Food staples you keep in your cupboard are good for the stomach, but ancient Greek women used such food stuffs as yogurt, honey, olive oil to concoct beauty remedies.  With a bit of intuition, it is easy to turn food that is good for the body into what is beautiful for it too. Here are some ancient Greek food that doubled as beauty secrets, good for the gut, good for the face, good for the blood.

Beauty Secret #1: Honey face masks and body scrubs

It is said that it was the Greeks who started using honey as a beauty ingredient. Honey is considered as an amazing beauty ingredient and is used in many home made face packs, creams and lotions. Greeks use honey for making face packs and body scrubs. Honey is a natural humectant drawing moisture up to the epidermis and trapping it there.  Additionally, honey has anti-inflammatory properties and it also helps in the removal of dead skin cells.Honey was mixed with olive oil, milk or various herbs such as thyme or rosemary for a generous body scrub. This created a natural softness and glow to skin.

Beauty Secret #2: Herbal infusions:

Greeks made herbal infusions on their own by seeping herbs and flowers in vinegar and then mixing them with beeswax. This was then applied on the face and the body keeping skin healthy and radiant. They also used the beeswax infusion as a hair remover.

 

 

 

 

 

Beauty Secret #3: Milk baths for skin softening:

Women of the upper classes to keep skin supple often bathed in tubs full of goat or cow’s milk.  They often took a milk bath before attending religious ceremonies or special events such as weddings. Nowadays milk bathing is not very common, but there are some women who still wash their face, neck and the arms with milk. Milk cleanses the skin and makes the skin very soft and supple.

Beauty Secret #4: Nutritious Greek Yogurt:

Who needs Ponds cold cream when you have Greek yogurt?  Ancient and modern Greek women applied yogurt as a moisturizer to keep skin well nourished and soft. It provides you relief from sun burns as well. Make a natural mask with yogurt mixed with honey, olive oil or some herbs, or use yogurt alone. A two-week trial of not only spooning a Fage yogurt for your mouth but also for your face will bring noticeable results.

Beauty Secret #5: Olives and Olive Oil:

Olives contain high doses of minerals and exhibit antibacterial and anti-fungal properties. They are also good for delaying the process of aging of skin and keeping your skin young looking and glowing for a longer period of time. So, Greeks include olives in their daily diet.

It is believed that Greeks were the first to use olive oil. Not only is olive oil a natural moisturizer, it is also a rich source of antioxidants. These help in treating dry and chapped skin, making your skin revitalized and hydrated. It is also good for speeding up the regeneration of the cells of the skin. So while you sprinkle the oil on the Greek salad, slather a bit on your face and hands.

Beauty Secret #6: Sea salt for skin exfoliation:

Since Greece is close to the sea, the ancients were able to get sea salt easily. They used this sea salt to exfoliate their skin. Sea salt can make your rough and sun exposed skin soft and naturally glowing. Sea salt is mixed with olive oil to make a natural peel or it can be used alone.  This will remove dirt, blackheads and dead skin cells, and keep your skin rejuvenated and radiant. The natural minerals present in sea salt help in keeping the skin well-nourished and healthy.

Beauty Secret #7: Hot baths:

Greek women take hot baths regularly and this is believed to be one of the major secrets of their natural beauty. They take heated baths in bathhouses. They regard hot bath as very important because according to them, hot bath helps in opening the pores of the skin. This in turn leads to the removal of all toxins from the skin in a natural way. While ancient women were not permitted into the public baths, most had dedicated bathhouses for them or private baths in their villas.

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Want to make your own natural beauty products with common ingredients found in your cupboard or better yet, naturally foraged from the countryside?  Join us this summer for our workshops where we teach you to do just that. Make your own lemon/mint astringent, pomegranate sugar scrub, thyme foot fizzies, olive oil soap, camomile face lifter, immortalle nourishing cream, and sea salt soap? Sign up here