Yes ladies and gents, baking soda, isn't just for cooking. It has many uses for your beauty regiments. Now if a person was to ever to grocery shopping with me, they would see me stock piling on the this miracle item. It's not because I like to bake that much, it's because, I can do much more for my skin and hair with baking soda, than I can do with spending a small fortune on cosmetic products.

1. Alternative for Shampoo

As I mentioned in my other blog, most shampoos, especially commercially produced shampoos have ingredients that are bad for your health. I've personal have been using the Baking Soda and Apple Cider Vinegar method for about 4 years now and the changes have been nothing short of a miracle. My hair is stronger, no matter what I do to it, it's silkier, and healthier.

The reason being is that baking soda is acid neutral, and acts a mild buffer which means that it has the ability to neutralize other substances it comes in contact with that are acidic (like vinegar) or basic (like soap). If you're looking to go a more natural way and are trying to avoid adding unnecessary chemicals to your hair, this is a great way to go.

2. As an exfoliant

Again as I mentioned in my other blog, you don't necessarily need to wash your face all the time, what I mean by that is: you don't need to wash it with soaps and other products. Using warm water and gently scrubbing is enough to remove the dirt and dust and other particles. However you do you need to exfoliate at least 2 a week to remove dead cells, depending on your lifestyle and beauty regiment. I personal don't wear a lot of make-up. In fact, I wear make-up only if I'm going on and even then, I never put on any foundations (I think they are the devil). So because of that, I will only exfoliate once a week. But if you are the type to never leave your door without make-up then you should be exfoliating around 2 to 3 times a weeks. So why use baking soda to exfoliate instead of the hundreds of products out there.

  • Baking soda is physical exfoliants, and what makes it especially effective is that it is a fine, yet hard powder, making it highly effective at removing the dead skin cells without causing excessive irritation.
  • Some commercial exfoliants contain mild acids such as Alpha Hydroxy Acid (AHA for short), which help renew the skin layer by burning off some of the skin. The effectiveness of these chemical exfoliants depends on the acid concentration, with too low being not effective enough, and too high being damaging to the skin.

    • 3. Treating pimples
    I'm not a dermatologist, however I've had some of the great ones over the years and they all have advocated using natural products to treating your skin as much as possible. Although I do rarely get a pimple, I do use the method that was prescribed to me many years ago. Treat my pimples with baking soda. Now this may or may not work for you. It depends on your skin, your activities, stress level...etc. But I would recommend giving it a try and most people I know who also try this method, have sung it's praises as well. What I do when I get a pimple is to make a paste with baking soda and water, or baking soda with tea tree oil (it's good because it kills bacteria) and leave it one for about 5-10 minutes. After washing it off, I do see a difference and after a day or so of doing this, my pimple will generally disappear.

    There are many other uses for baking soda. Like smoothing your knees and elbows, great for baths to leave you with soft smooth skin, as a callus remover, and many more. To learn more, this blog over here http://health.howstuffworks.com/uses-for-baking-soda-health-and-beauty-g..., gives you other great ideas for baking soda as a beauty regiment.