College students are an enigma of people with only a few things in common–one of which is a desire to save money. However, one of the most expensive parts of wanting to pamper yourself, look better, and be healthier is buying product after product. We’ve got your list of 10 must-haves that will leave you feeling beautiful without spending a pretty penny!
1. Witch Hazel Toner
Witch Hazel is a great, budget-friendly alternative to toner. You can literally purchase a 16 fl oz bottle from Walgreens for only $4! According to Dr. Axe’s article How to Use Witch Hazel to Clear Up Your Skin Fast, Witch Hazel has natural “astringent properties [that act as an] effective natural acne treatment”. It’s perfect for killing bacteria, reducing inflammation, and tightening pores. It serves as an awesome substitute as a more affordable toner.
2. Soothe Puffy Eyes with Spoons
Tired, puffy eyes are every girl’s worst nightmare. An easy fix for this overnight dilemma just requires a few spoons and a fridge. Refrigerate 2-4 metal spoons for about 15 minutes. Afterwards, grab your cold spoons and apply the backs to your eyes. The chilled spoons should reduce puffiness and waken up tired eyes! Why drop money on fancy eye brighteners and costly concealers when you can just use spoons?
3. Tighten Pores with an Ice Cube
This one’s simple (and somewhat similar to the cold spoons beauty hack). Just grab an ice cube and gently rub it over a clean face. Icy water will help refresh the skin and tighten pores. Again, there is no need to invest in over-priced skin care products when you’ve got ice to help brighten up skin and shrink pores.
4. Sock Curls
All you’ll need for this hack are 4-6 individual, ankle length socks (the longer the better). The amount of socks used will vary based on how much/how long your hair is. The first step is, with slightly damp hair, to grab a medium thick strand and lay it in the middle of the sock. Be sure the sock is perpendicular to your hair. Next, roll the hair with the sock until the entire strand is wrapped. Afterwards, simply take each end of the sock and tie a secure knot. Repeat steps to the rest of your hair until all of it is completely wrapped. Then finally, sleep on it and by morning you should have perfect, bouncy curls! After using these sock curls, you’ll never want to invest in a curling wand ever again.
5. Lighten Hair with Lemon Juice
Avoid spending major bucks at a salon to lighten up your locks by instead using lemons! Like the sock curls, the amount of lemons you’ll need will vary on your hair type. More hair means more lemons! For short hair I’d recommend one lemon, two for medium length, and three for longer length. Next, you’ll need a tool to distribute the lemon juice into your hair such as a wide-tooth comb or a hairbrush. All you’ll need to do is cut the lemon, squeeze the juice into a bowl, and apply it to dry hair. Afterwards, go outside for about 20+ minutes to allow the lemon juice to lighten hair through natural sunlight. But be sure to avoid getting lemon juice in your eyes or scalp!
6. Baby Shampoo as a Makeup Brush Cleanser
If baby shampoo is gentle enough to be used on actual babies, then it must be gentle enough to be used on my babies (being my makeup brushes, of course). The shampoo gently cleanses the brushes without being too harsh on the bristles while still effectively disinfecting them. You don’t need to (nor should you) break the bank to keep your brushes clean!
7. Brown Sugar or Coffee Grounds Body Scrub
If a $21 Lush Ocean Scrub is a bit too out of budget for you, try creating your own knock-off, ‘lush’-cious body scrub. By mixing together coffee grounds or brown sugar (whichever you prefer) to some organic coconut oil leaves you with a nice, moisturizing exfoliant for extra smooth skin. This mixture leaves skin looking soft and feeling silky.
8. Exfoliate Lips with a Toothbrush
Another broke girl alternative to using Lush products is exfoliating lips with a toothbrush! Skip out on spending $10 on a Mint Julep lip-scrub and instead hit up the Dollar Store for a cheaper lip-exfoliating substitute. Purchase a toothbrush to use specifically for lips (would not recommend using old toothbrushes). Next, apply lip balm, Vaseline, or even coconut oil to lips. Then use toothbrush to gently exfoliate away dead skin for smoother, softer lips!
9. Vaseline as Eye Makeup Remover
Vaseline’s not only good for lip balm; it can also be used as an eye makeup remover! Take a small amount of Vaseline onto fingers and massage eye area to break down makeup. Next, clean up by using a tissue or cotton pad to completely remove makeup. Say buh-bye to unnecessarily expensive makeup removers (I’m looking at you, Lancome).
10. Using the Holy Grail Product Coconut Oil for Nearly Everything and Anything (shaving cream, oil pulling, deep conditioner, makeup remover, moisturizer, the list goes on and on!)
This one is a no-brainer. There is a reason coconut oil has been the latest rage; it can be used for almost anything! Since this beauty hack is so versatile, investing in one jar of this Holy Grail product will save you dollars later on. When in doubt, go the coconut oil route!
Pampering yourself was never easier or cheaper thanks to our beauty hacks!