Yogurt has a ton of beauty uses that every girl from countries with good eyebrows (you know, from Greece to Iran, Armenia to Uzbekistan) already knows about.
Here’s how you can work some yogurt into your beauty girl routine, just remember to always use plain (no sweeteners or flavorings):
1. Face mask. Use 2-3 tablespoons of cool, plain yogurt after washing your skin to make a natural face mask. Allow it to sit for 20-30 minutes. The natural lactic acids will gently exfoliate skin, while the proteins will go to work hydrating and restoring your skin’s glow.
READ MORE: 11 Ways to Increase Scalp Circulation
2. A bath enhancement. Try whipping up 1/4 cup of plain yogurt with 4-5 drops of your favorite essential oil (I personally love peppermint for energizing and lavender for soothing). Slowly whisk in water till it has the consistency of milk. Run a warm bath, and pour the mixture in. You’ll add much-needed moisture to your skin, and emulsifying the yogurt instead of adding it directly to the bath water will help avoid weird, clumpy bits.
3. Hair conditioner. Have some time to kill this summer? Try coating your locks in some yogurt for a super hydrating hair mask. Sit outside and let the heat go to work for you, trapping moisture and protein in every strand. Just make sure you rinse with a good shampoo when all is said and done.
4. Lady problems. Did you know that Middle Eastern girls use yogurt and probiotics to cure yeast infections without prescription drugs? The naturally occurring probiotics go to work killing yeast without disrupting the body’s whole immune system (like antibiotics). Common practice is coating a tampon in fresh, active yogurt and inserting 3-4 times a day until the infection clears. If that seems too messy, buy some probiotic capsules at the drugstore, break open, and insert. You can always take an ingestible to help with this though. Check out this Ritual Synbiotic review.
5. The best scrub of your life. Mix 1/2 cup of plain yogurt with 1/3 cup of brown sugar. Use it as a body scrub before self-tanning, shaving, or just about anything else. Side bonus: it smells like a milkshake on your body.
6. Apply plain, non-fat yogurt to sunburn. Make sure it’s cold for optimal soothing! Your skin will be cooled, calmed, and on its way to healing. Just remember to use sunscreen next time, mmkay?
7. Cure your feet. You know yogurt’s probiotics can also stave off foot fungus issues like Athlete’s Foot? Each night before bed, cover feet in active yogurt, put on cotton socks, and sleep your way to healing. This method takes a few weeks, but little by little the fungus will go away and your feet will be left super smooth.
8. Cuticle softener. Out of your fave cuticle oil? No worries, smear some plain yogurt pre-manicure. Lactic acid softens skin, so your cuticles will be easy-peasy to work with.
9. Bacne-banisher. If you like to bare your back but suffer from bacne (back acne) try giving yourself a yogurt back-facial 2-3 times a week for 2 weeks. Cleanse skin, cover in a generous layer of active yogurt, and lay on your stomach till it’s dry. The cultures will go to work killing acne bacteria and exfoliating skin gently. Within a couple weeks you’ll be well on your way to backless ensembles.
10. Dandruff control. Dandruff is caused by a tiny, but icky fungus. Kill it with regular yogurt scalp-massages before your shower. Rinse out with your fave dandruff shampoo for a one, two punch against flakes.
