Don’t sleep on baking soda.
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A little known book was released in 2010 called “The Magic of Baking Soda” that elucidated all the ways you can use this *powder*-house (pun intended) product. We’ve compiled our own list of the best ways to use baking soda to give your beauty routine a little kick.
1. To rid your teeth of coffee stains
Don’t drain your wallet on expensive whitening kits and dental treatments. A safe and effective way to whiten your teeth is with a mixture of hydrogen peroxide, baking soda, and water. Create a paste and use your toothbrush to rub it in gentle circles on your teeth and rinse well. Don’t scrub too hard or you’ll risk rubbing the enamel off of your teeth.
2. Give your smile a boost
Baking soda can help strengthen and whiten your teeth in as little as a week with some judicious oral rinsing. You can buy an oral rinse with baking soda in it, like TheraBreath, or you can add a teaspoon of baking soda to a cup of warm water. Swish around for two minutes and don’t rinse.
3. Kick up hair-washing days
If you want to give your hair a detox, add a bit of baking soda to your shampoo for an extra bit of clarifying.
Baking soda is naturally scrubby, which is why plenty of people have switched out their shampoo for baking soda (a.k.a the “no poo” method).
In a pinch, if you’re out of Batiste, you can use baking soda as a dry shampoo for those in-between.
4. Put your best foot forward
For the smoothest feet ever, get a foot bath and add a cup of baking soda and two cups of epsom salts. Sit and relax for 15 minutes. Bam. Your little piggies will be smooth as silk.
5. Multitask at bathtime
Add a cup of baking soda to your bathtub to naturally exfoliate the skin and soothe burns and rashes. Glittery bath bombs and scented aromatherapy candles, at your discretion.
6. Bust those blackheads
Mix baking soda and honey together as a clarifying mask. Honey is naturally antibacterial and the baking soda’s exfoliating properties will work to pull the gunk out of your pores. Don’t overdo it, though, as baking soda can dry out your skin.