If you have NO MONEY what can you do to improve your skin and hair?

[YouBoughtMeAWall]

My skin is awful right now. So dry, breakouts all around my mouth and jaw line, bumpy and just ugh. My hair is dull and feels like it barely goes a day without getting greasy. I’m sure over indulgence at Christmas is to blame. I’m jobless and reliant on UC. There’s no room in the budget at all for buying anything to correct these issues but I’m sure there must be some things I can do. Other than drinking more water which I’m doing.

I’m sure there are loads of people in this position right now so I thought a thread with some free (like using things we might have at home already) or very low cost remedies would be useful.

Any suggestions?

Fresh air - a good walk every day. Maybe try Yoga with Adrienne on YouTube to gently stretch and calm yourself?

Have a look on crunchy Betty for natural face masks.

There’s lots you can make with honey, milk, coffee, olive oil, eggs, banana etc...things you may have in.

Buy some french green clay mask (£7) on Amazon, it will last at least six months.

Steam your face, with a bowl of water and a towel.

Egg whites as a face mask. Sounds gross, but I watched an interesting YouTube video where a top dermatologist did this before big events to firm the skin!

Someone recommended on here lately to dump some sugar in a handful of shower gel to use as a body scrub. I tried it last night. It was actually really good. I used caster sugar as that's what I found in the cupboard. There's probably a less messy way of doing it than what I did - next time I'm pretty mixing it!! I can't use oily scrubs it affects my skin but this was soap and grit only so much better for me.

For reference it was a super cheap shower gel from also or Lidl that I used as the dds have a habit of drowning themselves in it 😂

Plenty of water, plenty of fresh air. When I was younger I had acne and the doctor said best thing was to to change pillowcases really regularly, every couple of days. It apparently helps your skin.

Use sugar, salt or sodium bicarbonate as a cheap scrub & exfoliant.

Use egg white as a face mask. The yolk can go in your hair; rinse with tepid water.

Lie down with a moist warm flannel on your face daily, then moisturize.

thestripe.com/turmeric-face-mask-diy/

I couldn't not wash my hair everyday. Hair gets dirty and needs washing the same as my body. I also feel so much better with clean hair, I couldn't get in the shower and not wash my hair.

Child farm baby moisturiser has been a god send for me at the moment. Often on offer for £3.00 and it is great on my face and body and you get a big tub which lasts.

You could go to the doctor and see if you could do with some folic acid OP??

A gp could review your contraceptive (if you have one) in case that is part of the problem or give you one that could help if acne is bad, if nutrition is bad they can prescribe vitamins too
Eat tuna and salmon if you can and train your hair by missing washes for a week at a time.
Get some daylight ( not sun damage though!)

Drinking from a mug throughout the day, wipe the face around the mouth with a babywipe regularly especially if you take milk and sugar
Exfoliate the lips with your toothbrush
Put live yogurt on the clean skin after steaming ideally
This will make it very hard for the bacteria to colonise the pores.
Do be gentle and not scrub the skin too much. Remove dry skin only after a good soak.

Also, who knew, men's beards contain a strain of staph that is friendly and acts as a natural antibiotic against invasive staff strains. So find a man with a nice soft one and go smush your face in it

I have only ever used soap and water for face washing, as in pears soap or wrights coal tar, and it lasts for ages, Drink a lot of water, and everyday I have a large glass of hottish water with lemon juice,with lemon slices in the water after squeezing the juice in. It's great for giving you smooth skin and more refreshed eyes. I always use a cheap tea tree oil shampoo, and never ever bought any hair conditioner. Oldie person here,and always done all of the above.

@SweetLoveOfCod

Thanks re sugar. My skin is horrendous & I likes my sugar!

Fairy liquid is good for stripping the grease out of your hair. Try doing that once a week and try and go longer in between washes. Domt use conditioner. If you really have to, only put it at the very ends.

@Iminaglasscaseofemotion

Fairy liquid is good for stripping the grease out of your hair. Try doing that once a week and try and go longer in between washes. Domt use conditioner. If you really have to, only put it at the very ends.

Are you actually insane?

Vaseline on your face and hands every night. It's a miraculous product and costs almost nothing.

TuxedoPantherSheHer yes, fucking crackers mate

I own a Dyson air wrap, ionic hair dryer... Olaplex blah blah blah...

Forget all that.

Last night after washing and drying my hair normally (no styling, but just making sure it was completely dry) I put it in pin curls, with some 50p hair grips and slept in a Silke hair wrap.

The hair wrap annoyed me in the middle of the night so i took it off.

Nevertheless this morning my hair is an abundance of smooth, bouncy waves. I look like i've been to the hairdresser.

I usually use Clarins tonic body treatment oil on my face. On a whim, I sent away for The Soapery’s grape seed oil. It’s really cheap and it turns out that it is much better for my skin than Clarins. I’m only going to use the much cheaper oil from the Soapery from now on, so would recommend.

My skin is better when I do less to it. Keep drinking lots of water, I wash my face with plain warm water only, use a face cloth or slightly rough towel to try it which exfoliate.
If you can afford a very small amount in the future buy a moisturiser at Aldi, their skincare is excellent and starts at under £1. A decent moisturiser from there starts at £1.99 iirc. I use it when my skin feels like it needs it rather than e.g. every morning.

I wash my hair twice a week, again, less is more. I use head and shoulders, about £2 from home bargains or the supermarket.

Open a window when you are at home, go for a walk and get fresh air and exercise.

Just checked, Aldi moisturier starts at £1.45. Face wash is 85p but I just use water so skip this.

Google 'uk freebies', go to the freebie sites you find and sign up for loads of free beauty samples.

You might want to create a new email address for this to avoid spam.

Starting the morning with hot water and lemon is great for digestion and so the skin.

Cardio, getting sweaty and endorphins from brisk walking, running or cycling OUTDOORS. Fresh air makes such a difference.

Add more protein to your diet for hair - chicken, eggs, fish, nuts etc

Pure Coconut oil or olive oil (warmed) massaged into hair and scalp once a week, leave for an hour - esp good if you colour/bleach hair.

@Doodallysally

Does the coconut oil wash out easily?

@Readingandrighting

Yes! The trick is to not soak your hair through, enough on the lengths and ends and a massage onto the scalp. I use a normal L'Oréal or Head & Shoulders shampoo. 2 quick washes do the trick.

Make sure it's warmed in the microwave and in liquid form (congeals in the cold) , easier to apply.