaking, which is caused by dead skin cells. It also reduces the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles and can even help to heal cracked dry, or rough hands. Also, it can help to moisturize the skin, keeping it skin supple and elastic. 

If you would prefer a natural alternative, try shea butter or cocoa butter, both are good at keeping your skin well moisturized.

Kinesiology Tape

An unexpected technology that helps improve the appearance of skin is a roll of kinesiology tape.

What exactly is kinesiology tape?

Kinesiology tape is a type of athletic tape that is applied directly to the skin to help support muscle and connective tissue. It is typically used to help treat injuries. But, these days, kinesiology tape is being used for a variety of different things, including as a beauty solution.

If you’re wondering how it’s supposed to be good for beauty, the answer is simple: it makes your skin look tauter and your pores look smaller. 

As we age, our bodies begin to lose muscle mass, and our skin becomes less elastic, resulting in wrinkles. Applying kinesiology tape to the face is a treatment method that can help to reduce or eliminate wrinkles. The tape lifts the skin up slightly as it is applied, and the weight of the tape against the skin causes the skin to reposition itself. The material works as an outer layer of skin, giving your face a tighter appearance, similar to how injecting collagen works, without the cost and discomfort of a surgical procedure.

Why Bother With Beauty Hacks?

Having healthy-looking skin is about far more than just an attractive appearance. While it’s true that skin is the body’s largest organ, some people don’t realize how much work it actually does. Skin is an essential part of our bodies—it’s the first line of defense against bacteria, dirt, and other harmful agents, and it protects your body from the sun’s harmful ultraviolet rays. That’s why it’s so important to take care of your skin from the inside out. 

Of course, the best approach to take is one that starts with a good skincare routine and a solid foundation of healthy habits.

Protecting your skin requires a healthy diet and lots of water to keep it plumped and hydrated, as well as lotions, creams, and sunscreen to protect from the sun’s damaging ultraviolet rays. The above beauty hacks will work best as additions to a healthy lifestyle, not as replacements. 

Author Bio

Montu Khokhar is the CEO of Toronto-based SpiderTech, SpiderTech kinesiology tape maker, and strapless & anti-fog face masks. SpiderTech is part of the NUCAP Group