5 Quick Household Beauty Fixes (Using Products You Already Own!)

by Dana Oliver (Subscribe to Dana Oliver's posts)
Posted Sep 30th 2010 at 12:22PM

Save money and time with these beauty fixes using household products. Photo courtesy of Marie Claire

The recession may be officially over, but that doesn't mean that we aren't trying to spend less on beauty products.

And while we may not be able to stop forking over our hard earned dollars for our favorite Clinique moisturizer or Lancôme lipstick, we could definitely save when it comes to beauty dilemmas like removing water-proof mascara, soothing skin irritation, and avoiding razor burn when we've run out of shaving gel.

Lucky for you, there are simple solutions right at home.

Marie Claire has beauty fixes that every woman should know, including using clear nail polish to prevent eczema (say what?):

Clear Nail Polish to Ward Off Ezcema: Ever had eczema outbreaks on your stomach when you wear your favorite jeans? Dr. Jeanine Downie, a dermatologist in Montclair, NJ, says that painting clear nail polish onto the back of the buttons of your denim can keep your skin from being irritated. "People have an allergy to nickel," she says.

Petroleum jelly as a soothing agent: Washing your hands with rings on your fingers can cause soap to build up under the jewelry, which leads to skin irritation. A quick fix for this is applying petroleum jelly at night to the affected area. To get to the root of the problem, Dr. Downie says. " Take off your rings when you wash your hands!"

Shampoo as makeup remover: It's not ideal, but this will do until you can make it to your beauty supply store to pick up makeup remover. Baby shampoo with water will help remove thick layers of makeup from your face, and it won't irritate your eyes.

For more tips and tricks, check out MC's 5 Quick Beauty Fixes (Using Products You Already Own!).

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Filed under: Beauty, Makeup, Skin & Body
Tags: beauty, beauty fix, household beauty, Marie Claire

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READER COMMENTS

(11)Add A Comment

shelley kramer, 10-01-2010, 3:08PM

Would you put gasoline on your body,knowing its a known carcinogen?
Nail polish on your body. Come on, totally toxic ingredients in nail polish. Do you really want these known toxic products on your body and into your blood stream, that could potentially cause cancer and illness?
Wake up, read Campaign for Safe cosmetics, Prevent Cancer, publicsright2know.org, environmental working group. Learn how you can avoid these harmful ingredients and that safe alternatives are available.
healthy-communications.com

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Patti, 10-01-2010, 5:20PM

The way I read the article, it said to put the nail polish on the back of the button. When it dries, it will be next to your skin, not the more irritating button. I suppose it could be irritating even dry tho, which I guess is your point.

Bri, 10-02-2010, 12:51AM

If you would read the post carefully....you can clearly see that they NEVER said to put nail polish on your skin!! They said put it on the buttons (obviously let it dry) and the nickel in your jean buttons will no longer cause irritation. And no where does it say to put gasoline on your body. You really should take the time to read, before you post a negative comment.

shelley kramer, 10-02-2010, 2:19AM

I have been studying the reasons why so much cancer as I am a cancer surivor but lost my Mom to cancer at age 56 after she had worked for Revlon cosmetics for 20 years putting toxic cosmetics on women 8 hours a day across the US.I found out about the harmful ingredients in daily used products back in 1998 and was shocked. Much research has been done on this subject and is on my website for the public has the right to know. publicsright2know.org. THe gasoline I speak of is in vaseline, which this article suggests you use on your body,which is made from petrolatum which is gasoline, which is a known carcinogen. If you would do your research you would see these facts for yourself. Vaseline covers and smothers the skin. Listed on the Report on Carcinogens in our government under mineral oil and coal tar, all from gasoline, petrolatum. Read the research yourself before denying such facts are true.

leethas, 10-01-2010, 3:33PM

Not to sound picky but that's only 3 fixes in an article titled 5 Quick fixes.

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Beth, 10-01-2010, 5:40PM

At the end of the article is a link to the 5 fixes.

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Nancy, 10-01-2010, 6:38PM

" To get to the root of the problem, Dr. Downie says. " Take off your rings when you wash your hands!"

NEVER, EVER, EVER take off your rings to wash your hands. NEVER. That's the number one way rings get lost; people walk away and forget them. You can always clean soap off a ring, but you can't always replace one.

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Samantha, 10-01-2010, 7:39PM

Long, long ago and far, far away in Flight attendant training school we learned that ponds cold cream - available in every little general store int he country and all drug stores - would remove eye make-up without causing irritation. It was readily available if the plane had engine trouble and we had to land in a cow patch (because a Stew's make-up always had to look fresh and perfect), and I've used it ever since. Now I'm a nursepractitioner and I recommend it to my patients with sensitie skin. It's a great lubrication for that tender skin arouind the eyes, and it helps to completely melt the most astubborn make-up and moisturize and preent wrinkles at the same time. And it's inexpensive. Great stuff.

Lmhrnc, 10-03-2010, 11:24PM

My opthalmologist told me about the baby shampoo for eye make-up. It works great, doesn't sting & goes a long way. I'm still on my first bottle after 1 year!!

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Karissa, 10-03-2010, 5:34AM

I'm a makeup artist and have known many beauty consultants/artists over the years and not one of them has died from cancer. I myself have used Vaseline over the years for a variety of things, on my cuticles and dry spots. I'm in great shape, my skin is in great condition and all of the makeup artists I know are doing fine, so I wouldn't freak out about it.

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