Shitty Beauty Hacks & Bad Advice You've Seen Online or Heard IRL - How do I make my hair grow faster? How do I get rid of stretch marks? How do I whiten my teeth naturally? Etc.

[Cheesegirl78]

I FIGURED IT OUT!
I have a silent-generation woman in my life who I can ask almost anything, and she explained it to me.
It's the "douching" part. Apparently at the time douching wasn't as common as we assume it was when we look at these ads. From mother to daughter it was taught as "You only need to douche after sex (so you don't get pregnant)." The ads presented it as "staying fresh" because it was illegal to advertise contraception.
Kinda like glass pipes and rolling papers for "tobacco".

We were just taking the teacher's word for it. She had all these terrible stories about how women douched with crazy shit to prevent pregnancy or to abort one.

 

[Fialovy]

I just remembered in some self-help book I read somewhere that suggested that if you have a headache or are feeling sick, just have an orgasm and it will make you feel better and make your headache go away or get rid of your congestion or something, like, it prescribed "just have an orgasm" to a lot of different health problems.

Edit: I remember now, it was some book on tantra for a human sexuality class in college.

 

[Micotil 300]

I got picked on a lot in elementary school for having yellowy teeth (among other things). A friend's mom suggested I rinse twice a day with STRAIGHT hydrogen peroxide. I now know it's used as a mouthwash but is diluted and certainly not done as a daily practice unless medically necessary, but what did I know as an insecure 6th grader?

Luckily, my dad caught me doing that about a week into my "new regimen" and told me to knock it off before I destroyed my teeth. In retrospect, my friend's family always had a lot of cavities and I distinctively remember her refusing ice water, ice cream, etc, because it "hurt her teeth," so there's that. I just Googled it and apparently now idiots on TikTok are recommending people do this.

 

[Retired Junta Member]

I don’t know if anyone else has already mentioned it but homemade scrub with sugar, lemon and or coffee are very, very bad for the skin.
Everyone and their grandma is trying to sell that shit as natural cosmetics but it’s absolutely terrible.

 

[Jaded Optimist]

I got picked on a lot in elementary school for having yellowy teeth (among other things). A friend's mom suggested I rinse twice a day with STRAIGHT hydrogen peroxide. I now know it's used as a mouthwash but is diluted and certainly not done as a daily practice unless medically necessary, but what did I know as an insecure 6th grader?

Luckily, my dad caught me doing that about a week into my "new regimen" and told me to knock it off before I destroyed my teeth. In retrospect, my friend's family always had a lot of cavities and I distinctively remember her refusing ice water, ice cream, etc, because it "hurt her teeth," so there's that. I just Googled it and apparently now idiots on TikTok are recommending people do this.

I think it was on my big fat gypsy wedding or whatever garbage TLC show about filthy gypsies, there was a young woman who brushed her teeth with straight bleach daily in order to keep them white.

 

[Character from a movie]

I don’t know if anyone else has already mentioned it but homemade scrub with sugar, lemon and or coffee are very, very bad for the skin.
Everyone and their grandma is trying to sell that shit as natural cosmetics but it’s absolutely terrible.

No way, why is it bad? My sister makes her own "exfoliating cream" with sugar and she says it does work. I tried it myself but didn't see any difference.

 

[Retired Junta Member]

No way, why is it bad? My sister makes her own "exfoliating cream" with sugar and she says it does work. I tried it myself but didn't see any difference.

It’s bad on your face because sugar grains create micro-cuts that may ruin and irritate your skin and are receptacles for bacteria. It’s not as bad for your body because the skin is thicker.

 

[Character from a movie]

It’s bad on your face because sugar grains create micro-cuts that may ruin and irritate your skin and are receptacles for bacteria. It’s not as bad for your body because the skin is thicker.

I didn't know that. Well, she uses that shit for her body so there's no problem.

 

[Retired Junta Member]

I didn't know that. Well, she uses that shit for her body so there's no problem.

Generally speaking, food and cooking ingredients aren’t all that. Most of the times it’s stuff that barely works: coconut oil, yogurt, avocado... You need to activate them somehow or mix them with other stuff.
Garlic for example is good for pimples and impurities but you can’t just slap it on your face.

 

[Character from a movie]

Generally speaking, food and cooking ingredients aren’t all that. Most of the times it’s stuff that barely works: coconut oil, yogurt, avocado... You need to activate them somehow or mix them with other stuff.
Garlic for example is good for pimples and impurities but you can’t just slap it on your face.

Yes that makes sense. The same happens with natural remedies. To get the desired effects from certain foods or spices you have to consume them for a long time because the effects are milder.
For example, last year I suffered from heartburn for six months. My friend told me to mix turmeric and ginger in hot water. Surprisingly it did work, but I had to drink that shit for two weeks before I saw any changes.
So, coconut oil does help to keep your skin hydrated, but if you want faster results, you'd better buy a cream.

 

[Retired Junta Member]

Yes that makes sense. The same happens with natural remedies. To get the desired effects from certain foods or spices you have to consume them for a long time because the effects are milder.
For example, last year I suffered from heartburn for six months. My friend told me to mix turmeric and ginger in hot water. Surprisingly it did work, but I had to drink that shit for two weeks before I saw any changes.
So, coconut oil does help to keep your skin hydrated, but if you want faster results, you'd better buy a cream.

Yes, it’s basically the same. Natural remedies can and DO work but they have to be mixed in certain ways and even if it’s 100% natural some ingredients or techniques aren’t available at home.

Personally, I am a great fan of all natural cosmetics and remedies but I am not so enthusiastic about their home made versions.

 

[NoReturn]

I don’t know if anyone else has already mentioned it but homemade scrub with sugar, lemon and or coffee are very, very bad for the skin.

Salt+honey works for me for certain things, but it's not an every-week or even an every-month thing.

Yes, it’s basically the same. Natural remedies can and DO work but they have to be mixed in certain ways and even if it’s 100% natural some ingredients or techniques aren’t available at home.

Just off the top of my head, chamomile is a perfect example of this. You need what is essentially concentrated chamomile tea to get any effects that are significantly different from placebo.

 

[Cheesegirl78]

Yes, it’s basically the same. Natural remedies can and DO work but they have to be mixed in certain ways and even if it’s 100% natural some ingredients or techniques aren’t available at home.

Personally, I am a great fan of all natural cosmetics and remedies but I am not so enthusiastic about their home made versions.

Reminds me of "clean" beauty and green washing
I don't want to spend $40 on a concealer to have it go bad in two months.
Preservatives have a place, makeup is too expensive to have to toss in two or three months.

 

[CaseyTatumm]

Pure Romance is pretty bad since they actually sell vaginal tightening cream which if you don't know, basically works by causing an allergic reaction that causes your vagina to swell and seem "tighter" and also anal numbing cream which can lead to serious injury due to not knowing when one should slow down or stop because you can't feel pain in your butt.

My friend’s mom sold Pure Romance. A girl we knew got the anal numbing creme and apparently shit all over because her asshole was too numb.

 

[Fialovy]

My friend’s mom sold Pure Romance. A girl we knew got the anal numbing creme and apparently shit all over because her asshole was too numb.

Don't people who do anal usually clean themselves out with an enema first? Did she not know that?

 

[CaseyTatumm]

Don't people who do anal usually clean themselves out with an enema first? Did she not know that?

It was her first time

 

[Spergerella]

I don’t know if I’m a total sucker or not yet but I fell down the micro needling internet he’ll hole. Have no clue if I look better or just am placeboed into thinking I do. The lure of not looking like shit is strong.

 

[HIVidaBoheme]

I don’t know if I’m a total sucker or not yet but I fell down the micro needling internet he’ll hole. Have no clue if I look better or just am placeboed into thinking I do. The lure of not looking like shit is strong.

Looking better is entirely relative, microneedling results take a long time to be visible. Usually you just "feel" it (either by the pain or the redness on the treated area).

Since the changes are microscopical you can only expect for your skin to look healthier, more terse and toned until you've had multiple sessions. Sadly the results tend to vary from person to person, I know of someone who saw satisfactory results after undergoing over 8 sessions of it.

 

[Hyperborean Fried Rice]

Dont know if this has been mentioned but there was a period in time when people were overly obsessed with exfoliation. Surprise! you cannot literally scrub your acne away.

 

[Cheesegirl78]

Dont know if this has been mentioned but there was a period in time when people were overly obsessed with exfoliation. Surprise! you cannot literally scrub your acne away.

And overuse of exfoliation can make acne much, much worse by irritating the skin ever further.