10 Beauty Products That Are a Waste of Money – Natural Alternatives

Teeth Whiteners

These products promise to whiten teeth yellowed by drinking tea and coffee. However, they almost never fulfill this promise, making them an utter waste of your money.

Likewise, teeth bleaching tools sold at supermarkets also do not make good with their word and even has undesirable side-effects such as tooth and gum sensitivity as well as discoloration.

One of the best alternatives for teeth whitening is using a mixture of hydrogen peroxide and baking soda, combined with 5 to 10 drops of essential clove oil. Aside from whitening your teeth, it also has an anti-bacterial effect that leaves your mouth feeling fresh without unpleasant side-effects.

Diet pills usually work either to suppress a person’s appetite or to prevent the body from absorbing fat from the food they consume. However, these dietary products are unhealthy. They are also associated with sleeplessness, anxiety, loose stools as well as abnormal cellular growth in the colon, which may cause colon cancer).

Meanwhile, diet shakes and meals starve its user, making it very unhealthy because after using it, the body does not receive the nutrients it needs to function properly.

There’s no better weight-loss plan than to make a lifestyle change. Cut down on the junk foods, especially those that have high fructose content and increase consumption of food rich in fiber such as fruits and vegetables. Also, follow a regular exercise plan religiously. Doing these is not only a cheaper way to lose weight, it is also more effective and healthy.

Studies revealed that the most expensive anti-ageing creams have very little or do not have any anti-ageing effects. Based on a research  from the Consumer Reports Health as publicized by CBS News, fine lines and wrinkles have not been reduced in any way through the use of these products.

Use a dry skin brush before stepping into the shower every day to slough off dead skin, detoxify your body and improve blood circulation.

Coconut Oil

Popular as the “wonder oil,” this natural alternative to anti-ageing creams ease inflammation on the skin. This is because coconut oil contains capric, lauric and caprylic acids. It also contains antioxidants that help battle free radicals that cause premature skin ageing. It also has an exfoliation effect that lessen wrinkles and fine lines.

Anti-oxidants

These include selenium, CoQ10 and vitamins A, C and E which are all known to fight free radicals and prevent premature skin ageing.

Body scrubs, contrary to popular belief, actually speeds up skin ageing because it contains additives, dyes and perfumes that can harm your skin.

Inexpensive and natural alternatives to body scrubs are baking soda and Epsom salt. Simply mix the baking soda or Epsom salt with water to make a paste. Then use it as a facial or body scrub and rinse with cool water to close your pores.

Many consider this as a necessary “accessory” that should be worn every day. However, what most people don’t know is that perfumes can cause a series of ailments from simple allergies to chronic cancers.

Instead of buying commercially-made perfume made of chemicals, try mixing a cocktail of essential oils to create your own scent. Just mix in your favorite essential oil to jojoba oil and store it in a dark-colored bottle. Aside from costing way less than the expensive perfumes on the market, it may also become your own original smell.

According to a website that exposes the causes of different cancers, these kinds of makeup contain substances such as TEA, DEA, DDT pesticides and cosmetic talc that has been linked to skin cancer.

There are many natural cosmetics in the market today like ones from Sun Cat Naturals, AllNaturalCosmetics.com and Burt’s Bees. Aside from costing less, they pose no threat to one’s health.

Cellulites, which are fat deposits located in a specific part of the body, have been a problem of many women. Many commercial creams that promise to remove these actually just dries the skin with caffeine for it to look firmer or fills the gap with collagen. Simply put, they just hide the cellulites and do nothing to remove them.

Instead, you can try doing dry skin brushing or using a coffee-cellophane wrap on the area with cellulites. The former also leaves the skin smoother and clearer.

These products contain chemicals that only make facial hair lighter, finer and softer contrary to their promise to slow down hair growth. Aside from that, they also contain additives the same as makeups and perfume that may cause skin ailments.

You can do “sugaring” if you wish to use a natural method of removing facial hair. Simply combine in water, sugar and lemon juice. Many people deem this method a less painful way of removing hair as compared with conventional waxing.

Some hair growth products that promise to increase hair growth just increase’s the hair’s fullness by about 20 to 30 percent without having any actual hair regrowth.

Before you will be able to successfully treat hair loss, you would first need to figure out what’s causing it. Some people suffer from undiagnosed gluten intolerance that made their hair fall out due to nutritional deficiency while others experience hair loss because of autoimmune conditions like lupus, anemia, diabetes and thyroid disease. People who are stressed also experience hair loss. Treating these conditions is better than wasting your money on hair treatments that doesn’t actually do what they promise.

Again, lotions are dangerous to use since they contain chemicals like lanolin, parabens and cosmetic talc that may irritate the skin and cause skin conditions such as eczema, acne and psoriasis.

Coconut oil can also be used as an alternative skin moisturizer because it contains skin-soothing vitamins. It also contains anti-oxidants that help maintain the skin’s youthful glow.