EVERY girl has a shelf of beauty and hair products that she replenishes regularly. There are, of course, some basic products that you need in order to maintain healthy-looking skin like facial wash, a scrub to use once a week, toner and moisturiser.

Then there are all kinds of hair products that you can buy and treatment sessions you can have done at the salon, all of which are a great indulgence once in a while.

While many of these products are beauty staples for most women, some common household ingredients can also be used to re-create a few of these products, or at least give you the same results.

Here a few beauty tips that have been proven to work (I’ve tried some of them!) and will not cost you a fortune.

Milk is good for other stuff

There are also several unconventional methods that we included just for the heck of it, but that you may want to research a little more before trying out.

• Use toothpaste to get rid of pimples, and make sure it is a white paste, not the green/blue gel type. Apply a smidgen of it overnight on the problem area and usually, the pimple will dry up by morning.

• You can use ice cubes to reduce puffiness around the eyes, and also before applying moisturiser on your face. They’re supposed to “close your pores”.

• For easy removal of blackheads and whiteheads, pour boiling water into a small basin and put your face near it for about 10 minutes. The steam is supposed to open up your pores and make it easier for you to remove blackheads.

• Olive oil has been used for centuries as a beauty remedy. Eating a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil every morning before you have your breakfast is said to improve your skin and hair.

• To “tighten” your skin, dab egg whites over your face, sit still or lie down until it dries, and then apply makeup.

• If you’re in a hurry and need to mask a bright red pimple, dab a little bit of anti-reddening eye drops onto a pimple with a cotton swab and wait 15 seconds before applying concealer. This supposedly helps reduce the redness of the pimple.

• Cleopatra bathed in milk, and model Cindy Crawford mixes milk with water and sprays it on her face throughout the day. Milk is said to help keep your skin supple.

• Catherine Zeta-Jones recommends eating strawberries as a quick fix to whiten your teeth, just before an outing or event.

• After washing your hair, pour beer over it and comb your hair through. Rinse it out. This is supposed to make your hair silky and shiny.

• Use petroleum jelly (like Vaseline) as mascara if you want that naturally defined lashes look without mascara.