The internet is a mine of information, but that doesn’t mean all of it is good, as these beauty ‘secrets’ will show you. Remember, beauty is fleeting, but idiocy is forever. Don’t try these at home kids!
Shaving With Peanut Butter
The latest food related beauty hack is to replace your usual shaving cream with (non-chunky) peanut butter, which is supposedly a shortcut to baby smooth skin.
The rumour is you smear it on your beard, legs etc, and shave away, with the end result being face or legs smoother and sexier than you’ve ever seen.
In reality, even with a thin layer the stuff is too thick to get at the hair properly, meaning it takes forever and can leave a patchy result. Plus its tricky to remove and leaves your skin with a jaundice like hue. Better sticking to more traditonal methods of hair removal.
Setting Your Hair On Fire To Get Rid Of Split Ends
Originating from Brazil, this trend has been around since the 1960s and is supposedly popular across South America. Known as Velaterapia, the process involves twisting hair into sections and running an open flame (usually a candle) down the length of the hair. The idea is to cauterize the follicles and remove split ends, as well as making it more receptive to conditioner.
Victoria’s Secret model Alessandra Ambrosio recently drew attention to the trend after claiming it is the secret to her enviously glossy, flowing locks. She shared a picture of her receiving the treatment on Instagram, and the internet, particularly beauty bloggers, went mad over the craze.
Velaterapia is usually done by a professional stylist, but they are split on whether or not it’s a good idea, with some claiming it causes permanent damage to the hair shaft. Sally Hershberger Downtown stylist Jae-Manuel Cardenas says: “There is definitely no advantage to burning your hair, you are literally opening up your hair follicle in a non-healthy way. It will make your follicle weak and also make color dull.” Not to mention the issues that arise when people try to do it themselves at home (yes people are that stupid).
Perfect for supermodels maybe, not such a realistic idea in the real world. Plus ya know, who the hell wants to smell like fire?!
Using Glue As A Face Mask
Some online sources claim that putting non-toxic glue on your face, leaving it to dry and then peeling it off can clean out pores. Anyone who suffers with large pores know they can be tricky to clear, this does not mean, however, that you should resort to putting glue on your face.
Supposedly it does actually remove some of the dirt, but there is a good chance it can also take off your eyebrows and eyelashes. Just stick to exfoliator or an old fashioned pore strip.
Tanning With Coffee Grounds And Olive Oil
Supposedly, if you mix olive oil and coffee grounds and leave it on your skin for 15 minutes, you should have a tan to rival J-Lo’s. It is obvious to see why this idea would be appealing for those who long for a year-round tan. Safer than using tanningbeds or lying in the sun for hours, and less smelly than fake tan, if this worked as promised it could Saint Tropez out of business.
Fortunately though for the self-tanning giant, it really, really doesn’t. Admittedly, you do go brown – just not for very long. Plus your ‘sun-kissed’ skin has a nasty habit of smearing on surfaces and ruining clothing. Not sexy.
DIY Colour Contacts
In case you didn’t already know, contact lenses are fiddly things and used incorrectly come with a flurry of health risks including eye infections and long-term damage. This is why it’s REALLY not recommended that you mess about with them. However, some people ignore this sound advice and attempt to colour their lenses in an attempt to temporarily change their eye colour.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJaat-CwwdM
One technique includes using food colouring, which at the very least could leave you with a slimy and funny coloured eye. Another is to use permanant marker, which is full of chemicals and can cause an eye infection. Basically, it’s far cheaper and safer to just buy some professionally made ones, but yet again, check they’re from a reputable supplier.
