As you mooch through the morning paper, casually eating breakfast, I wonder how many of you have looked into the coffee grounds in your mug or cafetiere and thought, ‘Ooh, face scrub!’
You might not have, but somebody else has. To be fair, in the relentless pursuit of a glowing complexion, I can see merit in the idea. So long as the grounds aren’t too fine, those jagged little granules could indeed be quite effective exfoliators. By mixing the coffee grounds with honey – for its antibacterial properties – you could create a natural face mask. Or indeed try Greek yoghurt and see what effect the combination of mild lactic acid and Arabica beans has on your skin.
Similarly, there’s a rather novel ideal that putting banana skins over your eyes will reduce dark circles around your eyes.
It’s a theory that’s not entirely as bonkers as it first seems. Banana skins are nutrient rich and contain salicylic acid, which is a gentle exfoliant. It could be fun giving it a try, but a professionally-produced retinol-based eye cream and a concealer is probably a better way of hiding the facts that you had a heavy weekend.
Here at Grateful Heads Towers we heard of a new take on the old beauty hack, of placing cucumber slices over your eyes to reduce puffiness. This time, we’re supposed to be rubbing frozen hunks of the stuff in a bid to tone and stimulate our skin. Ironically, the cold can shrink blood vessels, the cause of the aforementioned dark circles, so it’s probably best to stick to using cucumber in your salads and sandwiches. Or, follow in our footsteps and chuck it in your gin!